Whitehall took a notable step as a program Tuesday, picking up a
10-9 win over Oakridge in game one of Tuesday's West Michigan Conference
Lakes doubleheader. The Eagles salvaged a split by beating Whitehall
13-3 in game two.
While the Eagles haven't been as dominant
this season as in past years, they are still the benchmark in the WMC
Lakes, and coach Kyle McGrew said after falling to them in last year's
district tournament that catching them was a goal of Whitehall's.
The
Vikings grabbed the lead with a five-run first inning, and after
Oakridge tied it in the second, Whitehall scored four times in the third
to go ahead for good. The Eagles launched a rally in the seventh,
scoring twice and getting the tying run to third base, but pitcher Beth
LeaTrea induced a groundout to lock up the victory.
Kayden
Johnson got Whitehall's first-inning surge started with a RBI double,
and Peyton Schultz's two-run single capped the inning. The Vikes took
advantage of Oakridge miscues in between. In the third, LeaTrea broke a
5-5 tie with a two-run triple, and Emily Ames later added a RBI single.
Schultz
and Ames each got three hits for the Vikes in the win, and LeaTrea and
Toree Carlson each added two. LeaTrea struck out 11 for the win.
Whitehall
took a 2-0 lead in game two when Janie Fagan hit a two-run home run,
but Oakridge took over from there. Fagan got two hits, and so did
LeaTrea.
