Tenth-ranked Lincoln softball team outduels No. 9 Oakmont in clash of top offenses

Kya Pratt hammered the first pitch she saw in the ninth inning Tuesday. The ball landed well beyond the right field fence. As Pratt circled the bases, she threw her arms up as she crossed first, then again as she approached third base, and a third time as she approached her celebrating teammates at Oakmont’s home plate.

There’s plenty to be excited about.

Pratt’s first-ever home run sparked a three-run ninth inning as No. 10 Lincoln finally put away ninth-ranked Oakmont 10-7.

“It was such a big accomplishment in my life and I love having these girls behind my back. Great feeling,” Pratt said.

Pratt’s monster hit was followed by five straight singles as the Zebras plated two more runs. It was a fitting offensive breakout. Lincoln had runners on base every inning but struggled to score runs against Oakmont relief pitcher Aubrey Smith, who mostly held Lincoln in check after entering the game in the third inning.

But there’s only so much you can do against Lincoln right now. The Zebras have scored 100 runs in their last nine games. They haven’t lost in more than a month, winning nine straight.

“It’s huge for us because last year we lost to them,” Pratt said. “Coming back, we felt like we had to beat them. It’s a huge deal for us. And so to come out here in a tie game and get the win, it’s amazing.”

It looked early like Lincoln was going to win going away. The Zebras led 6-0 midway through the third inning. But the Oakmont offense showed it’s plenty dangerous.

Lily Peterson homered, walked twice and scored two runs as the Vikings closed the distance. But Oakmont still trailed 7-4 in the bottom of the seventh, when Madison Reidenart’s double, hammered into right-centerfield, sparked a three-run rally. Aubrey Smith and Kennedie Magorian walked and later scored to help the Vikings force extra innings.

Smith came in to pitch in the top of the third inning and held Lincoln to one earned run in the fourth through eighth innings, buying the Oakmont offense time to climb back into the game.

“Hailey’s just a baller,” said Oakmont coach Marc Watson. “She comes in and just does her job every single time she comes out. She’s not imposing. She’s not a pitcher that’s going to throw balls by everybody. She just hits her spots, makes them hit and makes them miss, and just keeps us in ballgames.”

It was maybe a little too close for comfort for Lincoln coach Donna Tofft.

“Is my stomach back down from my throat?” she asked rhetorically about the game.

Tofft credited junior pitcher Ava Domenici with working her way through the dangerous Oakmont lineup time and again and limiting the damage.

“These are two good teams. Twenty-one strikeouts isn’t going to happen. They’re too good for that,” Tofft said.

Domenici just smiled her arm wasn’t too sore after going all nine innings for Lincoln. She walked three times, hit a pair of singles and scored twice to support her own effort. She worked a 1-2-3 ninth inning to close out the win and push Lincoln to 13-4, 5-0 in the Foothill Valley League. The Zebras are a top 10 team. That’s something worth celebrating.

“It felt really good to be in the top 10 in the rankings,” Domenici said. “In the past, we haven’t been known as this big team to face and I really think we’ve made a name for ourselves this year.”

This story was originally published May 5, 2021 at 6:43 AM.