GAMBIER, Ohio – Saturday's home-opening doubleheader against Marietta College was a tale of two games for the Kenyon College softball team. In the opener, the Ladies' defense and pitching were more than solid as they won 5-2. But game two was a completely different story as the Pioneers rolled to a 15-4 victory.
 
GAME ONE
 
Until the top of the seventh inning, freshman pitcher Austen Whibley and the Kenyon defense allowed just three Pioneer batters to reach base.
 
In the effort, Whibley struck out three, induced 11 groundouts, seven flyouts and allowed just a two-run homer in the seventh when the game was well in Kenyon's favor.
 
A critical error in the bottom of the first helped the Ladies tally the necessary runs needed for victory against the Pioneers.
 
With two outs, Amanda Ogata got things started for Kenyon with a base hit through the left side. In the next at-bat, senior Lindsey Susolik grounded a ball to the Pioneers shortstop and the throw to first brought the first baseman off the bag allowing Susolik to reach safely. Molly O'Connor followed going first-pitch swinging and blasting a shot to left-center field to give the Ladies a 3-0 lead.
 
The only time Marietta threatened until the seventh inning came in the fourth and sixth frames. In the fourth, Kaitlin Klinchock doubled and later got to third and in the sixth, Brianna Finck tripled before a line out and groundout were turned by the Ladies.
 
Kenyon added a run in the fifth from Madi Maldonado as she doubled plating Jane Ghublikian. In the sixth, Susolik scored on an error.
 
O'Connor led the Kenyon attack with three hits while Ghublikian added a pair.
 
GAME TWO
 
Marietta, who only collected five total hits in the opener, responded with 15 runs on 15 hits to cruise in the second contest.
 
The Pioneers got on the board in the top of the first as Klinchock singled home Sierra Bloom. Then in the seventh, Marietta's bats really got going.
 
Ali Prologo hit a three-run bomb which chased Whibley from the pitcher's circle. That didn't matter though as the Pioneers' next four plate appearances resulted in three hits including a three-run shot from Klinchock which pushed the lead to 8-0.
 
Kenyon finally got on the board in the home half of the second as Mari Colucci connected with a run-scoring single.
 
In the third, Marietta once again pushed across several runs. Kaitlin Presley and Prologo each drove in runs with a single and double, respectively. The final tally came as Finck doubled down the left-field line plating Prologo.
 
Susolik helped Kenyon in the home half of the inning with her fourth home run of the year, this time a two-run shot. She later added the Ladies' final run in the bottom of the fifth with an RBI double.
 
The visitors added four more runs in the top of the fifth highlighted by a two-run double from pinch hitter Celina Cantini.
 
The 15 runs and 15 hits allowed were the most given up this season by the Ladies who fell to 10-8 on the year. Offensively, Maldonado and Susolik led Kenyon as they each collected two hits.
 
Next up for Kenyon is another non-conference doubleheader on March 30 when Otterbein University comes to town. Game one will start at 3:00 p.m.