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Photo by Diane Cox
Oiler freshman Kaleigh Young bunts her way on base from a pitch by Civic Memorial freshman Gwen Lewis.
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Photo by Diane Cox
CM junior Maddie Hall swings at a pitch from Oilers pitcher Tori Beachum.
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Photo by Diane Cox
CM freshman Gwen Lewis delivers a pitch.
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Photo by Diane Cox
EA-WR freshman Haley Shewmake slides under a tag from a CM player. Shewmake reached first base on all four at-bats for the Oilers through a walk and added three runs for the Oilers.
The East Alton-Wood River Oilers softball team collected another win Tuesday against the Civic Memorial Eagles with a score of 9-5.
The 8-10 East Alton-Wood River Oilers took a hard-fought win from the 3-9 Eagles softball team Tuesday at the Oilers’ home field.
Both the Eagles and the Oilers have a young squad. The Oilers have a handful of juniors, but are mostly composed of sophomores and freshmen. The Civic Memorial Eagles have two seniors on their squad but are also an assembly of underclassmen.
"We have some work ahead of us," CM assistant coach Luke Angelo said. "We're a young team but have a lot of potential and talent."
In the third inning, CM senior Jaylyn Lowrance smashed a two-run home run for the Eagles.
The Oilers and the Eagles were tied at five going into the fourth inning. Beachum took the helm on the mound for the Oilers and finished out the second half of the game. The Oilers were able to add four runs in the sixth inning to secure the win over the Eagles. EA-WR freshman Haley Shewmake was able to cross the plate for the Oilers three times.
EA-WR junior Victoria Beachum has been sidelined due to a pulled groin muscle for the past couple weeks. While Beachum is improving and starting to get a couple innings of work in here and there, freshman pitcher Kaleigh Young has been taking the reins for the Oilers.
"Kaleigh is definitely not trying to step into Tori's footsteps," EA-WR head softball coach Dana Emerick said. "She's throwing a lot in the winter and she knows where she's at and where her pitches go, so she's an experienced pitcher."
Young is enjoying her chance to get varsity pitching experience.
"It's nerve-wracking as a freshman and a big spot to fill," Young said. "But it is fun as long as I'm able to perform well and fun to get some wins."
Beachum is proud of her teammate in her efforts on the mound.
"Kaleigh has been amazing," Beachum said. "She's hitting her spots really well."
In Beachum's shared duties on the mound, she racked up nine strikeouts for the Oilers, while Young contributed three.
The Oilers’ victory over the Eagles relied on Young and Beachum’s strong pitching as well as being able to produce offense at the plate.
"Today was a good win," EA-WR Coach Dana Emerick said. "Both teams are kind of beat up right now."
The Civic Memorial Eagles gave up 10 walks that resulted in six of the Oilers’ nine runs.
"I really have to tip my hat to the young lady from Bethalto," Emerick said. "She was thrown into the fire and she was battling, but I know their whole team is battling."
The Oilers have a full schedule this week, traveling to Valmeyer on Wednesday as well as games on Thursday and Friday.
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