GREENCASTLE, Ind. - DePauw University swept Kenyon College in the final doubleheader of Kenyon's softball season on Saturday. The host Tigers won game one 12-4 in five innings, then shut out the Ladies 2-0 in game two.
The Ladies conclude their regular season with a 19-21 overall record and a 3-13 mark in North Coast Athletic Conference play. Meanwhile, DePauw improved to 19-18 overall and will move on to postseason play with a 13-3 conference record.
Despite committing three errors and giving up as many unearned runs, DePauw won game one thanks to strong hitting, collecting a dozen hits to Kenyon's five. Senior Lauren Godden led the Tigers on offense, going 2-for-2 with a homer and three RBI.
On the mound, DePauw starter Emma Baldwin stymied Kenyon batters with four strikeouts, but she did yield one earned run and three more unearned runs. Brooke Bandy replaced Baldwin in the fourth inning and struck out one more.
The DePauw bats opened the floodgates in the bottom of the second, snagging five runs before Kenyon forced the Tigers off the field. First to score was Bekka Roberts, who crossed home plate on a single from Megan Montgomery. Montgomery and Kat Panos each scored a run, then a sacrifice fly from Godden plated Abey Bass. For DePauw's fifth run, Liz Getz reached home on Kenyon's only error of the game.
In the top of the third, the Ladies nearly tied the game, notching four runs of their own.
Amanda Coyle scored Kenyon's first run, batted in by
Madi Maldonado, who would score a run of her own thanks to a single from
Emily Buckwalter. A few plays later,
Juliana Delsante plated both Buckwalter and
Lauren Graf to put the score at 5-4.
The Tigers responded with a three-run fourth inning. Godden secured a pair of those runs with a two-run homer. Four more runs off Kenyon reliever
Jace Juliano in the bottom of the fifth inning brought a premature end to the game via the eight-run rule.
Kenyon starter
Keely Sweet took the pitching loss. She didn't make it out of the second inning after giving up five runs on four hits and two walks.
In game two, runs were harder to come by. That was due in part to a spectacular pitching performance from Baldwin, who twirled six innings, gave up just one hit and recorded a staggering 11 strikeouts.
The Tigers got all the runs they needed in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs and runners on second and third, Breanna DeYoung singled, scoring both Kathleen Byers and Alyssa Nowak.
The Ladies had a chance to close the gap in the top of the sixth. After
Grace Finn got on base due to a fielder's choice, a DePauw error allowed Buckwalter to reach first and Finn to go all the way to third. A ground out in the next at-bat, however, left the two stranded.
In the top of the seventh, Kenyon's last chance at a comeback, the Tigers sent in Bandy to relieve Baldwin. The closer's fresh arm left the Ladies hitless in the seventh, securing DePauw its second win of the day.
Kenyon's lone hit was a single from
Lauren Graf in the top of the fourth inning.
Austen Whibley got the game-two pitching start for the Ladies and did not disappoint. She threw all six innings and allowed just two earned runs on three hits. She didn't walk a batter and she struck out one.
