By: Elliot Schneider
THE VILLAGE REPORTER
publisher@thevillagereporter.com
ARCHBOLD (May 16, 2025) – The Oak Harbor Rockets earned a hard fought non-league win against the Archbold Bluestreaks on Friday night, led by their ace Morgan Lalonde.
Lalonde was dominant on the mound for the Rockets, only giving up one earned run on five total hits, securing six strikeouts through her seven innings pitched.
Archbold’s Makena Thiel also had a solid outing in the circle, as she also only gave up five hits, but gave up four earned runs with nine strikeouts.
The first inning saw the Rockets immediately threaten to put points on the board, as Karder Haas and Lalonde both reached base on singles to center.
Instead of capitalizing, an infield fly out and ground out on back to back at bats ended the inning for the Rockets.
Meanwhile, the Bluestreaks didn’t threaten much offense in the first, as they went three up and three down, with Lalonde picking up a strikeout in the inning.
The Rockets followed with a three up and three down second inning, with Thiel picking up two strikeouts in the inning, as both pitchers looked to stamp their impact on the game early.
The Bluestreaks second inning wasn’t much better than their previous, as Tess Ames was the only player to reach base, when she singled to left.
The Rockets saw their first three batters retired again in the third, struggling to generate any offense against Thiel.
The Bluestreaks third inning saw them enter the scoring column. Charlee Forward led off the inning with a single to center, followed by a sac bunt from Daylin Bosco, putting Forward on second with one out.
Adi Kinsman followed with a sac fly to right, allowing Forward to tag up to third, bringing Thiel to the plate with two outs and the leading run on third.
Thiel delivered with a single up the middle, plating Forward and giving the Bluestreaks a 1-0 lead through three innings played.
That lead did not last long, as Oak Harbor’s Hannah Schimmoeller drilled a solo home run in the top of the fourth, evening the score at 1-1.
The Bluestreaks fourth inning was similar to their second, as Ames was again the only batter to reach base, when she singled to center.
The fifth inning wasn’t much better for the Rockets, as Ava Geyer was the only batter to reach base, when she was walked.
The Bluestreaks followed with a three up and three down fifth inning, as both pitchers remained dominant throughout, leaving the score at one apiece.
Both teams had three up and three down sixth innings, as the pitching duel continued entering the seventh, indicating a strong offensive inning would be needed to earn this win.
The Rockets did just that, by capitalizing on the Bluestreaks mistakes. Haylee Robinson and Kaitlyn Meloche both reached base on errors to start the inning.
Addison Laubacher then laid down a one out sac bunt, but due to a third straight error from the Bluestreaks, she reached base safely. Robinson and Meloche were both able to cross home plate on the same error, giving the Rockets a 3-1 lead.
Followed by a walk, Karder Haas then hit a bases loaded single, plating Laubacher, and giving the Rockets a 4-1 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.
The Bluestreaks were unable to generate any runs in the seventh, giving Oak Harbor the 4-1 win in a game that went to the wire.
OHHS 000 100 3 – 4 5 1
AHS 001 000 0 – 1 5 4
Records: OHHS 19-5; AHS 15-6
WINNING PITCHER: Lalonde (7 innings, 5 hits, 1 run, 6 strikeouts, 0 walks)
LOSING PITCHER: Thiel (7 innings, 5 hits, 4 runs, 9 strikeouts, 3 walks)
LEADING HITTERS: (Oak Harbor) Schimmoeller – home run, RBI; Haas – 2 singles, RBI; Haas – 2 singles, RBI; (Archbold) Thiel – single, RBI; T. Ames – 2 singles