Lady Warriors complete first round playoff sweep of D’Iberville

For the Oak Grove Lady Warriors, Saturday’s box score reads like a blowout win, but coach Gary Ivy wants his team to use the day as a learning experience. Through three innings in game two of their best-of-three first round playoff series against D’Iberville, Oak Grove built a 10-0 lead, only to have it sliced in half by allowing five runs in the fourth. 

“We did the same thing yesterday down there,” Ivy said. “We jump out to a big lead and relax, and it took us a little bit to get going again.”

Winners of four straight, Ivy’s Lady Warriors answered with four runs in their half of the fourth on the way to taking game two, 15-6, and sweeping D’Iberville, 2-0. Oak Grove (17-5) advances to face Brandon (24-2) in the second round of the Class 6A playoffs starting next Monday. 

“We really gotta come mentally ready to play on Monday,” Ivy said. “When we’re in it, I think we can play with anybody.”

The Lady Warriors are scoring 10 runs per game in April, and they met half of that average in Saturday’s first inning alone. After Oak Grove starting pitcher Ryanne Hornsby struck out the side in the top of the first, Lady Warrior leadoff batter Ashja Walker got things started in the bottom with an inside-the-park home run. Oak Grove tacked on four more runs in taking a 5-0 lead into the second. 

There, Alex Perren hit a solo homer and McKenzie Stewart an RBI double to extend that lead to 7-0. An inning later, it ballooned to 10-0 as Alexis Papp drove in a run, and Hannah Picazo followed with a two-run single. 

As previously mentioned, D’Iberville answered in the fourth. With the bases juiced and only one out, they took advantage and went on to plate five runs against Hornsby, cutting the Oak Grove lead to 10-5. In the bottom of the inning, though, Hornsby got three of those runs back by launching a three-run homer, her first of the season. 

“It was a big pickup for her and the rest of the team,” Ivy said. “When you give up some runs and come right back to get them back, it keeps your confidence up and keeps you from getting too low.”

The Lady Warriors tacked on another run in the sixth inning en route to the nine-run win. They finished the contest with 17 hits, with Perren, Stewart and Walker leading the way with three apiece. Hornsby allowed just three in six innings of work, adding seven strikeouts of D’Iberville batters.