By Dee Grenert Sports Editor
PLYMOUTH — Plymouth’s softball team saved its best offensive execution for the bottom of the seventh inning.
Olivia Keilman’s one-out RBI single capped off four straight productive at-bats and gave the host Pilgrims a 3-2 walkoff win over South Bend Riley Monday.
The Pilgrims, who lost each of their first two games of the season by double digits, made their first mark in the win column against a Riley team that swept a doubleheader from highly-regarded CGA over the weekend.
“We played very well today,” Plymouth head coach Ed Kelso said. “It’s good for these girls to get a win, especially against a good team. I told them that the only bad thing is we don’t have a game tomorrow.”

With the game tied 2-2, Plymouth’s Mary Byelick opened the bottom of the seventh with a hard grounder through the hole at short. Left-handed slugger Jessica Centa — at the plate in a classic bunt situation — swung away and fouled off the first offering before legging out a bunt single to put runners at first and second with nobody out.
“I told Jessica, ‘If Mary gets on, you get one swing, after that you’re bunting,’” Kelso said. “She laid down the bunt right where we wanted her to; the pitcher was falling off to one side and Jessica beat it out.”
Lyzz Smith then sacrificed the runners to second and third, and Keilman laced Jenni Martin’s 1-1 delivery into left field to plate Byelick with the winning tally.
“Lyzz laid down a bunt, and then Olivia got the big hit,” Kelso said. “I couldn’t have drawn it up any better. When you do the little things, good things happen.”
Freshman Tiffany Buchanan worked three scoreless innings in relief of Ashleah Wheat for her first varsity win. After inheriting a bases-loaded, nobody-out mess in the fifth, the rookie induced a 5-2-4 twin killing and a lineout to second to emerge unscathed.
“Bases loaded, nobody out — welcome for my freshman,” Kelso said with a laugh. “She just came in and threw strikes.
“Our pitchers did a great job today,” he added. “Ashleah was still pitching well. It was the third time through the order, so we decided to make the change.”
However, the game started inauspiciously for the Pilgrims. Riley scored two first-frame runs — one unearned — on three hits, including run-scoring singles from Kylie Segner and Mallory Armstead, and two errors. The Wildcats, who left 11 runners on base, filled the sacks with one out and the 2-0 edge, but a strikeout and lineout ended the chance for a big inning.
“Resilience,” Kelso said. “It’s a credit to the kids that they overcame the first inning. At the start of the second inning I told them ‘We can’t do that anymore. We can’t give them any more runs.’ I’m not saying my telling them that is the reason we didn’t give up any more runs. They just showed a lot of resilience.”
With Riley still up 2-0, Katie Weldy clubbed a fourth-inning leadoff triple. The next batter laid down a bunt that first baseman Smith fielded, checked the runner at third and threw to Stacy Vervynckt for the out at first. Vervynckt then cut Weldy down trying to score on the back end of the play.
“We turned two double plays today, exactly as we’ve been practicing,” Kelso said. “It’s repetition, repetition. I think today they see the reason for all that repetition.”
Plymouth, which stranded five runners in scoring position through the first four innings, tied the game with a two-out rally in the fifth. Smith, Keilman and Kelsey Millea strung together back-to-back-to-back two-out singles. Smith scored on Millea’s hit and Keilman crossed the plate with the tying run on a wild pitch.
Keilman, Millea and Kelsey Hartman recorded two hits apiece for Plymouth.
Kayley Brewer went 4-for-4 in the leadoff slot for the Wildcats.
Plymouth attempts to reach .500 when it hosts John Glenn Thursday.
• PLYMOUTH 3,
  RILEY 2
At Plymouth
Riley:         2 0 0   0 0 0   0 – 2  8  0
Plymouth: 0 0 0   0 2 0   1 – 3  9  4
Jenni Martin (L) and Alli Catanzarite; Ashleah Wheat, Tiffany Buchanan (5, W) and Jessica Centa.
3B: Katie Weldy (R).
Records: Riley 4-2, Plymouth 1-2.