Oak Hill’s Mahala Smith slides safely into third while Lisbon third baseman Carly Drischler awaits a throw during the Raiders’ win in Wales on Wednesday. (Wil Kramlich / Sun Journal)

WALES — Oak Hill has had no problem getting its offense warmed up, and the Raiders kept their bats rolling Wednesday against Mountain Valley Conference rival Lisbon.

After a scoreless first, the Raiders scored 10 runs in the second inning and kept their foot on the gas for a 17-4 high school softball victory over the Greyhounds.

“Oak Hill is a good softball team, there’s no doubt about it,” Lisbon coach Terri Tlumac said. “They’re fundamentally sound and they are going to hit the ball.”

The Raiders (5-0) have now scored 84 runs through their first five games — a 16.8 runs per game clip — and have plated at least 12 in each contest.

“I think, especially offensively, they are feeling very confident at the plate. So, if we can take that confidence through, I’ll take it as long as I can,” Oak Hill coach Allyson Collins said. “They’re taking it into every single game. I think they’re just feeling good about the way they’re hitting, and they’re taking that into every at-bat.”

Lisbon (1-1) starter Mallory Fairbanks worked around a leadoff hit batter in the first to keep the game 0-0 after one. She then induced a groundout to open the bottom of the second, but the next nine Oak Hill batters all reached base to quickly make an 8-0 game. After the second out, an error and back-to-back singles added two more runs.

No. 9 hitter Deanna Bauer hit a bases-clearing single for the first three runs, and Molly Flaherty later hit a bases-loaded double to plate three more.

“Any time that you can take advantage of bases loaded and make anything happen is huge, but if you can clear bases loaded, that’s uplifting and usually carries you through not only that inning, but gives you a boost for the rest of the game,” Collins said.

Tlumac said that Tuesday’s practice dealt in part with how Oak Hill was going to hit the ball hard and be aggressive on the basepaths, but the Raiders still broke out offensively.

Even when they weren’t putting the ball in play (11 hits), the Raiders showed patience by drawing eight walks.

Mahala Smith, Abby Nadeau, Miklayla Buckmore and Bauer each had two hits, with Nadeau ripping a triple in the fourth for the final Oak Hill run.

On the flip side, Lisbon’s offense struggled against Oak Hill starter Sadie Waterman for the first four innings. She allowed two ground-ball singles and walked one batter before the Greyhounds got going in the fifth.

No. 7 hitter Erica Hill (who took over for Fairbanks on the mound in the third) led off with a single, then Sarah Haggerty singled as well two batters later. Both moved up on a dropped pitch and a Giana Russo walk loaded the bases. A Fairbanks single scored a run, another came home on a wild pitch, and Kiley Merritt drove home the last two with a single of her own.

Waterman did strike out nine batters, the final one following Merritt’s hit, then a foul pop ended the game.

“Seeing them rise to that occasion and put the ball in play and continue to play softball even though we were at a significant deficit at that point, was great,” Tlumac said. “As a coach that’s exactly what I want to see, is fight in my girls.”