GAMBIER, Ohio  – In Friday's home doubleheader with Otterbein University the Kenyon College softball team fell victim to their own miscues in the field and the Cardinals' strong offense. The Ladies fell in both contests by scores of 9-5 and 12-2, dropping their overall record to 15-8.

Kenyon jumped out to an early lead in game one with back-to-back home runs by Jamie Samuel and Chelsea Delaney. The home run by Samuel was her first of the season and Delaney's third after the sophomore blasted two in a single game against Wittenberg University earlier this week.

Otterbein retaliated with two runs in the top of the second and took the lead in the third, 3-2. The Cardinals tagged three runs on starting pitcher Emily Prehoda (3-3) behind four straight singles from the top of the lineup. Samuel came in to put down the Cardinals in order, but not before they extended their lead to four runs.

Samuel added to a game where the senior went 4-for-4 with her third run-scoring hit of the game, a two-run double into the right field corner, but that was the last the Ladies would score in their 9-5 loss in  game one. Samuel added two singles in her four-hit day while driving in four of the team's five runs.

The Cardinals started game two with five runs in the opening frame, capitalizing on two errors in the field by the Ladies. After a shakeup in the field, freshman Liz Ovieda came on to record the final two outs and complete a 1-2-3 second inning. Down 5-1 going into the third, the Cardinals' aggressive base running and timely hitting at the bottom of the lineup helped add four more runs to build a 9-1 lead. Prehoda was brought back in the fourth inning but Otterbein kept posting runs, adding three more before their day was done. The game ended after five innings by a final score of 12-2.

Carpenter led the Cardinals with six hits in her eight at bats with two runs batted in against the Ladies.

Samuel finished the day going 5-for-7 with five RBIs. She hit one home run, two doubles, and two singles. Four of her five hits scored runs for the Ladies.

Kenyon (15-8) will take a 3-1 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) record to Ohio Wesleyan University for two conference games on Saturday, April 6. First pitch against the Battling Bishops is set for 1 p.m.