LEESBURG, Florida — The Marietta College softball team dropped a pair of games Monday (March 7) afternoon. The Pioneers fell to Roanoke College, 7-6, in the first game and then lost to Wittenberg University, 11-4.
Marietta slips to 1-4 on the season. Roanoke stays perfect with a 10-0 record, while Wittenberg improves to 3-0.
Roanoke scored three runs in the first two innings to grab the early lead. Kate Houle drove in the first run with an RBI single in the first. Madison Courts made it 3-0 for Roanoke with a two-run single in the second.
Emma Burke (Lancaster, Ohio/Lancaster) got the Pioneers on the board with an RBI single in the bottom of the third.
Jillian Middleton (Marietta, Ohio/Marietta) tied the game, 3-3, with a two-run double later in the frame. Another two-run double from Middleton in the fifth gave Marietta a 5-3 lead.
Roanoke got one run back in the sixth and then struck for three runs in the seventh for a 7-5 lead. Katelyn Craighead delivered the big hit knocking in two runs with a single.
Marietta tried to rally in the home half of the seventh when
Sarah Keating (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) and
Jess Brown (Brookville, Ohio/Brookville) both singled to start the inning. Keating moved to third on a ground out and eventually scored when Middleton grounded out. A strikeout ended the Pioneer rally and gave the win to Roanoke, 7-6.
Rachel Kazmirski (Colliers, W.Va./Brooke) started in the circle for the Pioneers and threw 2.0 innings giving up three runs on four hits.
Amelia Timko (Brunswick, Ohio/Brunswick) (0-2) took the loss after allowing four runs on six hits in 4.1 innings.
Lindsay Gedro started for Roanoke and pitched 3.0 innings. She allowed three unearned runs on four hits. Lauren Hoffman gave up two runs on three hits in 3.0 innings of work. Jada Karnes (6-0) worked the seventh inning. She gave up one run on two hits.
Middleton finished with a pair of doubles and five runs batted in. Brown and
Hailey Maher (Galloway, Ohio/Central Crossing) also had two hits apiece.
In the second game, Wittenberg scored three runs in the first inning and never trailed. The Tigers added three in the fourth and had a big four-run sixth inning.
Middleton (1-2) was tagged with the loss giving up seven runs, three earned, on six hits in 5.0 innings.
Breanna Zirkle (Pomeroy, Ohio/Meigs) threw 1.0 inning and allowed four runs on four hits.
Kira van Ravensberg (2-0) got the win after throwing 5.1 innings and allowing four runs on 10 hits. Samantha Zungri pitched the final 1.2 innings.
Middleton finished 2-for-3 with another double. Kazmirski, Maher and
Kylie Daugherty (Newport, Ohio/Frontier) each had two hits, while Brown smacked a home run.
The Pioneers play Penn State Altoona and Alvernia University on Tuesday (March 8). The Penn State game is scheduled for 4 p.m. and the Alvernia game is slated for 6:30 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.
