KISSIMMEE, Fla. — The Marietta College softball team pulls out of the Sunshine State with a 7-7 overall record. The Pioneers split a pair of games on Friday (March 11) falling to Simpson College, 9-0, and beating Farmingdale State College by the score of 5-1.
Simpson (17-4 overall) starting pitcher Riley Fisher won her eighth decision of the season without a loss. Fisher scattered four hits and struck out eight Pioneers in the five-inning shutout.
Abbie Vanvleet put the Storm on the board with an RBI double in the top of the first. She would later add a three-run home run in the fourth. Simpson plated five in the second inning as the Storm banged out 11 hits on the day.
Marietta used three different pitchers with starter
Alison Kach (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) taking the loss. Kach was touched up for six runs on five hits in 1.2 innings of work.
Kristina LaRocca (Strasburg, Ohio/Strasburg Franklin) and
Reagan Tom (Chandlersville, Ohio/Philo) both threw in relief.
Alexis Reese (Canton, Ohio/Perry) had a pair of singles for the Pioneers.
Madison Gatley (West Jefferson, Ohio/West Jefferson) and
Brianna Finck (New Lexington, Ohio/Crooksville) each had a base hit in the game.
Kach (5-4) bounced back to get the win in game two against Farmingdale State (1-5 overall). LaRocca started and worked 3.2 innings allowing no runs on three hits. Kach took over and tossed the final 3.1 innings for the win. Kach gave up one run on three hits.
The Pioneers scored one in the third and fourth innings and then added two in the fifth and an insurance run in the seventh.
Brey Mays (Bloomingdale, Ohio/Indian Creek) reached on a one-out walk in the third inning and
Stephanie Zentz (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) followed with a single to center moving Mays all the way around to third base. After Zentz stole second, Gatley flied out to center scoring Mays on the sacrifice. Zentz was doubled off second.
Cierra Bloom (Dennison, Ohio/Claymont) led off the fourth with a single and was sacrificed to second by
Rachel Montgomery (Massillon, Ohio/Perry).
Kaitlin Klinchock (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) plated Bloom with a double to left.
Gatley notched her second RBI with a run-scoring ground out in the fifth. Montgomery drove in the Pioneers second run of the inning with a single to center.
Zentz produced Marietta's final run all on her own. She led off the seventh with a triple and promptly stole home.
Bloom and Zentz both finished with two hits in the game, while Gatley had two RBI.
Marietta opens the northern portion of its schedule on Wednesday (March 16) with a doubleheader at Washington and Jefferson College. First pitch is slated for 3:30 p.m. Fans can follow all the Pioneer teams all year long at
pioneers.marietta.edu. You can also follow the Pioneers on Facebook at
facebook.com/MariettaCollege and @MariettaPioneer on Twitter and Instagram.
