BEREA, Ohio — The Marietta College softball team entered Saturday (April 11) afternoon's doubleheader at Baldwin-Wallace College alone in first place in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) standings. The Pioneers, winners of 13 straight games, were upended twice, however, by the league's other hot team, the Yellow Jackets, who stretched their win streak to 10 games with 3-2 and 8-3 victories.
The losses dropped Marietta's record to 20-8 overall and 7-3 in the OAC. Baldwin-Wallace improved to 20-8 overall and 6-2 in the league. The Pioneers fell into a tie for third place in the Conference with Muskingum and behind both Baldwin-Wallace and Ohio Northern, who are now tied for first place.
Marietta trailed 3-0 in game one after the Yellow Jackets plated one run in the third and two more runs in the fourth. Senior Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) belted a two-out single in the sixth to get the Pioneers' offense started. McComb stole second and then scored on an error from the shortstop a play later to put Marietta on the board. Head Coach Jeanne Arbuckle's squad, however, did not get any closer and fell 3-1.
McComb's single was one of only two Pioneer hits in the opener. Senior Erin Faulkner (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg) (Wheelersburg) had the other with a single in the third.
Faulkner (10-4) took with the loss after she went six innings and allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. Sarah Baker (10-4) earned the win for the Yellow Jackets after working all seven innings. She scattered one unearned run on two hits and finished with six strikeouts and two walks.
The Pioneers jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning of game two. McComb and sophomore Hope Cowoski (Perry/Perry) (Perry) began the frame by reaching on two Yellow Jacket errors. Junior Katie Woolf (Louisville/Louisville) (Louisville) then singled in both McComb and Cowoski after a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third.
The Yellow Jackets took their first lead of the nightcap with four runs in the bottom half of the second inning. The Jackets, which had three hits, were aided by two Pioneer errors in the frame.
Baldwin-Wallace added two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth increase its lead to 8-2. A bases-loaded walk in the top half of the sixth gave Marietta its third run but that would be it and the Pioneers fell 8-3.
Sophomore Amanda Strong (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) took the loss. Strong (7-3) allowed six runs (one earned) on eight hits and finished with three strikeouts and three walks in four innings. Freshman Megan Born (Delta/Pike-Delta-York) (Delta/Pike-Delta-York) pitched the final two innings; she allowed two runs on two hits and had one strikeout and one walk.
Mackenzie Rohrbacher earned the win after allowing three runs (one earned) on six hits in 5 1/3 innings. She improved to 9-4 on the year.
McComb went 2-for-5 with one run scored in the nightcap. Freshman Kylie Kitson (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) added three hits and the other run scored in the loss.
The Pioneers are back in action Wednesday (April 15) afternoon when they host Mount Union College on the third annual Community Day. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m. Fans can listen to the doubleheader on WMOA-AM 1490 and online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html. They can also track live stats at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/livestats/xlive.htm.
