Hannah Buniak didn’t waste any time.

On the very first pitch of the bottom of the 10th inning, Buniak crushed a towering drive to left field, bringing home Kaylie Rivera—who began the inning on second base—and sending Union Catholic into celebration with a dramatic 4–3 walk-off victory over Oak Knoll on Saturday in Scotch Plains.

After battling through nine tightly contested innings, Union Catholic needed just one swing to end it—and Buniak delivered. Her titanic blast would have been a home-run, but since Rivera had already scored the game-winning run ahead of Buniak, the hit goes down as one of the longest singles you will ever see.  

The Vikings had been chasing the game from the start. Oak Knoll struck quickly in the first inning by scoring all three of their runs. 

Rivera answered right back in the bottom half of the inning, blasting a solo home run to center to get the Vikings on the board and spark some life into the lineup.

From there, the game settled into a pitcher’s duel. Union Catholic starter Valentina Jimenez worked through three innings, limiting further damage after the early surge, before handing things off to Brooklyn Daikalo. The reliever was outstanding, shutting down Oak Knoll over the next seven innings. Daikalo allowed just two hits, struck out 12, and walked one to earn the victory as she kept Union Catholic within striking distance.

Still trailing 3-1 late, the Vikings finally broke through in the seventh. Jimenez had an RBI single, and Bella Donnelly followed with a clutch double with two outs to even the score at 3–3, forcing extra innings.

Both teams threatened but couldn’t break through in the eighth and ninth, setting the stage for the decisive 10th. With Rivera placed on second to start the inning, the Vikings were immediately in position.

One pitch later, the game was over.

Union Catholic finished with 10 hits, with Donnelly and Belina Pardo each collecting two. Rivera, Buniak, Donnelly, and Jimenez all drove in runs in a balanced offensive effort.