OA Softball Drops to 3-2 With Loss to Stoughton

Clinging to a 1-0 lead over Oliver Ames, Stoughton’s Nicole Hayner legged out a single, driving in pinch runner Jessica Freitas to give the Black Knights’ softball team a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning.

It proved to be a key run in Stoughton’s 3-1 win over Oliver Ames Thursday afternoon in Stoughton.

After the Black Knights went up 2-0, the Tigers answered with a run of their own in the top of the sixth, cutting the Stoughton lead to 2-1 when Krystina Lincoln grounded out, bringing Erin Lynch home.

But that was the only run the Tigers could muster against Stoughton sophomore Emily Cramer, who turned in another solid effort on the mound.

Stoughton scored again in the bottom of the sixth when Samantha Mattie singled with two outs, scoring pinch runner Katherine Chlus, making it a 3-1 game.

Oliver Ames went down in order in the top of the seventh, as Stoughton secured a win over its Davenport Division foe.

With the victory, Stoughton improves to 3-2 (2-0 in the Davenport), while Oliver Ames falls to 3-2 (1-1 in the Davenport).

“This is huge,” Stoughton coach Janet Sullivan said of the Black Knights’ win. “[Oliver Ames] is an excellent team. They won the Davenport Division last year so we knew it was going to be a tough battle all around. They’ve got good hitting, good defense, so we had to come out and play well in tough conditions.”

"I think my kids did a good job making contact; unfortunately they had a hard time finding the gaps," OA coach Lindsey Allison said.

"I think [we] just needed to be more confident in the box and take advantage of the opportunities that [we] had," she said.

Oliver Ames pitcher Elizabeth Batsnelas also pitched well. After Stoughton scored in the first, the Black Knights didn’t score again until the fifth inning.

Cramer allowed just three hits. She was also aided by catcher Payton Pizzano who threw out three OA runners, two in the second inning alone.

The Tigers look to bounce back when the team travels to Weymouth on Tuesday.