FORT MYERS, Fla. – Kenyon College (8-2) earned an 8-5 win against Albion College before nearly rallying against Drew University in a 9-8 loss on Thursday at CenturyLink Sports Complex. The Ladies' 8-2 start, which has occurred twice before ('01, '13), is their best through 10 games since 2014 (9-1).
GAME ONE
After falling behind 3-0 to the Britons, the Ladies came back to tie the game in the bottom of the third.
Lauren Graf connected with a two-run single which drove
Madi Maldonado and
Grace Finn home. The run scored by Maldonado moved the senior past former standout Maddy Stark into first place in program history for must career runs scored (119).
Kenyon then tied the game at three following an Albion infield error.
Both squads scored a run in the fourth before Kenyon took its first lead, 5-4, in the fifth. A one-out double from
Nicole Horita drove Graf home moving the Ladies ahead.
Albion managed to tie the game in the sixth, though, as an error in the Kenyon outfield allowed Angela Hoffsis to round home base.
Then in the sixth, Kenyon registered three runs to move back in front for good. Two of those runs came on another Albion miscue as
Britny Patterson and
Emily Buckwalter scored.
Grace Pilz then came up with a two-out RBI single.
Finn and Graf each tallied three hits while
Keely Sweet improved to 5-1 by tossing a complete game, scattering eight hits and allowing one earned run.
GAME TWO
A brutal defensive start in the first against Drew ultimately cost the Ladies a chance at their tenth win of the season.
The Rangers' first three batters all recorded singles. Jasmine Vera followed with an RBI single to put the Rangers up 1-0. A while later, Heather Ronchi returned to the batter's box for the second time and drove in two with a hit to right-center.
That prompted a pitching change for the Ladies who turned to
Jace Juliano. From the second through the sixth innings, Drew managed to score just one run while Juliano helped retire 12 batters.
Down 7-0, Kenyon found its first run in the third as Buckwalter drove Maldonado home with a single. Then in the fifth with the score 8-1 Rangers, Kenyon inched closer with five more runs.
Finn and Buckwalter recorded back-to-back doubles which scored three. After Patterson drove in the Ladies' fifth run, Kenyon found its sixth after a Drew error. Through five innings, the Ladies were down just 8-6.
After a scoreless sixth frame, Stephanie Burns picked up a big two-out hit in the seventh which scored Katie Grodski.
Despite allowing another run to Drew, the Ladies had a great chance to win in the home half of the seventh.
Kenyon's first two batters reached base and that prompted a pitching change. In the third at-bat, Graf singled and loaded the bases for the Ladies. With no one out, Kenyon looked ready to win.
However, relief pitcher Megan Hulmes followed with a pair of strikeouts to ease a bit of discomfort. The Ladies weren't through just yet, though, as an error by Drew's second baseman brought two across for Kenyon cutting the score to 9-8. Hulmes then closed the door on the Ladies as she struck out
Amanda Coyle.
Buckwalter went 3-for-4 with three RBI while Patterson also collected three hits. Kenyon's first four batters led the way recording 10 of the team's 13 hits while the five through nine spots went just 3-for-20.
Tomorrow, the Ladies will face Penn State University-Altoona and Crown College starting at 9 a.m.
