It was a game befitting a milestone victory, and Clay softball coach Brenda Radabaugh couldn’t have asked for a better way to earn career win No. 500 on Thursday at the Oregon municipal athletic complex.

Her Eagles used a balanced 15-hit attack, got solid pitching from sophomore left-hander Lindsay Roberts, and played errorless in the field in taking a 9-1 Three Rivers Athletic Conference win against Central Catholic.

IN PICTURES: Clay 9, Central Catholic 1

“I’ve been blessed with a lot of very talented players who have worked hard over the years, and also some outstanding assistant coaches who have helped me out,” Radabaugh said. “It’s never one person. It’s a team accomplishment.

“Also, I’m old enough now [53] to have 500 of them under my belt. It’s been a lot of fun. The kids are great, and I love coaching.”

Sophomore center fielder Tiffany Stevens led the offense by going 4 for 4 with a double and two RBIs, and senior first baseman Rebekah Yenrick went 3 for 4 with a double, triple, and an RBI.

Eight of the nine batters in Clay’s lineup had at least one hit, and the Eagles’ first four hitters in the lineup combined to go 11 for 16 against Central pitcher Abbey Calmes.

Roberts, who yielded just four hits, struck out eight Irish batters, walked two, and threw 69 of her 101 pitches for strikes for Clay (11-8, 7-1 TRAC).

Adding extra significance to the milestone was that it came against Central, where Radabaugh spent the first nine seasons (1992-2000) of her 26-year coaching career, posting a 153-58 record with the Irish.

Since taking the Clay job in 2001, Radabaugh is 347-114 in her 17th season there.

“It was a fluke that it was against Central because we’ve had so many rainouts and rescheduled games,” Radabaugh said. “But it was kind of nice to go full circle.

“A lot of people [friends and family] were hiding today because there were a lot of them that I didn’t know were here until after the game.”

At 500-172 overall, Radabaugh ranks 12th all-time among Ohio prep softball coaches, according to Ohio High School Athletic Association records. She has more wins than any other softball coach from the northwest corner of the state.

In the postgame huddle, Radabaugh was briefly taken aback as her players began to simultaneously shed their game jerseys. That was until she saw them replace the jerseys with commemorative T-shirts to mark the 500th win.

The back of the shirts paid homage to the Clay coach’s career highlights, including 11 league crowns and five district titles, with a special note at the bottom: “Thousands of lives touched … priceless.”

Clay scored in five of the six innings it batted, with the biggest rally being a four-run sixth that included five hits.

The Eagles closed that uprising with a two-run single from junior catcher Natalie Quinlan (2 for 4), Stevens’ RBI double to left-center, and sophomore second baseman Tori Gallaher’s RBI single to left.

Central’s only run came in the fifth inning, when Maddi Cochell tripled to center field and later scored on a two-out single by Dakari Parish Baker.

“It was the little hits that really got to us,” Central coach Ashley Sujkowski said of Clay’s offensive output. “Roberts is a good pitcher. We struggled to get around on her. After we saw her once [through the lineup] we started catching up with her. But it wasn’t enough, obviously.

“I played against Brenda’s teams and now I’m coaching against her. I just want to congratulate her, and her whole team, on their victory. She’s a great coach and a great person, and this is an awesome accomplishment. I wish her the best as she continues her coaching career.”

The relatively young Eagles, who are four-time defending TRAC champions, have begun to heat up after a poor start this season. They are a game behind conference leader Notre Dame, which handed Clay its only TRAC loss this season.

“Coach has taught me many things, but one of them is to always work hard because hard work beats talent,” said Yenrick, whose is in her fourth varsity season under Radabaugh. “She is always positive, and always brings a happy attitude, and everybody just feeds off it.

“It’s half a thousand wins, and that’s a big milestone. I’m happy I was part of it.”

Of the 10 players in Clay’s lineup, including Roberts in the nonbatting flex position, just two are seniors to go with three juniors, three sophomores, and two freshmen.

In the past 11-plus seasons, including a stretch in the City League (2005-11), Radabaugh’s Clay teams have gone 134-10 in league play and won eight league titles.

Contact Steve Junga at: sjunga@theblade.com, or 419-724-6461 or on Twitter @JungaBlade.

First Published April 28, 2017, 4:23 a.m.