SPRINGFIELD, Ohio – Wittenberg University swept the Kenyon College softball team on Friday during a North Coast Athletic Conference twin bill at Betty Doughman Dillahunt Field. The Tigers dominated in game one winning 19-0 before claiming a 12-4 victory in the second contest.
GAME ONE
After the Ladies (18-14, 2-6 NCAC) were retired in order to start the game, the Tigers came up and had an inning to remember.
In the bottom of the first, Wittenberg tallied 15 hits and a whopping 18 runs. Six of its players recorded multiple hits and in total, 22 Tigers made their way into the batter's box.
The scoring started as Chelsea Zang singled to left field which plated Elise Freeland. A while later, Abby Curnutte added a two-run double to center and moved the scoreboard to 10-0. Wittenberg's final runs of the frame were pushed across by a grand slam from Missy Lee who recorded five RBI in the inning.
In addition to the Tigers' offensive explosion, pitchers Katelyn Niswonger and Zang combined to toss a no-hitter. They induced five fly-outs, four groundouts and struck out six as well.
GAME TWO
Trailing 1-0 heading to the third, the Ladies responded to attain their first lead of the day.
Nicole Horita got Kenyon going with a one-out single to center field. A couple batters later, a pitch hit
Grace Finn which loaded the bases. In the ensuing at-bat, freshman
Emily Buckwalter singled to left field plating Horita and
Madi Maldonado.
A 2-1 advantage was extended by another run as
Lauren Graf singled allowing Finn to score.
Down a few runs, the Tigers quickly erased the deficit and took command. After a walk and single to start the bottom of the third, Alex Gibson smacked a two-run double and tied the game at 3-3.
Just a bit later, Gibson put the Tigers up 4-3 as she came home after a throwing error on a steal situation.
Wittenberg added five more runs the rest of the way including a two-run single from Curnutte. In all, the Tigers plated eight runs on seven hits during the frame.
Another big inning by Wittenberg took the sails out of Kenyon as it tallied just one more run the rest of the way. That came in the fifth on a Graf RBI single. She led Kenyon with two hits in game two.
In the circle, the Tigers saw Abby Haab toss 6.1 innings, scatter six hits, four runs and strike out six.
Next on the schedule for Kenyon is a road date at Hiram College on April 18. The doubleheader will start at 3:30 p.m.
