WEIRTON – This time Danica Holden supplied the pitching for the Oak Glen softball team while the team’s regular battery took care of the hitting against Hancock County foe Madonna.

Holden went the distance striking out 11, and the Golden Bears outhit the Blue Dons by six en route to a 5-0 victory Monday evening down at Starvaggi Park.

Holden limited Madonna to just four hits on her way to picking up the win.

“Dani threw really well,” Oak Glen (15-9) head coach Sherrie Garner said. “She had 11 strikeouts, and we made the plays behind her. She pitched well. I am proud of her. She was able to hold runners on base, and she was able to get out of innings. Our defense supported her well.”

Mattie Carney contributed three doubles, two RBI, two runs and a stolen base to lead the way offensively for Oak Glen.

“Mattie got on base three out of four times,” Garner said. “She put the ball to the ball. That’s all we ask of everybody. Put the ball in play and things happen.”

Catcher Nevaeh Heath tallied two singles and two RBI to help the Golden Bears’ cause.

“She was able to get on base a couple of times, and she had two RBI,” Garner said. “She provided support with her RBIs. Mattie had two RBI as well. She was able to get on base. She made good contact. They used multiple pitchers, and that is always a battle. They changed speeds. We were able to make adjustments.

“You have to be able to make adjustments. You are going to see different pitchers. You are going to see different speeds tomorrow and the next day and they next day. You have to make adjustments. Our girls did a good job.”

Oak Glen is the latest tough opponent Madonna has played this season, and games like the one against the Golden Bears will help the Blue Dons in the upcoming postseason.

“Oak Glen is another tough team, and that is OK,” Madonna (17-5) head coach Jason Backel said. Danica Holden pitched really well. She threw well. She hit her spots. She good location on her pitches. She has a nice changeup. She was solid.

“We’re getting ready for next week. Next week is our focus. It is not that we don’t want to win these games. We have three games this week. I believe the seeding for the regionals comes out Thursday.

“Our defense played extremely well. They scored five runs in the first three innings, and then we shut them out in the last four innings. We did a very good job. Sherrie does a nice job.”

Madonna used two pitchers in the game. Kendal Ryan started in the circle, and she was saddled with the loss. Ryan struck out one and walked one in her three innings of work. She was replaced by Peyton Conley to start the fourth. Conley went on to finish the game striking out three while walking one in her four innings of relief work.

The Golden Bears struck first in the top of the first inning. Mikalyn Balch and Brayley Lash reached on back-to-back singles to center to start the inning, before both runners stole a base to give them two runners in scoring position. Then, Carney doubled to left scoring Balch and Lash to give Oak Glen an early 2-0 advantage. Next, Heath singled to left scoring Carney to give the visitors a 3-0 lead. Danica Holden followed with a single for Oak Glen’s fifth hit in the inning, however, Madonna was able to get out of the inning without any more runs being scored thanks to a pop-up and a groundout.

“It’s good for everybody,” Garner said about playing with the lead as compared to playing from behind. “It is good for the pitcher. You are able to work with the lead. It takes some of the pressure off.”

Oak Glen extended its advantage in the third. Lash walked to lead off the inning, and she advanced to third on Carney’s second double of the game to put two runners in scoring position. Once again, Heath came through as the catcher singled to left to score Lash increasing Oak Glen’s advantage to 4-0. Then, Carney scored when she stole home as part of a double-steal attempt to give the Golden Bears a 5-0 lead. The other runner was thrown out at second on the play and a pair of groundouts ended the inning.

“We like to play some smallball, but it is tough to play smallball when you are down by five runs,” Backel said. “It is a little more difficult to do that in that situation. You only have a few innings left. You need to get some timely hits, and not rely on moving runners around with bunts.

“I am proud of the girls. We are 17-5. We have faced two excellent pitchers in our last two games. This is why we scheduled these games. We don’t back down. Hat’s off to Oak Glen.

“There is nothing I would like better seeing next week in the regionals for the three Hancock County schools to make it down to Charleston. I would love to see Madonna, Weir High and Oak Glen make it to the state tournament. That would be great to see. I think Weir and Oak Glen will be on opposite sides of the brackets.”

Madi Owens doubled to left with one out in the fourth to recorded Madonna’s first hit, but the standout shortstop was stranded at third thanks to a groundout and Holden’s eight strikeout of the game.

“Madi is a good hitter,” Garner said. “Mikalyn Balch made a fantastic catch on that one ball. We got her out on a flyball and a groundout, and she had two fantastic hits. She’s one you worry about. She is one you want to work around. We were able to pitcher to her. It is a credit to our girls. They made some plays. They were able to back up their pitcher.”

The victors missed out on a golden opportunity to score in the fifth. Carney led off the inning with her third double of the day, she advanced to third on a groundout, however, she was out at the plate trying to score on a groundball. Holden, who reached on the fielder’s choice, moved to second when Macy Hartung reached on an error, however, both runners were stranded thanks to a flyout to right.

Madonna ended up missing out on a scoring opportunity in the home half of the inning. Rylee Birkhimer singled to right to start the inning, and she advanced to second on an one-out single by Brea Birkhimer. Tina Littleton then reached on an error to load the bases, however, Holden was able to bear down and escape the inning unscathed thanks to a fielder’s choice and her ninth K of the evening.

“We came home to get an out, and then we were able to make an out at first,” Garner said. “We were able to work our way out of a pickle. That was a good test for us. We are going to focus on next week with the regionals upcoming. We are going to have some tests next week. We played Madonna today, we have Morgantown tomorrow and we have picked up Monroe Central for a game at 1 p.m. Saturday at home.

Owens led off the bottom of the sixth with a single to left for Madonna, and she moved up to second when Ryan reached on an error giving the Blue Dons a pair of baserunners. With one out, both runners advanced a base on a groundout, however, Holden was able to get out of the inning without allowing a run thanks to a groundout to Last at shortstop.

“We looks for opportunities to give Holden a chance to pitch,” Garner said. “She is definitely capable. We knew we have back-to-back games, and we wanted to share the load. She is a great pitcher. She performs well. She works hard. She did her job. She competes.”

Madonna was down to its final chance in the seventh, and the Blue Dons got a runner on base when Littleton reached on an error with one out, however, a double play ended the inning and the game.

“It was the same thing with Conotton Valley – we just could not get the timely hits,” Backel said. “We had bases loaded with one out, and we had a groundout and a strikeout. We did not get the timely hit when we needed it.”

Balch collected two singles in the win for the Golden Bears.

Madonna is scheduled to play Southern Local at 5 p.m. today on the road.

“We are busy this week,” Backel said. “We play Southern Local, Toronto and then Linsly. Our week is full. We have three more games to get ready for next week. We have won 17 games. The only problem with all that success is you don’t get to learn from your failures. We have learned a lot from our last couple of games. We are going to be ready for next week. We have played a lot of emotional games. We played the OVAC Semifinal, the OVAC Final and now this game with one of our rivals in Oak Glen.”

Oak Glen is slated to play Morgantown today at 6:30 p.m. on the road.

“We have grown in the capacities we have needed to,” Garner said. “We had a fantastic season last year. We have different personnel this year. Beaver Local is a good team. We were disappointed we weren’t able to win the OVACs, but we want to make a run in regionals next week. We want the girls to learn their strengths and weaknesses. We want to improve every day. We have had some time off, and we have spent time trying to refocus on the fundamentals. We want to clean up some plays. We have been working on the little things. We want to focus.

“We are playing back-to-back games. We want to test the girls. We are going to have to play back-to-back games. We have had to deal with some injuries. Mattie Carney was injured. We want to refocus our personnel. We lost some personnel from last year, but also have had some new personnel because of us having to deal with some injuries. It is 90 percent mental and 10 percent physical. We are trying to work on the part above the shoulders. The girls know the game. They have played the game for years. They stick around after games. It is a great collaboration. They know the other girls from playing travel ball. They want to compete. They want to win. They want to have success.”

Oak Glen 5, Madonna 0

Oak Glen 302 000 0 – 5 10 3

Madonna 000 000 0 – 0 4 1

OAK GLEN (15-9): D. Holden WP (11K, 0BB) and Heath. Balch 2S; Lash 2S; Carney 3D, 2RBI; Heath 2S, 2RBI; D. Holden S.

MADONNA (17-5): Ryan LP (3IP, 1K, 1BB), Conley (4IP, 3K, 1BB) and Foresha. Owens S, D; R. Birkhimer S; B. Birkhimer S.