WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College softball team salvaged a series with John Carroll University (JCU) by winning the final game to earn a twinbill split at the WC Softball Complex on Sunday afternoon. The Blue Streaks won game one 4-0 while the Fightin’ Quakers won game two 7-3.
In game one, the Fightin’ Quakers’ offensive woes with runners in scoring position continued from Saturday’s doubleheader in University Heights as Wilmington went hitless in seven at bats with a runner in scoring position. The Blue Streaks plated three runs on four hits in the third and added an insurance run in the fourth. Coincidentally, JCU’s final run total mirrored each of the first two games of the series.
Katie DeBord earned her fifth win of the season, scattering eight hits over six innings with four strikeouts and no earned runs. Madison Eagle came in for the final inning for JCU. Suchland took the loss allowing three earned runs on five hits in 2.1 innings. Lindsey Carter finished the final 4.2 innings for the hosts, allowing a single unearned run on four hits with two strikeouts.
Offensively, Lizz Hadley and McKenna Archey had multi-hit games for the Quakers while Gracie Bressoud and Crista Nativio had two hits each for the Blue Streaks.
In the nightcap, JCU scored a run in the first, but Wilmington cured its two-out hitting woes in the bottom half of the inning. Arianna Layne walked and was hit to third by a double to left field from Carter. Alecia Kemp walked and Layne scored the tying run on a wild pitch. Hadley, the next batter, singled to shortstop to give the hosts a 2-1 lead after one complete.
The Blue Streaks failed to score in the top of the second, and Suchland singled home Andrea Edmisten with two outs in the second. Neither team scored in the third, and Carter doubled the host’s advantage has her double to left field scored Suchland and Megan Crager to make the score 5-1.
JCU would get a single run in each of the last two innings, but both were mitigated by RBI-singles from Kemp and Hadley.
Starter Alexis Stringfellow improved to 8-4 on the season, scattering 10 hits over seven innings with three earned runs. Danielle Orendi dropped to 2-7 allowing seven earned runs on 10 hits with six walks and three strikeouts.
Offensively, Suchland and Carter each had three-hit games for Wilmington with all three of Carter’s hits being doubles. Less Lichota led JCU in defeat with a 2-for-3 performance.
The Quakers (16-16, 15-13 OAC) face the University of Mount Union for a series next weekend.
On Saturday, WC dropped a pair of contests at John Carroll, falling 4-3 in game one and 4-1 in the nightcap.
In game one, the Fightin’ Quakers got on the scoreboard early as Megan Crager led off the inning by drawing a walk and advanced to third on a single from Arianna Layne. After a strikeout, Lindsey Carter, Wilmington’s starting pitcher, helped her own cause by launching a three-run home run to left field. Trailing 3-0, the Blue Streaks got two runs back on a single up the middle from Jess Lichota with two outs. The visitors would get a runner into scoring position in the top of the second, but couldn’t deliver an RBI-hit this time around. The hosts would have that exact same situation in the bottom half of the inning, and JCU delivered again as Emma Gurley singled up the middle scoring two runs.
Those two runs would prove to be the game-winners as the Quakers finished just 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position. Carter dipped to 3-6 on the season, allowing four earned runs on nine hits with five strikeouts. The Clinton-Massie alumna proved Wilmington its three runs offensively with the home run.
Katie DeBord earned the complete-game win for JCU allowing three earned runs on six hits while also striking out five. Lichota and Gurley had the RBIs for the Blue Streaks while Gracie Bressoud, from the top of the lineup, joined the two in having a multi-hit game.
In game two, Wilmington loaded the bases with one out in the top of the first inning and got on the scoreboard on a Lizz Hadley sacrifice fly scoring Crager, but a groundout that followed prevented a potentially larger inning. JCU tied the game on a solo home run in the bottom of the first and took the lead on a wild pitch in the bottom of the second. After a 1-2-3 top of the third, the Blue Streaks took a 4-1 lead by plating two runs on the hits in the third.
Just like in game one, all of the game’s runs were scored in the first three innings.
Alexis Stringfellow took the loss allowing a dozen hits with two strikeouts in six innings. Her counterpart, Danielle Orendi, surrendered four hits with five strikeouts to earn the complete-game win.
Layne, Alecia Kemp, McKenna Archey and Andrea Edmisten all had singles for the Quakers while Bressoud once again tallied a three-hit game for the Blue Streaks. For the second consecutive game, Gurley had one hit and drove in two runs for JCU.
