Grafton couldn't capitalize on their home-field advantage in their season opener. They fell just short of the Buckhannon-Upshur Buccaneers by a score of 8-7 on Saturday. The result was an unpleasant reminder to Grafton of the 11-3 defeat they experienced in the pair's previous head-to-head fixture back in March of 2023.
Lillie Crimm was huge while hitting and pitching even without the win. On the mound, she struck out 12 batters over eight innings while giving up three earned (and five unearned) runs off six hits. Crimm was also big at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double.
In other batting news, Italy Schommer-klebe led a balanced group of hitters, going 2-for-2 with two RBI and a double. Another player making a difference was Karigan Wildroudt, who scored a run and stole a base while going 3-for-4.
Even though they lost, Grafton didn't let batters stay on the plate for long and finished the game with 12 strikeouts. They easily outclassed their opponents in that department as Buckhannon-Upshur only tossed seven.
Like Grafton, Buckhannon-Upshur also got a great game from a two-way player: Jansen Kimble. She struck out seven batters over eight innings while giving up just one earned (and six unearned) runs off 11 hits. Kimble was also solid in the batter's box, scoring a run and stealing a base while going 1-for-5.
In other batting news, Buckhannon-Upshur let Alyssa Abel and Reagan Mason loose on the outfield. Abel scored a run and stole a base while going 2-for-5, while Mason scored a run while getting on base in three of her five plate appearances.
Buckhannon-Upshur made their fans wait, but they earned their first win of the season to make their record 1-2.
Grafton didn't take long to hit the field again: they've already played their next contest, a 12-4 loss vs. Parkersburg South on the 16th. As for Buckhannon-Upshur, they will be staying on the road on Tuesday to face off against Preston at 5:30 p.m.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps