Grant Union’s Riley Robertson slides into second base during the Lady Pros’ 16-1 victory over Nyssa on Friday, April 9, 2022.

JOHN DAY — The Grant Union softball team trailed for all of half an inning against Nyssa before rattling off 16 unanswered runs on their way to a dominant 16-1 win Saturday afternoon in John Day.

The Bulldogs struck first, scoring a single run in the top of the first inning to take a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the frame. The Lady Pros would respond by scoring a pair of runs in the bottom of the first to take a 2-1 lead. That was all the scoring the Lady Pros would need, but it wasn’t all they would get.

Powered by a Sivanna Hodge solo home run, the Lady Pros would add to their lead in the second and third innings to push their advantage to 6-1 headed into the fourth.

Then the floodgates opened. After holding the Bulldogs scoreless through the top half of the fourth, the Lady Pros would erupt to score 10 runs in the bottom of the fourth and end the game early with a 16-1 win.

The win keeps the Lady Pros perfect on the season at 11-0. The 16 runs scored in the game mark the 10th straight game the team has scored at least 10 runs and their fourth straight scoring at least 15 runs.

Once again the Lady Pros were efficient at bat, racking up 14 hits while only seeing one batter strike out on the afternoon. Riley Robertson finished a perfect 3-3 at the plate, ending the day with three RBIs and three runs scored. Hodge finished 1-3 from the plate, but her solo home run opened up the game and got the Lady Pro offense flowing.

Savannah Watterson and Raney Anderson each logged a pair of hits in the game and finished with three RBIs each. Addy Northway also finished the day with a pair of hits while driving in two runs.

Drew Williams picked up the win for the Lady Pros, pitching all four innings. Williams surrendered a single hit while striking out 10 batters in doing her part to help keep the team’s perfect record intact.

Grant Union head coach Zach Williams says Grant Union ace Drew Williams and the rest of his team have prepared themselves to be in this position for a long time.

“Drew is still young — she’s a 15-year-old sophomore — and she is definitely still getting better. She has been working with her pitching coach out of La Grande all winter, along with physical therapy and winter workouts to improve her overall strength,” Williams said.

“She has been pitching to me in the backyard since she was about 6 years old and has watched the past GU teams/players with a dream of competing for league/state championships and eventually going to college to be a pitcher.”

Williams says Drew “isn’t alone” as most of the team has spent a large portion of their childhoods competing throughout the Northwest to put themselves in the position they find themselves in.

“They show up to the ballpark loose and relaxed but ready to go to work,” he said. “I think they all truly love the game and competing, and I think that plays into their success as well.”

Williams adds that the depth of this Lady Pro squad is a huge part of why the team is currently undefeated and never truly out of a game when they find themselves trailing.

“It’s a huge part of their success so far. We have had probably seven or eight different starting lineups so far this season, and it doesn’t seem to make much difference as far as the outcome is concerned. I would say it makes coaching easy, but it also presents challenges. We have so many talented young ladies in the program, and figuring out who plays and who sits can be very stressful, but the ability to hit top to bottom in the lineup means we are never really out of a game.”

The Lady Pros’ next outing is a home doubleheader against Enterprise at Malone Field in John Day on Saturday, April 16, at noon. They then travel to Lakeview for a pair of games on Tuesday, April 19, starting at 3 p.m.