By Kevin Mills,Staff Writer

WALES – It started innocently enough, but in no time the inning and the game got away from the Oak Hill softball team.

Erksine scored five runs in the second inning and never looked back in a 7-0 win on Friday.

“They just had some big hits with runners on and hit them in the holes,” said Oak Hill coach Julie Boucher. “They hit the ball very well.”

Erskine (2-1) had two hits and five runs in the second inning. It was all pitcher Ashley Zibura needed. She held the Raiders to just one hit, a Shannon Safford infield hit in the first.

“They hit the ball, but they hit them to people instead of in the holes,” said Boucher. “You can’t win ballgames with no runners on.”

The Eagles started the second inning when leadoff batter Brittany Oxley was hit by a pitch after being down two strikes. She stole second, and back-to-back bunts followed. Oak Hill jumped on the bunts but couldn’t get runners out. Before they knew it, the Raiders faced a bases-loaded situation with no outs.

“I think our bunt coverage was decent,” said Boucher. “They just had some speed on the bases.”

Rachael Siegfriedt hit a double down the right field line to score two. The Raiders (1-2) got two outs on a nice double play where pitcher Sarah Radovich fielded a Julie Sirois hit back to her. She threw to first baseman Magan Blais, who threw home to catcher Ashley Malinowski for a tag at the plate.

The Raiders couldn’t escape completely, however. An error allowed Siegfriedt to score. After Angela Goodwin reached on a dropped third strike, Kelsey Bushover doubled in two more.

“We’ve played solid defense so far,” said Erskine coach Lynn Chadwick. “It was nice today to have our bats come alive.

“We have a lot of potential, hitting-wise. So it was nice to have them lay the bunts down, hit the ball and have them fall like they should.”

Though the Raiders wilted in the second, they pulled themselves back. Radovich pitched four innings and allowed just three hits while Danni Potvin hurled three innings in relief, giving up just one hit.

“I hadn’t seen that yet from this team, and I did today a little bit,” said Boucher. “They picked it right up and in the sixth and seventh inning they were cheering a little bit more. They have to know they’re a young team at the varsity level.”

Erskine added a run in the third when Sirois doubled in Siegfriedt with two outs. Goodrich scored on an error on a Bushover grounder in the sixth.

The Eagles, with all but one starter returning, were solid in the field, making just one error. Third baseman Christina Porter was superb with eight assists, including a nice backhanded grab on a Safford grounder.

“She’s very, very solid,” said Chadwick. “She’s been like that. She really surprised me last year as a freshman. I put her in, and I haven’t taken her out since.”