OSCODA – The Tawas Area varsity softball team swept a NEMC double header from Oscoda on Thursday winning the first game by the score of 15-5 in a six inning mercy win and then coming back to take the second game 4-0.

Nikki Stein was the winning pitcher in game one allowing five runs (three earned) on ten hits. She struck out five and walked none. Riley Shelton took the loss for the Owls.

Oscoda took an early 1-0 lead in the opening inning as Heather Spenceley tripled to open the inning then scored on an RBI single by Dana Kitchen.

The Lady Braves scored twice in the second inning to take the lead. Lyndsey Look doubled to start the inning. Katie LaHaye singled. Christie Cooper was safe on an infield single. Look attempted to score after the play but was cut down at the plate. Rachel Adaline followed with a single to score LaHaye and Cooper scored on a sacrifice by Cassie Bush for the 2-1 lead.

The Owls however came back to tie the score in the bottom of the inning as Riley Shelton led off with a triple and scored on an RBI double by Abby Samotis.

The Braves took the lead for good as they scored twice in the third on consecutive base hits by Look, LaHaye and Cooper. They would add one more in the fifth with Courtney McKenzie scoring on an RBI triple by Michelle Revord.

The Owls added a single run in the fifth on back to back doubles by Nikki Shugart and Abby Wilkerson.

Tawas put the game away in the sixth as they scored seven times with key hits by Fountain, LaHaye, Jenna Plude, Lindsey Wilson, Cassie Bush and Michelle Revord to take a 15-3 lead. The Owls would add two more in the bottom of the inning on hits by Brubaker and Spenceley, but it wouldn’t be enough as the Braves hung on for the 10-run win.

Leading hitters for Tawas were Katie LaHaye with two singles, a triple and one RBI; Lyndsey with three hits; Michelle Revord with a double, triple and four RBI; Christie Cooper with two hits and three RBI; Jill Fountain and Cassie Bush with two hits and two RBI; Courtney McKenzie with two hits; Rachel Adaline with one hit and one RBI; Jenna Plude and Lindsey Wilson with one hit each and Nikki Stein with one RBI.

For Oscoda, Heather Spenceley had a single, triple and two RBI; Dana Kitchen had two hits; Nikki Shugart, Abby Wilkerson, Heather Patterson, Riley Shelton and Abby Samotis had one hit each.

In game two it was Tawas taking a 4-0 win as Nikki Stein picked up her picked up her fourteenth win of the season. Nikki allowed no runs on three hits while striking out six and walking two. Shelton again took the loss for Oscoda.

Tawas got all the runs they would really need in game two in the second inning. Katie LaHaye opened the inning with a triple to left center. Look was safe on an error but LaHaye was unable to score. Cooper hit into a fielders choice that forced Look out at second but LaHaye scored on the play with the game’s first run. Cooper went to second on a wild pitch and advanced to third when Rachel Adaline struck out but the ball went past the catcher allowing Adaline to safely reach first. With two out, Cassie Bush was safe on an error that scored LaHaye for a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Braves added two insurance runs in the fourth. With one out, Cooper singled. Adaline followed with a single and both runners advanced a base on an error by the Owl right fielder. Cassie Bush followed with a single to score both runners with the final runs of the game.

For Tawas, Cassie Bush had one hit and two RBI; Christie Cooper had one hit and one RBI; Katie LaHaye ripped a triple and Rachel Adaline and Jill Fountain chipped in with one hit each.

For Oscoda, Riley Shelton had two hits and Nikki Shugart contributed one.

With the wins Tawas improves to 15-4 (7-3 NEMC) while Oscoda falls to 14-12 (0-10).