EMORY, Va. — For the second straight day the Marietta College softball team beat Oberlin and lost to Emory & Henry. The Pioneers downed Oberlin, 8-5, Sunday (March 5) morning and then dropped a heartbreaker, 4-3, to Emory & Henry in the afternoon.
Marietta (2-2 overall) scored the final five runs of the game to erase a 5-3 deficit and beat Oberlin (0-3) in the first game. After three scoreless innings, the Pioneers scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth only to surrender five runs in the top of the fifth.
Ariann Barile (Roaming Shores, Ohio/Jefferson) crunched a two-run home run driving in
Brianna Finck (New Lexington, Ohio/Crooksville) to even the game, 5-5, in the bottom of the fifth inning. The Pioneers plated three more in the sixth for the win.
Brey Mays (Bloomingdale, Ohio/Indian Creek) led off with a bunt single.
Kaitlin Presley (Palmyra, Va./Fluvanna Country) reached on an error and a sac bunt from
Alyssa Cook (Akron, Ohio/Ellet) moved both runners into scoring position. Mays scampered home on a wild pitch and Presley moved to third.
Stephanie Zentz (Gibsonia, Pa./Pine-Richland) singled through the left side of the infield driving in Presley.
Ali Prologo (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) followed with a double giving the Pioneers runners at second and third. Finck dropped down a bunt allowing Zentz to score MC's third run of the inning.
Barile finished 2-for-4 with the home run and two RBI, while Mays was 2-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Prologo, Presley and
Kaitlin Klinchock (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mount Lebanon) each had a double for the Pioneers.
Kristina LaRocca (Strasburg, Ohio/Strasburg Franklin) (2-0) picked up the win in relief.
Jocelyn White (Gibsonia, Pa./Hampton) started and threw 4.1 innings. White allowed four runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. LaRocca worked the final 2.2 innings giving up one run on one hits. She walked one and struck out four.
Marietta was one out away from victory against Emory & Henry (7-3) but couldn't close out the game. The Pioneers carried a 3-2 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning before allowing the Wasps to score twice and escape with the win.
LaRocca took over in the circle to start the seventh inning and quickly retired the first two batters on ground balls to third base. Caley Hodge worked a walk to keep Emory & Henry's hopes alive. Three straight singles produced the tying and winning runs for the Wasps with Rachel Smoot providing the walk-off base hit.
The Pioneers scored first when Klinchock doubled to right-center scoring Finck in the first inning. Marietta made it 3-1 with a pair if runs in the fifth. Barile delivered a two-out, two-run single to centerfield putting MC in front.
Alison Kach (Greenwich, Conn./Greenwich) started in the circle for the Pioneers and tossed 6.0 innings. She allowed two runs on seven hits. Kach walked two and struck out two. LaRocca (2-1) was tagged with the loss after giving up two runs on three hits in 0.2 innings of work.
Marietta is back in action next Sunday (March 12) when the Pioneers begin a 10-game Florida trip. Marietta plays McDaniel College at 9:00 a.m. and Transylvania University at 11:15 a.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.
