MARTINS FERRY’S Abby Snedeker throws to first for an out during Thursday’s game against Linsly. The Purple Riders rallied to win thanks to a walk-off home run by Snedeker. The win marked the 400th of the career of head coach Jerry Magistro, who spent 21 seasons at St. John Central in Bellaire before taking the Purple Riders job.

MARTINS FERRY – The third time was definitely a charm for Martins Ferry’s softball team, especially head coach Jerry Magistro.

After winning their first 10 games of the season to put the veteran bench boss at career win No. 399. However, a 2-game losing streak put the celebration on hold, but Abby Snedeker prevented the skid from increasing and, with one mighty swing of the bat, presented Magistro with the coveted 400th victory.

The freshman second baseman launched a 3-run drive over the fence in center field with one out Thursday night, lifting the Purple Riders (11-2) to a come-from-behind, 7-4, victory over visiting Linsly and a split on the day.

“The only thing I can say about this, don’t get me wrong because I’m happy I’ve got this (400 wins), is I’ve got a lot of people to thank over the years, and there were a lot of people behind that,” Magistro said while handing out kudos. “From assistant coaches and their hard work to the players. The main reason a coach can win so many games is because of the players. I’ve been blessed to have a bunch of great girls.

“These 400 wins represent a lot of hours put in during practices preparing for games,” Magistro added. “I’m happy that we were able to come back and get that win. I’m proud of them.”

Prior to Magistro achieving his milestone, the Cadets (8-8) collected a 9-8 win in 10 innings. The game was suspended due to darkness last week after nine innings with the scored deadlocked at 8.

After retiring Martins Ferry in order in the top of the 10th, winning pitcher Baeleigh Burwell tripled to the corner in right and scored on Alyssa Tomlinson’s single to right.

“That was exciting,” Linsly head coach Paul Recrosio said of the win in the completed game. “We got the timely hits when we needed them.”

In the second game, Ella McFarland reached first when her fly ball to center was dropped leading off the bottom of the seventh. Kaylynn Zinn reached on an infield single and both runners moved up a base on a wild pitch. With one out, Snedeker sent an 0-2 offering out of the park which ignited a wild celebration by the Purple Riders.

“Abbey has the power to do what she just did,” Magistro said while recalling the walk-off circuit shot. “She works hard on her hitting, whether it’s in the gym or outside. She puts in a lot of time.”

Taylor Bell gave the Purple Riders a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of the regularly scheduled contest with a 1-out double to right-center.

Linsly took advantage of some poor fielding by Martins Ferry in the third, scoring four times on four singles and a like number of Purple errors.

That would be all the offense for the Cadets as Martins Ferry’s Kelsey Gillespie settled into a groove. She retired 14 of the final 16 Cadets she faced. She finished with two strikeouts and no base on balls on 76 pitches, with 56 being strikes.

“Kelsey came through. I know she was disappointed with the one-inning loss earlier today, but she came back and pitched even better. She’s not a big girl, but she is gutsy.”

Recrosio was pleased with the way his team competed in the second game.

“We had a fair amount of baserunners,” he noted. “We hit the ball hard … right at them some of the time, but we put the barrel on the ball. What else can you do? I can’t put any blame on the girls for hitting the ball hard, sometimes the softball Gods just aren’t with you.”

Danielle Lude had five singles in the two games for Martins Ferry. She also made a handful of sparkling defensive plays at short. Kaylynn Zinn had two singles after homering and driving in three in the first game. Alexis Finley had two of Linsly’s seven singles in the second game.

Burwell and Tomlinson each had three hits in the first game.

GAME NOTE

– Magistro was presented with a nice plaque with his wins broken down between St. John Central and Martins Ferry. In 19 seasons leading the Irish, Magistro amassed 347 victories from 2001-2019. He picked up win No. 54 at Martins Ferry last night in his third season.

– The Purple Riders are the two-time defending OVAC Class 3A champions. They are also the top seed.