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Box Score 2 UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio – Marietta College had its hopes of hosting the 2014 Ohio Athletic Conference Softball Tournament dashed Saturday (April 26) afternoon by John Carroll University. The Blue Streaks swept a doubleheader from the Pioneers by the scores of 5-4 in nine innings and 6-1.
Marietta finishes the regular season 21-15 overall and 11-7 in the OAC. The Pioneers will ne the No. 3 seed in the OAC Tournament next weekend, John Carroll finished 18-16 overall and 10-8 in the OAC. With today's sweep, the Blue Streaks earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament.
Ohio Northern University won the regular season championship and will host the OAC Tournament. Marietta plays second-seeded Muskingum University on Friday (May 2) at 10:00 a.m. John Carroll and Ohio Northern play at 12:00 p.m.
Samantha Becker hit a two-out walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to give John Carroll the 5-4 win in game one. Becker homered twice in the game and finished 3-for-5 at the plate with two runs scored and two runs batted in.
Marietta scored three runs in the top of the third to take a 3-1 lead. Cierra Bllom drove in the first run with a single to right field. Later in the rally,
Trinity Schlabach (Wooster/Waynedale) laced a two-run double into the left center gap.
Brianna Finck (New Lexington/Crooksville) made it 4-1 with an RBI in the fourth.
Courtney Kerwood (Nashport/Tri-Valley) led off with a double and then came around to score on Finck's single to right center. Finck went 3-for-3 in the first game, while Kerwood was 2-for-4.
The Blue Streaks trimmed the Pioneer lead to one, 4-3, with two in the home half of the fourth. JCU tied the game with one in the sixth sending the game into extra innings and setting the stage for Becker's heroics.
Alexis O'Hair (Maumee/Maumee) (11-7) went the distance in the circle for the Pioneers. She allowed five runs on eight hits in 8.2 innings of work. O'Hair walked one and struck out one.
Rachel Byrnes (14-8) picked up the complete-game victory. She allowed four runs on eight hits with a walk and seven strikeouts in 9.0 innings of work.
In the nitecap, JCU took advantage of several Pioneer defensive miscues to build an early lead. The Blue Streaks first four runs were unearned as Marietta committed four errors. John Carroll scored two in the third and then added three more in the fifth.
Marietta's one run came in the top half of the fifth inning. Finck led off with a single and moved to second on the throw.
Hannah Tarski (Independence/Independence) moved Finck to third with a ground out where she scored on a wild pitch.
Gina Tosti (2-5) pitched 7.0 strong innings to get the win. She allowed one run on just four hits with one walk and seven strikeouts.
Schlabach (8-8) started and took the loss. Schlabach gave up five runs, only one earned, on six hits. She walked one and struck out two. O'Hair allowed one run in 1.2 innings of relief.
Kerwood led the Pioneers offense going 2-for-3 with a double. Becker had another big game at the plate for the Blue Streaks. Becker finished 3-for-3 with another home run.
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pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
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