COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Marietta College softball team split a pair of Ohio Athletic Conference games at Capital University Saturday (April 10) afternoon. Marietta one the first game, 6-1, and the Crusaders won game two, 5-3.
Marietta moves to 8-10 on the season and 8-10 in the OAC. Capital is now 6-12 overall and 6-12 in conference play.
The Pioneers took advantage of Capital's generosity in the first game. Limited to four hits in the game, four of Marietta's six runs reached base on a walk or hit by pitch. A fifth run was the result of a Crusader error.
Marietta grabbed the early lead with one run in the second inning.
Kylie Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) singled and moved to second on an error by the Capital second baseman. A ground out moved her to third where she scored on a second ground out, this one off the bat of
Hailey Maher (Galloway, Ohio/Central Crossing).
The Crusaders tied the game with a run in the bottom of the third but gave Marietta three in the top of the fourth. A hit by pitch and two walks loaded the bases with no outs.
Anna Swierczewski (Natrona Heights, Pa./Saint Joseph) drove in two runs with a single and
Jordan Pallay (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) plated another with a base hit for a 4-1 Marietta lead.
Maddi Liston (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) (4-2) had all the run support she needed as the senior notched her fourth win in the circle. Liston threw 7.0 strong innings and allowed one run on four hits. She walked one and struck out three.
The Pioneers tacked on a pair of insurance runs in the top of the seventh. Three walks loaded the base with one out in the frame for designated player
Jess Brown (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville). Brown delivered a two-run double extending the lead to 6-1.
Liston retired Capital in order in the bottom of the seventh to secure the win.
In the second game Capital scored three runs in the bottom of the third inning to turn a 3-2 deficit into a 5-3 lead. The Crusaders held Marietta scoreless over the final four innings to salvage the split.
Maicy Kirk (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Orange) led off the game with a walk and scored on a triple from
Kaitlyn Carpenter (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington North). Carpenter picked up two more RBI in the second inning with a two-run single. She finished the game 3-for-3 with the triple and three RBI.
Airyanna Maurer (Marysville, Ohio/Marysville) (0-2) took the loss for Marietta. She allowed five runs on 10 hits with three walks and four strikeouts.
Krislyn Bayles (1-2) earned the win with 6.0 innings in the circle. She gave up three runs on five hits with three walks and two strikeouts. Katelyn Williams earned her second save of the season with 1.0 inning of hitless relief. She walked one and struck out two.
Marietta returns home to host Capital on Sunday (April 11) for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
Fans can follow all of 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.
