BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College softball team lost a first place Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader with rival Ohio Northern University today (Monday, April 13, 2009) at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds Field in Berea. The Polar Bears won the opener, 5-2, and captured the nightcap, 10-8.
The Yellow Jackets and Polar Bears both entered the twinbill in first place, but ONU took over sole possession of first place with the sweep and BW fell all the way into a fourth place tie with Mount Union College with its two losses. ONU is first at 8-2, Muskingum College and Marietta College are tied for second at 7-3 and BW and Mt. Union are both 6-4. Close behind is Capital University at 5-5 and John Carroll University at 4-6.
With its two losses, B-W is now 20-10 overall and ONU is 21-2 overall.
In the first game, ONU scored once in the top of the first via a sacrifice fly, twice in the second on a two-run homerun, once in the fourth on a solo homer and a final time in the fifth via an error to build a 5-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets scored their two runs in the bottom of the sixth when junior second baseman Lauren Sabolik (Strongsville) blasted a two-run homer, her fourth of the season.
Offensively, ONU outhit B-W, 10-4. In addition to Sabolik's homer, junior centerfielder Mallory Kobak (Independence), junior third baseman Megan Coyne (Valley City/ LaGrange Keystone) and relief pitcherAlyssa Brosious (Westfield, N.Y./ Westfield Academy and Central School) each had a base hit. On the mound, freshman Sarah Baker (Mentor/ Lake Catholic) started and pitched the first four innings. She allowed nine hits and five runs (four earned), struck out four and walked three to fall to 10-5 overall. The first inning earned run off Baker ended a school-record streak of 30 and one-third innings without previously allowing an earned run. Brosious followed Baker to the mound and pitched three scoreless frame and allowed one hit and two walks.
In the second game, B-W took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second, but ONU came right back to take a 2-1 lead with a pair of its own in the top of the third. The Yellow Jackets regained the lead in the bootom of the third by scoring four times for a 5-1 advantage. In the top of the fourth, ONU closed the gap to 5-3 with a pair of runs but B-W came right back with two of its own to regain a four-run lead at 7-3. In the fifth ONU scored twice to make it 7-5 and took the lead 8-7 with a three-run sixth. B-W then tied it 8-8 in the bottom of the seventh to send the contest into extra innings. In the eighth, ONU tallied twice to earn the sweep.
Offensively, junior LF Chelsea Saunders (Medina/ Highland), sophomore All-Central Region catcher Tanya Davis (Hinckley/ Medina Highland) and sophomore shortstop Katrina Resek (Strongsville) each had two hits. One of Resek's hits was a homer, her second of the season. In addition, sophomore Becky Miner (Berea) hit her first career homer to tie the game in the seventh. On the mound, sophomore Mackenzie Rohrbacher (Sandusky/ Senior) pitched the first five and one-thrd innings. She was folowed to the mound byBaker in the sixth and then Brosious in the seventh. Brosious was charged with the loss to fall to 1-1 overall.
B-W will return to action on Tuesday, April 14 when it travels to Meadville, Pennsylvania for a non-league doubleheader versus Allegheny College at 3:30 p.m. On Wednesday, April 16, B-W travels to Westerville for an OAC doubleheader at Otterbein College at 3:30 p.m.
This Saturday, April 18 is Senior Day at B-W with it hosting Muskingum College in a twinbill at 1:00 p.m. Prior to the game, the College will acknowledge its lone senior, All-OAC first baseman Caitlin Myor (Sheffield Lake/ Elyria Senior). With 28 career homers and 118 runs batted-in, Myor ranks second in school history in each catagory. She needs nine homers and five RBI to tie school career marks.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at (440) 826-2327 and via e-mail at kruple@bw.edu or Assistant SID Nick Minerd by phone at (440) 826-2780 and via e-mail at nminerd@bw.edu. To contact Head Coach Tom Spencer, please call him at (440) 826-3988 in his office and e-mail him at tspencer@bw.edu. More information may be accessed on the B-W athletics page atwww.bw.edu/athletics.
