I GOT IT … Pettisville pitcher Macy Hoylman grabs a pop-up in front of her teammate.
PHOTOS BY RACHEL NAGEL / THE VILLAGE REPORTER
LAYING IT DOWN … Delta’s Annabell Gillen tries to reach base via a bunt last Thursday versus Pettisville. VIEW PHOTOS OF THIS CONTEST FOR FREE AT WWW.THEVILLAGEREPORTER.COM
I GOT IT … Pettisville pitcher Macy Hoylman grabs a pop-up in front of her teammate.
By: Mario Gomez
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
DELTA (May 7, 2026) — You could sense this game would be a game featuring lots of runs and lots of action with the way both teams started.
But after a 3-3 first inning score, Pettisville and Delta settled into a well-played defensive contest with the pitchers taking control of the contest.
A run by Delta (5-12) in the bottom of the sixth inning was the difference in a 5-4 win for the Panthers.
“We’ve struggled getting the contact for a lot of games this season,” said Delta head coach, Corey Whitaker.
“We’ve also been leaving a lot of girls on base this season so we’ve been trying to correct that and we finally got that accomplished.
“We had a plan to try to put the ball into play early and it worked really well today. We settled down and got into our defensive stride.”
Pettisville (7-11) got off to a hot start as the game started. Ali Genter opened with a single to right field, then got into scoring position with a pair of stolen bases to put her at third.
After a strikeout, Maddy Miller reached on a fielding error by Mya Martinez that allowed Genter to come home for the first run of the game.
Miller stole second base and Macy Hoylman reached on another Delta error that allowed Miller to go to third base.
Hoylman took second base without a throw from the catcher to put two Blackbirds in scoring position.
A passed ball by the Panther catcher gave Pettisville their second run when Miller crossed the plate while Hoylman advanced to third on the play.
Bailey Booth singled to left to bring Hoylman home to take a 3-0 lead. Delta pitcher Gracyn Pelton settled down and struck out the next two hitters to end the inning.
In the bottom of the first, it was Delta’s turn to flex their muscles. Sophia Ford started the inning off with a walk and advanced to second on a passed ball.
Mackenzie Clapp made the Birds pay for the free pass when she deposited a 3-2 pitch over the left-center field fence to pull the Panthers within a run, 3-2.
It looked like Hoylman, pitching for Pettisville, would get out of the inning with the lead intact after getting the next two Panther hitters to fly out but Bridget Whitaker reached on a throwing error that left her at second base.
Pinch running for Whitaker, Lauren Lopez scooted all the way home on a single to center field by Ellie Martinez to tie the game.
Hoylman got the final out on a swinging strikeout but the Pettisville lead was gone and the score was 3-3.
Each team had threats to score, but the next three innings were dominated by solid pitching and good defense that kept the game knotted at three.
In the home half of the fourth, Delta’s Rylie Taylor reached on a single sandwiched by two outs.
Annabell Gillen smoked a rope that landed fair down the left field line that scored Taylor all the way from first to give the Panthers their first lead of the game, 4-3.
Pettisville answered in the top of the fifth. Pelton got the first out of the inning but gave up a double to Genter to start a Blackbird rally.
A sacrifice bunt by Sophie Beltz was fielded by the third baseman, Taylor, who got the out at first base but Genter was full steam running and scored all the way from second on the play to tie the game at 4.
Delta took the lead back in their half of the inning. Hoylman got the first two outs of the inning but walked Calie Mitchell to put a runner on first.
Mitchell stole second base and then scored when Whitaker singled on a slow grounder up the middle to grab a 5-4 lead.
Pelton shut the Blackbirds down in the sixth inning, getting a pair of strikeouts and a fly out but Hoylman kept pace, giving up a single but getting a double play ball to end the inning with the score intact.
Pelton got Brynn Schwartz to ground out and struck out Locke Boulton to record the first two outs of the seventh inning.
Genter came up and got a bloop single to center to keep Pettisville’s hopes alive. She then stole second and third to get the game-tying run 60 feet from home.
Beltz came up and hit a fly ball to right field but Chasity Smith was right there to get the out and secure the win for the Panthers.
“Both pitchers pitched well and got batters off balance,” said Pettisville co-head coach Chris Richer. When a ball was hit hard it was usually right at some body.
“We knew it was going to be that type of game. Their girls were into it and our girls were into it. It was a good night of softball. I was disappointed in the outcome but not in our effort.”
PHS 300 010 0 – 4 6 1
DHS 300 110 x – 5 8 4
WP- Gracyn Pelton (IP-7, R-4, H-7, K-10, BB-0)
LP- Macy Hoylman (IP-6, R-5, H-8, K-2, BB-2)
LEADING HITTERS: (Pettisville) Ali Genter – double, 2 singles; (Delta) Mackenzie Clapp – home run, 2 RBIs; Annabell Gillen – double, RBI.
