T-L Photo/KIM NORTH Martins Ferry’s Keigan Brandon (4) steals second base as Buckeye Local shortstop Lexi Neilly applies the late tag during Saturday’s 7-2 win by the host Purple Riders.

MARTINS FERRY — After a season-opening setback to Wheeling Park, Martins Ferry has now won four straight high school softball games, the latest coming Saturday afternoon on a blustery day high atop the Purple City.

Sophomore Maddie Lucas was effective both with her arm and her bat, while also turning in an outstanding catch that resulted in two outs as the Purple Riders (4-1) defeated Buckeye Local, 7-2.

“You know how first games are,” veteran Martins Ferry head coach Jerry Magistro said. “I think we’re starting to get better and better with each game. We’re still young even though we have some experienced girls. Winning early has allowed us to work on some things that we need to get better at.

“These girls have put in a lot of time, as has my coaching staff,” Magistro added. “This is a team game and that is what we are stressing.”

The Panthers (1-3) loaded the bases against Lucas in the top of the first as Maddy Roset and Karlie Lander posted back-to-back singles with one out. Danika Bauknecht then walked, but Lucas knuckled down to strike out the next batter before Tatum Walker lined out to Giana Chirpas at short.

Lucas then gave the hosts a short-lived 1-0 lead when she slammed a 1-1 pitch well over the fence in left-center.

Buckeye Local would take a 2-1 lead in the third without the benefit of a hit. With one out, Roset and Lander drew consecutive walks and both runners advanced on a wild pitch. Bauknecht’s fly ball to center was deep enough to score Roset, and Lander alertly kept running to score as the Purple Riders were caught off guard.

“We’ve battled back all week. We did it against Union Local and we did it against Indian Creek,” Magistro continued. “The girls never give up and we keep stressing that to them.”

However, the Panthers would never threaten from then on as Lucas retired 12 of the final 14 batters she faced. She yielded a one-out walk to Addison Muldrew in the fifth, but helped her own cause with a defensive gem. Missy Smith attempted to bunt but popped the ball up in front of the plate. Lucas broke from inside the circle before diving — fully extended — to catch the ball. From her knees, she threw a strike to first baseman Averi Hughes to complete the double play.

“That was one heck of a catch,” Magistro noted.

Lucas then gave up a one-out single to Bella Russell in the seventh before striking out the next two batters to end the game She finished with a dozen punchouts, four walks and three singles allowed. She threw 109 pitches, of which 75 were strikes.

Keigan Brandon, a late defensive replacement in left, came up with a superb catch in the sixth. Lander led off with a line drive down the line, but Brandon backhanded the drive while running toward the line.

“That was another outstanding defensive play,” Magistro allowed.

Chirpas doubled in a run in a three-run third as Martins Ferry took the lead for good, capitalizing on a pair of Buckeye Local errors in the frame.

Lucas then tripled home a run in another three-run uprising as the lead ballooned to 7-2 after five innings. Kendyl Brandon and Mikayla Cole had RBI singles in the inning. Cole finished with three singles. Samantha Goddard added two base hits and Abbey Snedeker had a double.

Despite the loss, Joe Soos, in his second go-round as the Panthers boss, was pleased with the effort.

“I thought we played pretty well,” Soos said. “We played solidly in the infield without our starting shortstop. It’s the next lady up sometimes. The scoreboard says 7-2. It could’ve been 3-2 or even 2-2, but that’s the breaks. Good teams find ways to win and they are well-coached and coming off a 20-win season.

“We’re still trying to find our own identity, and we will,” he added. “The girls played hard and, as a coach, that’s all I can ask of them.”