BEREA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College softball team split a pair of games against Ohio Athletic Conference rival Muskingum College today (Saturday, April 18, 2009) on the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds Field in Berea on Senior Day. Muskingum won the first game, 7-2, and BW captured the nightcap, 8-2. Prior to the game, the Yellow Jackets honored senior All-OAC first baseman Caitlin Myor (Sheffield Village/ Elyria Senior).
With the split, the Yellow Jackets are now 22-14 overall and 8-6 in the OAC. Muskingum is now 21-11 overall and 10-4 in the OAC. In terms of the OAC Standings and upcoming OAC Tournament, Ohio Northern University sits in first place at 12-2 in the OAC. Muskingum is tied with John Carroll University in second at 10-4 and Mount Union is fourth at 9-5. B-W sits one game out of the final playoff spot with four conference games remaining.
In the first game, the Fighting Muskies jumped out to a 3-0 lead with three runs in the first inning and increased its advantage to 5-0 with two more runs in the third inning. B-W cut the deficit to 5-2 with a pair of runs in the fifth and ended the frame by leaving the bases full of Yellow Jackets. Muskingum added a pair of 'insurance' runs in the top of the seventh inning to end the scoring.
Offensively, Muskingum outhit B-W, 10-9. B-W was led by the trio of junior All-Central Region catcher Tanya Davis (Hinckley/ Medina Highland), sophomore shortstop Katrina Resek (Strongsville) and freshman pitcherSarah Baker (Mentor/ Lake Catholic) with two hits each. One of Davis' hits was a triple. She also scored a run and stole a base. On the mound, Baker threw all seven innings, allowed 10 hits, seven runs (all earned), struck out one and walked two as she fell to 11-7 overall.
In the second game, B-W scored once in the first and four times in the third when junior third baseman Megan Coyne (Valley City/ Keystone) blasted a grand slam to right center. Muskingum pulled to within three thanks to a two-run homerun by Mary Margaret Boda in the sixth, but the Yellow Jackets answered with three more in their half of the sixth after run-scoring hits from Coyne and Myor.
Myor's two runs batted-in brings her career total to 121, which is only two shy of the BW career record set by 2006 graduate Nicole Loudin.
Offensively, Coyne was two-for-three with a walk and five RBI. Junior centerfielder Mallory Kobak (Independence) was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and her team-leading 31st stolen base of the year.
On the mound, sophomore Alyssa Brosious (Westfield, N.Y. / Westfield Academy and Central School)started and pitched 5.1 innings and allowed two runs on six hits. Sophomore Mackenzie Rohrbacher (Sandusky/ Senior) threw the final 1.2 innings to earn her first save of the season.
B-W will return to action on Tuesday, April 21 when they travel to University Heights to play a doubleheader against Cleveland cross-town rival JCU at 3:30 p.m. The Yellow Jackets end the regular season next Saturday, April 25 at Wilmington College in an OAC twinbill at 1:00 p.m.
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.