ALLIANCE, Ohio — The Marietta College softball team split its fifth straight Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader of the season Tuesday (April 27) afternoon when it shut out host Mount Union College 6-0 in game one before the tables turned with a 3-0 loss in game two. [Game 1 Box Score] [Game 2 Box Score]

With the split, the Pioneers moved to 19-14 overall and 7-9 in the OAC. The second place Purple Raiders are now 24-12 overall and 12-4 in league play. Marietta, who has just two games left to play, now stands alone in fifth place in the standings. Most of the other OAC schools have at least two doubleheaders left on the schedule. The top four teams will qualify for the 2010 OAC Tournament May 7-9.

A stellar pitching performance, combined with a school-record tying six doubles, helped Marietta win the opener 6-0.

Freshman #Chelsea Chaffin (Wheelersburg/Wheelersburg)# limited the Purple Raider offense to just a single hit in the second and another in the sixth and pitch around a pair of walks to earn the complete game victory and improve to 11-8 on the season.

Bre Willis suffered the loss to fall to 9-7. Willis allowed six runs on 10 hits, walked three and struck out one over her seven innings of work.

Marietta did its damage offensively with a five-run fourth inning. Freshman shortstop #Michelle Sayre (Ripley, W.Va./Ripley)# drew a lead off walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by junior right fielder #Ashley Eberhardt (Massillon/Tuslaw)#. Freshman designated hitter #Marissa McDaniel#, junior third baseman #Cassady Busellato (Hilliard/Hilliard Davidson)#, junior first baseman #Maureen Kertes (Cape Elizabeth, Maine/Cape Elizabeth)# and senior center fielder #Maggie Daubenmire (Thornville/Lakewood Hebron)# followed with back-to-back-to-back-to-back RBI doubles. Freshman #Katie Swejk (Tallmadge/Tallmadge)# then drove in the fifth run with a RBI single.

The Pioneers added their sixth run in the seventh. Eberhardt drew a two-out walk. Freshman #Audrey Ross (Monroeville/Norwalk)# pinch ran for Eberhardt and scored from first base on McDaniel's second double of the game.

Swejk, McDaniel, Busellato and Kertes all finished with two hits in the victory, which snapped Mount Union's 11-game win streak.

Mount Union turned the tables in game two as it shutout Marietta 3-0. The Purple Raiders out hit the Pioneers 8-5 in the victory.

Mount Union jumped on Marietta's game two starter #Amanda Strong (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South)# for two runs in the bottom of the first. The Purple Raiders also added a run off Chaffin in the fourth en route to the win.

Sayre and Daubenmire both collected a pair of hits in the nightcap. Strong (7-6)took the loss after giving up two runs on four hits and striking out one in one inning. Chaffin scattered one run on four hits and struck out four over the final five frames.

Rachel McAninch earned the shut out win. She gave up just five hits and struck out seven while improving to 14-1 on the spring.

Marietta closes out its regular season Saturday (May 1) when Otterbein College visits Marietta Field for a league doubleheader at 1 p.m.