ADA, OHIO -- The Baldwin-Wallace College softball team split an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader today (Sunday, April 17) at the ONU Softball Field in Ada. The game was origionally scheduled to be played yesterday but was postponed due to weather.
The Polar Bears won the first game, 10-8, with a dramatic walkoff homerun in the bottom of the seventh inning and the Yellow Jackets won the nightcap, 6-4. The Yellow Jackets are now 17-8 overall and 5-5 in the OAC. The Polar Bears are now 18-8 overall and 8-2 in the OAC.
In the first game, ONU scored three times in the bottom of the first to grab a 3-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets came right back with a run of their own in the top of the second when freshman catcher Samantha Brown (Kent/ Field) singled home junior pitcher/ right fielder Sarah Baker (Mentor Lake Catholic) who also reached via a single. BW then took a 4-3 lead with three more runs in the third. Senior first baseman Katrina Resek (Strongsville) doubled and scored on a single by freshman LF Ashley Elber (Huron/ Edison). After senior Academic All-American CF Tanya Davis (Hinckley/ Medina Highland) reached via a fielder's choice, she scored on freshman Kaity Mullen's (Avon Lake) second homerun of the season.
B-W then extended its lead to 8-3 with four more runs in the fifth. Freshman designated player Tabitha Murray (Mogodore/ Field) led off with her team-leading fourth homer of the season. After a pitching change, Mullenwalked, moved to second on a Baker single and scored on a single by junior 2B Katie Finley (Vermilion). Then after two outs, Resek knocked home Baker and Finley with a single.
But that is when the roof caved in on B-W as ONU scored four times in the sixth to close to within 8-7 and then scored three times in the seventh with the winning runs coming home on a game-winning, walkoff three-run homerun with one out.
At the plate for the Yellow Jackets, Resek, Baker and Brown led the way with three hits each, Mullen and Baker each scored twice and Resek and Mullen each drove in a pair. On the mound for BW, freshmanJustina Wise (New London), this week's OAC Pitcher of the Week, suffered the loss to fall to 9-4 overall. She pitched six and one-third innings, allowed 13 base hits, 10 runs (eight earned), struck out four and walked three.
In the second game, ONU grabbed a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the bottom of the second and B-W got one back on a Resek solo homer in the third to make the score 2-1. The Yellow Jackets increased their lead to 3-1 with an RBI single through the right side by Resek to score Finley in the top of the fourth. BW bats irrupted in the seventh scoring four runs on five hits with back-to-back home runs. Davis hit a three run home run to right field making it her second home run of the season. Murray followed directly after homered to left field also making it her second home run of the season. In the bottom of the seventh, the Polar Bears attempted to rally scoring two runs on three hits, but it was not enough to retake the lead as the Yellow Jackets went on to win 6-4.
At the plate for the Yellow Jackets, Resek led the way going 3-4 with two RBI's. Murray went 2-3 with her fifth home run of the season and an RBI making that her 16th on the season. On the mound for B-W, Murraypitched a full seven innings allowing eight hits and three earned runs. She improves her record to 3-0 overall.
B-W is back in action on Tuesday, April 19 when it hosts OAC-rival Heidelberg University at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds Field at 3:30 p.m. The Yellow Jackets also host OAC-foe Wilmington College for two games this Friday, April 22 at 1:00 p.m.
FOR MORE B-W Sports Information, please contact Sports Information Director Kevin Ruple by telephone at 440-826-2327 and e-mail at kruple@bw.edu. or Assistant SID Jeff Miller by phone at 440-826-2780 and email at jefmille@bw.edu Fans can access the latest B-W athletics information at www.bw.edu/athletics and we invite you to join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/bwyellowjackets and Twitter athttp://twitter.com/bwathletics
