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Box Score 2
WESTERVILLE, Ohio – After losing their footing late in a game-one loss to Otterbein University, the Kenyon College softball team regained their composure and held off a late charge to earn a split, Thursday evening. Both games were decided in the final inning, with a play at the plate making the difference between a Kenyon win and loss in game two.
While the Ladies were able to notch just six hits in their loss to kick off the doubleheader, they capitalized on five errors committed by the Cardinals in the first inning alone. Coupled with base hits by Jane Ghublikian and Sylvie Thomas, the Ladies brought around six runs in the opening frame to take a commanding lead. Kelsey Long was lifted after recording just one out before Lizzy Snodgrass was brought in to put out the flames. Liz Paterra turned in a run-scoring single to round out the Kenyon batting order before the inning came to a close.
Maddy Stark (9-4) allowed one run in the bottom of the first but kept Otterbein off the board otherwise until the fifth inning. The Cardinals drove home three runs in the bottom of the fifth after RBI hits were recorded by Molly Riggs and Rachael Puthoff.
Still clinging to a 6-4 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh, Stark went out to finish the job but the Cardinals had other plans. They led the inning off with three consecutive base hits to load the bases, including a milestone infield single by Laura Basford. Molly Riggs then hit a double to left center field to tie the game and put runners at second and third. After a walk loaded the bases, Long redeemed her first inning woes with a bunt that allowed the game-winning run to score, taking away a 7-6 victory at Rike Field.
Basford's bunt single in the seventh inning made her Otterbein's all-time leader in hits with 187 in her career.
Game two nearly ended in a similar fashion. The Ladies took a 6-4 lead into the seventh. With Cardinals on second and third with two outs, Puthoff rolled a single through the right side. One run scored easily on the play but as Basford rounded third, right fielder Danielle Elizarraraz tossed a laser to the plate where Molly O'Connor applied the tag to end the game.
Leading to that point, Kenyon built a 5-0 lead through the fifth inning by way of RBI base knocks by Thomas, Stark, and Ghublikian. Thomas drove home Elizarraraz with a single in the top of the third, adding to her line as the game's starting pitcher.
Stark drove home Kenyon's second run with a double to the gap in right center and later came around to score on a wild pitch tossed by Maggie McMahan. The Ladies tagged on three more runs, all unearned, stemming from a trio of passed balls and an error in the field. Ghublikian drove home her second run of the day on a fielder's choice, giving Kenyon a 6-0 lead into the final two innings.
Otterbein made it interesting when Basford belted a grand slam off of Thomas (8-5), allowing the Cardinals within two runs of the Ladies, but Kenyon's seventh-inning heroics preserved the win.
After no Kenyon player recorded more than one hit in the opener, five different Ladies recorded a pair of hits in the nightcap. Stark led the team by going 3-for-5 with an RBI while Ghublikian and Susolik each ended the day with three hits in the two games combined.
Kenyon, now 17-9 overall, will take its 2-4 North Coast Athletic Conference record into a doubleheader against Ohio Wesleyan University on Friday, April 12. The Ladies and Battling Bishops will play two at the Kenyon College Softball Complex, beginning at 1 p.m.
