The Oneida Daily Dispatch (Oneida, NY)
Oneida goes toeto-toe with Camden
Emily Marshall delivers game-winning single to oust Camden
Entering the Section III Class B semifinal, No. 2 seed Oneida softball had not surrendered a run in either of its first two playoff games, mercyruling Altmar-Parish-Williamstown and Phoenix in back-toback contests.
No. 11 seed Camden changed that on Saturday.
The Blue Devils plated the first run of the postseason against Mike Curro’s Oneida side, using that momentum to build a 5-4 lead over their TriValley rivals heading into the final frame of action.
Unfazed, Oneida rallied in the bottom of the seventh, sparked by a Brianna Laureti infield single to lead off the stanza. Kyra Shlotzhauer took first on a hit- by-pitch in the next at-bat to put a pair aboard. Laureti tied the game when Lauren Skibitski’s fly ball to the outfield was dropped, wheeling from second to home for a 5-5 score.
Camden starter Laura VanHoven bounced back to retire the next two Oneida batters to bring up Emily Marshall. With two outs and the game-winning run on third, the Oneida junior right fielder delivered a walk- off single, plating pinch-runner Mary Robello to send Oneida to the Class B finals for a tilt against No. 4 Christian Brothers Academy with a 6-5 win.
“I was pretty nervous. I didn’t do too well hitting for the day,” Marshall said following her walk-off winner. “I just had to breathe and imagine myself hitting in a cage like batting practice so I could calm down
and come through for my team.”
“We’ve got to make some better plays defensively if we want to win the whole thing,” Curro said. “But the bottom line is: they don’t quit. They never give in, and it seems like they always answer back.”
Kyra Shlotzhauer earned the win for Oneida, tossing a complete game while allowing five runs (1 earned) on seven hits with three strikeouts and a pair of walks.
VanHoven took the loss for Camden, yielding six runs on seven hits to go with four strikeouts and five walks.
“Laura did a very good job keeping our bats at bay,” Curro said. “Camden, they came here to fight.”
Marshall finished the afternoon 2-for- 4 and the game-winning RBI; Shlotzhauer went 2-for-3 with an RBI of her own; and Laureti added two runs on a hit and a walk. Skibitski added a pair of hits and a run scored to help pace Oneida at the plate.
Jayden Prievo paced Camden at the plate with a double and a pair of RBI on 2-for- 4 hitting. Sierra Amo added an RBI single, andHaylee Page closed the afternoon with a double on 2-for-4 hitting.
Shlotzhauer retired the Camden side in order in the top of the first, but VanHoven answered with a 1-2-3 inning of her own to keep the game level heading to the second.
Kim Birmingham led off the second with a triple, taking home on a wild pitch for the first run of the game.
Oneida got the run right back in the bottom half of the frame. Skibitski led off with a single followed by a Sydney Lusher walk. Marshall reached on an infield single in the next at bat before Reilly White sent a sacrifice fly to center field to score Skibitski.
Shlotzhauer worked in and out of trouble in the third. After Camden loaded the bases with one out, Oneida’s ace struck out Camryn Sullivan before getting Page on a grounder back to the circle to escape the inning unscathed.
Oneida took its first lead of the game in the bottom of the third. Laureti drew a one out walk. Shlotzhauer followed with a bunt single. Skibitski followed with a bloop single in the next at bat to load the bases for Sydney Lusher who walked to plate Laureti. An Alyssa Gienger grounder to third sent home Mary Robello, who was pinch running for Shlotzhauer, for a 3-1 lead.
Oneida tacked on another run in the bottom of fourth on a Shlotzhauer RBI single to increase its advantage to 4-1.
After a scoreless fifth, Camden went to work in the top of the sixth. Page doubled with one out. Megan Onderko reached on an error in the next at-bat before Abby Walker was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Shlotzhauer came back to strike out the next batter, but Amo singled to plate a pair of runs to cut Oneida’s lead to 4-3. Prievo followed with a single of her own to score Walker and Amo for a 5- 4 Camden lead, setting Oneida and Marshall up for their walk-off heroics.
“I’ve been thinking we could play Oneida like this all year long. Finally having a couple of good sectional wins, I think the girls started to believe in it, and they played like they believed in it,” Camden coach Billy Sullivan said. “You cannot make an error against Oneida. They are too good of a team.”
“Everybody plays as a team. We won as a team, we lose as a team. I am going to miss my seniors, but we’re going to be alright. We’re going to be a good team next year.”