MARIETTA, Ohio — The 2009 Marietta College softball team accomplished something that no other Pioneer squad had done in recent history as it swept an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) doubleheader from rival Muskingum College Thursday (April 9) afternoon at Marietta Field. The Pioneers rallied for a 2-1 victory in the opener and then slugged their way to a 14-5, five-inning win in the nightcap to extend their win streak to 13 games and take sole possession of first place in the league standings. The Pioneers won a twinbill against the Muskies for only the second time ever, the previous sweep coming in the 1996 regular season when Marietta captured the OAC tournament title. 1996 was also the last time that Muskingum lost both games of an OAC doubleheader.
Marietta (20-6, 7-1 OAC), who snapped an 11-game losing streak in the series, trailed 1-0 after Muskingum (16-10, 5-3 OAC) plated a run in the second inning of game one. Head Coach Jeanne Arbuckle's Pioneers fought back to tie the game in the sixth. Senior Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) ignited the offense with a one-out single to center. Sophomore Hope Cowoski (Perry/Perry) (Perry) followed with a bunt single, moving McComb to second. Freshman Brooke Baker (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg) (Wheelersburg) then delivered the biggest hit of her short career, a single to center, which plated McComb with the tying run. Marietta, however, stranded the bases loaded in the inning.
Senior Erin Faulkner (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg) (Wheelersburg) shut down the Fighting Muskies in the top of the seventh, giving her team the opportunity to win the game in its final at-bat. Faulkner started the last frame with a walk before sophomore pinch runner Nikki Stone (Madison/Madison) (Madison) replaced her at first base. Senior Maggie Daubenmire (Thornville/Lakewood Hebron) (Thornville/Lakewood Hebron) followed Faulkner's walk with a bunt single, and McComb loaded the bases with a single to left field. Cowoski then reached on a fielder's choice with Stone being forced out at the plate for the second out. Baker, the next hitter, came to the plate. She never got a chance for the game-winning hit, however, because Daubenmire raced home with the winning run on a passed ball to give her team the 2-1 victory.
Faulkner improved to 10-3 with the complete-game win. She allowed just one run on five hits and struck out two. Amy Mattin suffered the loss after giving up two runs (one earned) on seven hits in 6 2/3 innings. Mattin, who fell to 10-4, walked two and fanned four.
McComb and Baker both finished with two hits in the win, while Mary Margaret Boda had a pair of hits in the loss.
The Pioneers used the momentum to dominate the second game. McComb started the offense, which had 13 hits, with a double to center in the bottom of the first. Cowoski sacrificed her to third. Baker then walked and stole second. After junior Katie Woolf (Louisville/Louisville) (Louisville) grounded out, sophomore Cassady Busellato (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson) (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson) hit a RBI single down the left field line to plate McComb. Senior Nikki Driscoll (Bellaire/Bellaire) (Bellaire) followed with another walk to keep the inning alive for Faulkner, who produced a two-run single to right, which scored Baker and Busellato. Freshman Kylie Kitson (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) (Belle Center/Benjamin Logan) drove in Driscoll, the fourth run of the inning, with a double to right center field.
Marietta extended its lead to 6-0 in the second. Baker drew a one-out walk, and Busellato drilled a two-out, two-run home run to left field. It was her second home run of the season.
Muskingum scored a pair of runs on three hits in the top of the third, but Marietta answered with five more in the bottom of the frame to take an 11-2 advantage. Faulkner led off with a single, and Kitson was hit by a pitch. Both runners moved up on a Daubenmire sacrifice bunt. McComb drove in Faulkner with a single. Cowoski then loaded the bases with a bunt single. Baker followed by reaching on a fielder's choice; Kitson was forced out at home plate. Woolf picked up a RBI with a walk, before Cowoski scored on a passed ball. Busellato then reloaded the bases with another walk, leading to a two-run single by Driscoll, which plated Baker and Woolf.
The Pioneers capped their scoring with three runs in the fourth. Daubenmire singled down the right field line with one out. Sophomore Maureen Kertes (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth) (Cape Elizabeth, Maine) added a two-out single, before Baker drove in two runs with a double to right center. Woolf then doubled home Baker, extending Marietta's lead to 14-2.
Boda hit a three-run home run in the fifth but that would be as close as Muskingum would come, as freshman Megan Born (Delta/Pike-Delta-York) (Delta/Delta-Pike-York) came in to record the final two outs in a 14-5, five-inning win.
Sophomore Amanda Strong (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) earned the win, improving to 7-2. She scattered five runs (four earned) on six hits in 4 1/3 innings. Heather Martin (6-5) took the loss after allowing four runs on four hits in 2/3 of an inning.
McComb, Busellato and Faulkner all had two hits, as all 10 Pioneers that came to the plate had a hit in the victory. Mallory Hay had two of Muskingum's six hits in the loss.
Marietta will look to continue its momentum when its visits Berea, Ohio, for an OAC doubleheader with Baldwin-Wallace College on Friday (April 10). First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m.
