ALLIANCE, Ohio – The no. 13 nationally ranked Mount Union softball team swept Marietta in an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon, winning game one 8-0 in five innings and winning game two 6-1.
The Purple Raiders (25-5, 13-1 OAC) would strike first in game one with a pair of runs in the first inning, the first coming off an RBI double from senior
Kendyll Cahill (Groveport / Groveport Madison) that scored senior
Sydney Mercer (Salem / West Branch) then freshman
Alli Hodgkinson (Akron / Manchester) hit an RBI single that scored Cahill to take an early 2-0 lead.
Mount Union would then add to their lead in the second inning when senior
Lydia Brunner (Minerva) brought in senior
Kaitlyn Culver (Girard) with an RBI double and then in the third inning freshman
Grace Bates (Mount Vernon) hit an RBI double to score Cahill and push the lead to four runs.
The Raiders would then add another pair of runs in the bottom half of the fourth when freshman
Addy Antonetz (Zanesville / West Muskingum) hit an RBI double that brought in senior
Faith Reicosky (North Canton / Hoover) and then Cahill would hit her second RBI double of the game that scored Antonetz and extended the lead to 6-0. Mount Union would score two more in the following inning, the first coming off an RBI triple from Culver that saw senior
Emily Denney (Poland / Poland Seminary) score and then Culver scored off an RBI bunt from Brunner to give the Raiders the 8-0 win in five innings in game one.
Cahill got the start in the circle for Mount Union in game one and threw a complete game shutout, allowing just a single hit and striking out seven.
The Raiders would strike first once again in game two when Cahill hit a sacrifice fly RBI to score sophomore
Allison Jones (Berlin Center / Western Reserve) to take a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Mount Union would then break the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning when Bates hit a grand slam and then Culver stole third and scored after a throwing error by the Marietta catcher to make the lead 6-0.
The Pioneers (18-16, 4-8 OAC) would get on the board in the top half of the sixth inning when Jocelyn Grassman hit a single to left field and Erin Beeber scored following a Mount Union error to cut the lead to five runs but that is as close as they would get as the Raiders would go on to take game two 6-1.
Sophomore
Emma Reemsnyder (Canton / GlenOak) got the start in the circle for Mount Union in game two and threw five scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. Junior
Haleigh McCalla (Youngstown / Springfield Local) would come in to throw the final two innings in relief, giving up one run, zero earned on one hit and striking out three.
The Raiders are home again next when they host non-conference opponent Denison on Tuesday, April 28 in a doubleheader at the 23
rd Street Softball field in Alliance, with games beginning at 3 and 5 p.m.