Contributed ANOTHER RECORD — Madonna junior Madi Owens blasted her state-leading 12th homer of the season Tuesday, breaking her own program record.

WEIRTON — The Madonna softball team is potent offensively, and the Blue Dons can deliver a big inning at any time.

That big inning came in the top of the first against Brooke as Madonna plated four runs on five hits, and the Blue Dons did not look back en route to defeating the Bruins, 8-3 Tuesday evening at Starvaggi Park.

“We play four quality teams this week, and we passed the first test,” Madonna (14-3) head coach Jason Backel said. “Peyton (Conley) pitched very well today. The Rado girl pitched for Brooke and she is a very-good pitcher. We only had one strikeout today. I asked the girls to put the ball in play, and they did that. We had 11 hits.

“The top of the order was key. We got a couple of bunts down. Our first two girls bunted. Then, we had Madi and Kendal come up and make contact. We had runners in scoring position. On our first two plays, I asked the girls to bunt. We bunted and we had a runner in scoring position. When that happens, the pitcher has to throw strikes to those two who cause havoc. Madi hit a double to the fence.

“I was very pleased with our batters. We put the ball in play. Rylee Birkhimer had two big hits for us. She had a triple, and then scored on an error. Everybody contributed. To only have one strikeout in a seven inning game is fantastic. I will take that every day.

“We made a couple of baserunning mistakes at the end of the game, but we will get that cleaned up. Brooke is a quality team. They keep getting better every year. They are in 4A in the OVAC. They have beaten some good teams. They have beaten some quality programs. They beat Harrison Central and Harrison Central is always good. This was a big win for Madonna.”

Leading the charge offensively for the Blue Dons is junior standout shortstop Madi Owens who hit her school-record 12th home run of the season against Brooke. Owens broke the record she set last season with 11. Owens hit one long ball as freshman giving her a total of 24 in her illustrious career.

Owens ended up with a double to go along with her home run – both of which were hit to centerfield – while scoring twice and driving in three runs. She was also hit by a pitch and stole a base.

She ranks in the top three in the state homers, RBIs, slugging percentage, on base percentage and batting average, leading all players in all classes in homers and RBIs.

“If you remember that first year, Madi got hurt playing basketball, and she missed 80 percent of the season,” Backel said. “Her first game that season was against Cameron in an OVAC Semifinal, and in that game, she hit a grand slam in the fifth or sixth inning. That was a glimpse of what we were going to see in the next couple of years. She keeps improving. One thing I am happy about is she has gotten better defensively. She has improved on defense. She does not strikeout. She hits the ball hard. Teams have gotten smart and they have tried to pitch around her, but she is patient and she is disciplined. A big thing is when we get those first couple of girls on in front of her, it makes a different because the pitcher has to throw strikes. They can’t pitch around her. Then behind her, you have Elaina (Foresha), Kendal (Ryan) and Rylee (Birkhimer), and those three girls are pounding the ball.”

Peyton Conley collected the win inside the circle for Madonna. Conley struck out eight while walking three. Conley also helped her own cause at the plate as the sophomore collected two singles and a double, she scored two runs and stole a base.

“Peyton pitched very well,” Backel said. “She mixed up her pitches. She kept them off-balance. They had a few hard-hit balls. They had some just fall in there. Peyton pitched extremely well. She mixed up her changeup, her curveball and her fastball. She pitched great. She pitched great against Martins Ferry. She kept us in that game. We had a couple of errors in the game. We had a couple bad errors.”

Avery Rado took the loss for Brooke (10-13). She struck out one while walking one.

The hosts tallied 11 hits in the win – four of which went for extra bases. The visitors recorded seven hits – all of which were singles.

Though she did give up a single, Conley was able to keep the Bruins off the scoreboard in the first setting the stage for her team’s big inning in the bottom half of it.

Conley led off the inning with a single, and she advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by Geena Birkhimer before scoring on Owens’ double to make it 1-0. Kendal Ryan followed with a single to left scoring Owens to increase Madonna’s advantage to 2-0. After a pop-up, Rylee Birkhimer ripped a triple to left scoring Ryan, and she came around to score on an error to make the score, 4-0.

Neither team scored in the next two innings before the Bruins got a run back in the fourth. Jaz Wood walked to start the inning, and she stole second base to move into scoring position. Gabby Hornick then singled moving Wood to third before she scored on a single by Michel to cut Brooke’s deficit down to 4-1, however, a double play ended the inning.

The Blue Dons extended their advantage in the home half of the inning. Tina Littleton led off the inning by getting hit by a pitch, she advanced to third on a double by Conley and scored on a sacrifice fly by Geena Birkhimer to make it a 5-1 ballgame. Then, Owens launched her home run to center scoring Conley to make it, 7-1.

Brooke countered with a run in the fifth. After back-to-back strikeouts to start the inning, the Green-and-Gold tallied a run on three-straight singles to make the score, 7-2. Eden McKinney contributed the first single, and she advanced to second on a single by Rado. Then with two runners on, Wood singled to center scoring McKinney and Rado advanced to third on the throw while Wood moved up to second. Brooke had two runners in scoring position with two outs, however, Conley induced a groundout to get out of the inning without any more damage being done.

McKinney collected two singles in the game for Brooke, while Maggie Diserio delivered one.

For Madonna, Geena Birkhimer recorded a single to go along with her RBI on the sacrifice fly, while Elaina Foresha and Kayleigh Gamble each finished with a single.

“The bottom of order was big today,” Backel said. “We were able to turn the order over. They got on base whether it was a walk or a base hit. They had some nice-hit balls. They had some groundouts. They were able to get on the base and turn the order over. Our first four girls are all hitting between .400 and .600. Madi is hitting over .600. Madi has hit six home runs in our last seven games. She just missed hitting two home runs today. That first one hit the fence.”

Madonna is scheduled to play Toronto at 5 p.m. today at home.

“We play Cameron on the road Friday,” Backel said. “Cameron is a good team. Their record does not indicate how good of a team they are. They are very good. Then, we play Burgettstown Saturday. They are 7-5. They’re always good. I told our coaches that if we go 4-1 this week, the week would be a success. We are 2-0 now, and we play Toronto tomorrow. We have a chance to go 5-0 going into the OVAC cutoff.”

Brooke is slated to play John Marshall at 5:30 p.m. today on the road.

Madonna 7, Brooke 2

Brooke 000 110 0 – 2 7 1

Madonna 400 300 X – 7 11 0

BROOKE (10-13): Rado LP (1K, 1BB) and Diserio. Diserio S, McKinney 2S; Rado S; Wood S, RBI; Hornick S, Michel S, RBI.

MADONNA (14-3): Conley WP (8K, 3BB) and Foresha. Conley 2S, D; G. Birkhimer S, RBI; Owens D, HR, 3 RBI; Ryan S, RBI; Foresha S; R. Birkhimer S, T, RBI; Gamble S.