NEW CONCORD, Ohio –
Jeanne Arbuckle is in her 27th season at the helm of the Marietta College softball program and her squad swept a key Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader Sunday (April 6) afternoon giving Arbuckle her 500th career coaching victory.
The Pioneers knocked off Muskingum University by the scores of 4-1 and 4-3 to move into a tie for first place in the OAC standings with Baldwin Wallace. Marietta is 13-9 overall and 6-2 in the OAC. The Muskies, who started the day atop the OAC standings, fall to 12-10 on the season and 5-3 in the OAC.
Marietta scored two runs in the third and fourth innings to take a 4-0 lead in game one. Center fielder
Hannah Tarski (Independence/Independence) smacked a two-run single to center in the third, while third baseman
Courtney Kerwood (Nashport/Tri-Valley) drove in two runs with a double in the fourth.
That was all the run support junior
Alexis O'Hair (Maumee/Maumee) would need. O'Hair (6-4) went the distance in the circle for the Pioneers scattering eight hits and allowing just one run. She struck out four and didn't walk a Muskingum hitter.
Muskingum managed a run the sixth to cut the Pioneer lead to three, 4-1. O'Hair retired the Muskies in order in the seventh giving Arbuckle win number 499.
Game two started with a bang as first baseman
Brittany Curry (Newark/Licking Valley), the Pioneers' leading hitter, led off the game with a solo home run over the leftfield fence. It was Curry's second home run of the season.
Following Curry's home run, Marietta loaded the bases. Right fielder
Brianna Finck (New Lexington, Ohio/Crooksville) worked a free pass scoring the second run of the inning. A sac fly from catcher
Rachel Montgomery (Massillon, Ohio/Perry) staked the Pioneers to a 3-0 lead.
Tarski collected the second of her four hits in the second inning. She lined a single to right scoring Curry with Marietta's fourth run of the game. Tarski finished 4-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Curry was also a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and two runs scored.
Sophomore
Trinity Schlabach (Wooster/Waynedale) (6-5) got the win despite not being as sharp as normal in the circle. Schlabach worked out of trouble in the first two innings before allowing two runs in the third and another in the fourth. She allowed three runs on six hits with a pair of walks and a strikeout in 4.0 innings of work.
Kerwood tossed 3.0 shutout innings of relief for her first save of the season. Kerwood allowed just one base runner, which reached on a base hit, and struck out one.
Marietta returns home to host the University of Mount Union on Wednesday (April 9) for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader. Fans can follow the Pioneers all season long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter.
