The bats were back for Grand Oaks Wednesday afternoon. But it was about as gut-wrenching of a finish as it can get.
Oak Ridge battled back from five runs down in the sixth and three runs down in the seventh as it finished things off with a walk-off homer for a 13-11 District 13-6A home win.
Grand Oaks (13-5, 3-3) has dropped three straight district games while Oak Ridge (13-5, 3-2) is back in business after dropping two straight.
Ella Boyer had two massive homers for the War Eagles as she hit a grand slam in the sixth and the winning two-run shot in the seventh. She totaled six RBIs on a 2-for-5 day.
Macy Browning totaled three RBIs, none bigger than the tying solo homer in the sixth after Boyer’s grand slam. She was 3-for-4 with a double in the first inning.
After falling 2-1 Tuesday afternoon to Conroe with just five hits, the Grizzlies perked up at the plate with 16 hits against the War Eagles.
The top seven batters in the order each had an RBI.
In a critical moment, Grand Oaks senior Ava Butler gave her team the lead back in the top of the seventh with a solo homer. Larissa Tavares and Kaitylnn Torres followed with singles. Tavares scored on an E4 and Kiley Milligan hit an RBI double to left to make it 11-8.
Ava Butler (00) homered in the seventh inning for Grand Oaks. (Jose Palomo/SportCast Media)
Taveres started the game with a solo homer and Mayce Burkett made it 2-0 on an RBI single that scored Torres.
Oak Ridge tied it up in the bottom of the inning, but Grand Oaks went up 5-2 in the second as Butler and Torres each had RBI doubles and Milligan singled in a run.
The 5-2 score held until the top of the fifth when Ella Brown homered to make it 6-2 Grizzlies.
Oak Ridge got that run back in the bottom of the inning before Milligan added an RBI on a sacrfice and Amira Abukhzam singled in a run to make it 8-3.
Victoria Hernandez pitched a bulk of the game with 5 ⅔ innings logged. She allowed one earned run with nine hits allowed. She struck out one and walked two.
Oak Ridge swept the Grizzlies last year and have now won three straight in the rivalry series. The War Eagles hold a 7-2 advantage in the all-time series.
Grand Oaks has a district bye next Tuesday, but has a scheduled game with HYCA Wednesday at home (6 p.m.). The Grizzlies return to district action March 21 at home against Willis.
Grand Oaks softball players are seen during a pitching change March 12, 2025 against Oak Ridge. (Jose Palomo/SportCast Media)
