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Lafayette’s Sydney Cregar pitches against Oxford in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Lafayette won 9-1. (©Bruce Newman)

Cindy Bigham throws out the ceremonial first pitch before the Oxford vs. Lafayette game in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

Oxford’s Mhina Balthrop (18) is tagged out by Lafayette's Caroline Wilson (24) trying the steal by Lafayette second baseman Caroline Wilson in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

Lafayette’s Mary Bennett (17) is safe at third as Oxford’s Lindsey Gillis awaits the throw in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

Lafayette’s Sara Jane Wilburn (6) scores against Oxford in Oxford, Miss. on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (©Bruce Newman)

Lafayette softball cruised to a 9-1 victory over Crosstown rival Oxford on Tuesday behind a huge performance from Sydney Cregar in the circle and at the plate.

The eighth grader tossed six shutout innings for the Lady Commodores before giving up a solo home run to Addy Shorter in the top of the seventh that gave the Lady Chargers a consolation run.

Cregar allowed just four batters to reach base through the first six frames as she mowed through the Oxford lineup for three complete turns before giving up the lone run in the seventh.

She also got it done at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a pair of doubles, an RBI and two runs scored.

The standout performance marked the second straight year that Cregar registered a win over Oxford after getting a victory in relief over the Chargers last year with three shutout innings.

“I think [playing] the teams that we played throughout the year helps her do that,” Lafayette head coach Greg Lewis said of Cregar’s outing. “She thrives in that situation, it doesn’t bother her, it didn’t bother her the whole time when she was throwing against DeSoto Central, Hernando; she just goes in there and tries to do her job.”

Eighth grader Paisley Walls drew the start in the circle for Oxford, giving up five runs on six hits in 2 1/3 innings as she struggled to find ways to effectively attack the Commodores’ batters.

“I’m not gonna take away from what Lafayette did, I mean Lafayette hit the ball well. No matter where we put the ball over the plate they hit and that’s what good teams do,” said Oxford head coach Tabitha Beard. “You can’t always put that on your pitching — I mean we made a couple mistakes and we helped them but I’m not gonna take away from the fact that Lafayette had a great approach in the box and they swung the bat well.”

Oxford now turns their attention to the playoffs, where they face off against Clinton in the first round this weekend.

Lafayette, meanwhile, travels to Corinth next week as they close out their regular season against the Warriors before heading into the playoffs as Region 2-5A champions.

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