photo by: Andrew Grimm

The Oak Glen Golden Bears, pictured with the Class AA Region 1 Championship after defeating St. Marys on Wednesday.

NEW MANCHESTER — For the third time in four years, the Oak Glen softball team is headed to the state tournament.

Coming into Tuesday with a chance to sweep the Class AA Region 1 Championship Series, the Golden Bears plated six runs with two outs in the bottom of the second inning on the way to an 8-2 series-clinching victory over defending Class A state champion St. Marys.

“I’m very proud of the girls,” Oak Glen head coach Sherrie Garner. “It means everything to us. The seniors talked to the underclassmen coming into the season and told them the best time of their life was going to the state tournament and they wanted to repeat that with these girls, so it’s a great opportunity for them.

“It’s a true privilege to manage the high school softball team my alma mater and get to coach these girls. They put a lot of time in year-round and we have a lot of great support from the parents, community, school, we have great facilities. I’m just very appreciative.”

After a 1-0 win in Game 1, and two strong pitchers in the circle, it felt like all there were all the makings of another tight contest. The six runs in the bottom of the second inning changed that in a hurry.

And, the Golden Bears (27-10) taking that lead proved to be more than enough for sophomore ace Mattie Carney to work with as she fanned 14 batters and walked just one for her second complete game victory in as many days.

It culminated in Oak Glen, which also won the OVAC Class 4A and Section 1 titles, ending its final game of the season on its new turf field hoisting another trophy.

After Carney got a strikeout to strand runners on second and third in the top of the first and worked around a one-out double in the second to strand three St. Marys (26-7) runners in scoring position in the first two innings, the Golden Bears took full advantage of their first big chance to get runs across in the bottom half.

Mikalyn Balch started the big inning by drawing a bases-loaded walk with two outs, bringing the top of the order back around. Riley Bruce and Addie Smith then smacked back-to-back RBI singles to make it 3-0.

Balch then scored on a passed ball before Carney helped her own cause with a two-run knock before the Devils could get out of the inning.

“It helped us feel more comfortable,” Garner said of the early runs. “It allowed us to have confidence on defense and behind Mattie, it gave us some security.

“Our motto from the beginning was grit and grind, because we knew it was going to take that, we knew what we were up against trying to get out of this section and region. We knew we would have to battle to get where we wanted to be (and it showed scoring the runs with two outs).

“We established that mindset of having to battle and not giving up real early on and I think our tough schedule led these girls to where they’re at.”

St. Marys got on the board in the third with a two-out RBI single from Brylee McGrady, who beat out a throw on a close play to score Ayssa Winland, who had hit a two-out double.

In the fourth, Landry Riggs doubled and scored when Addie McGrady singled with two outs, but a heads up play by the Oak Glen infield got her out going to second base to end the threat.

From there, Carney put up zeroes, striking out two each in the fifth and seventh and fanning the side in the sixth.

Not that she needed it, but the Oak Glen bats gave Carney a little more breathing room with two more runs in the sixth on an RBI single from Neveah Heath and a two-out bases-loaded walk drawn by Smith for the final margin.

St. Marys’ Cali Masters, who was captain of the all-state team a spring ago and entered the series with an ERA of less than one, finished her decorated career with 10 strikeouts.

The Golden Bears will look to go for a fourth trophy this season when they make the trek to Little Creek Park in South Charleston for the state tournament next week. The double elimination event is slated to be played May 28-31.