MARIETTA, Ohio — Marietta College and Muskingum University split a pair of one-run games Saturday (April 24) afternoon. The Muskies won game one, 3-2, and the Pioneers took the night cap, 6-5.
Marietta moves to 11-15 on the season and 11-15 in the Ohio Athletic Conference. Muskingum is 20-10 on the season and 19-7 in the OAC.
Jess Brown (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) smacked a solo home run to right field in the bottom of the first inning of game one to give the Pioneers an early 1-0 lead.
Muskingum grabbed the lead with a pair of runs in the third and then added an insurance run in the fifth inning for a 3-1 Muskie lead.
The Pioneers tried to rally in the bottom of the seventh but fell a run short.
Kylie Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) led off with a double to left field and came all the way around to score when the Muskies threw the ball away trying to get Daugherty at second base.
Muskingum pitcher Hannah Smith retired the next three Pioneer hitters to preserve the win. Smith (9-2) went the distance allowing two runs, one earned, on four hits in 7.0 innings. She struck out seven.
Maddi Liston (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington Central) (5-5) took the loss in a complete game effort. She allowed three runs, one earned, on five hits with three walks and three strikeouts.
Brown led the Marietta offense going 2-for-3 with the home run.
In game two, the Pioneers plated four runs in the bottom of the third to take a 4-0 lead. Daugherty provided the big blow with a three-run blast way over the leftfield wall.
Muskingum answered with three runs in the fourth and then tied the game, 4-4, with a run in the fifth. Karsyn Shaffer had a two-run single in the fourth and Bailey Waitkus drove in the tying run with a single up the middle in the fifth.
Marietta answered right back with two runs in the bottom of the frame.
Rachel Kazmirski (Colliers, W.Va./Brooke) doubled and then
Jordan Pallay (Hilliard, Ohio/Hilliard Bradley) followed with a two-run shot over the wall in center field.
Alex Fankhauser cut the Marietta lead to one, 6-5, with a one-out solo home run in the top of seventh. Liston, who took over in the circle for the Pioneers in the fifth inning, retired the next two hitters for the win.
Liston (6-5) threw 2.1 innings of relief allowing one run on three hits.
Sarah Keating (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) started and worked 3.2 innings. She gave up three runs on three hits with two walks.
Breanna Zirkle (Pomeroy, Ohio/Meigs) gave up one run on four hits in 1.0 inning of relief before turning the ball over to Liston.
Hannah Duff (8-6) started and allowed six runs, five earned, on eight hits, in 4.1 innings of work. She walked two and struck out five. Madelyn Thomas pitched the final 1.2 innings.
Taylor Watts (Galloway, Ohio/West Jefferson) went 3-for-4 with one run scored to lead the Marietta offense. Kazmirski had two hits including a double, while Daughtery drove in three runs and Pallay knocked in two runs.
Marietta and Muskingum will finish their four-game series with a doubleheader on Sunday (April 25) at 1 p.m. in New Concord.
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.
