Lady Pioneers upset No. 3 Muskingum; Fighting Muskies bounce back to salvage doubleheader split

Apr. 13, 2005
NEW CONCORD, Ohio - On Wednesday (Apr. 13) the Marietta College softball team did something no other Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) team had done since Mount Union in 2002. The Lady Pioneers defeated Muskingum in an OAC contest. Coach Jeanne Arbuckle's squad out slugged the Fighting Muskies in the opening game of the doubleheader, resulting in an 8-5 victory for the Pioneers. Muskingum rebounded to defeat Marietta 14-5 in the nightcap.

The twinbill split improves Marietta's record to 12-17 overall and 6-4 in the OAC, while Muskingum, ranked No. 3 in the nation, is now 23-4 overall and 7-1 in Conference play.

The Lady Pioneers plated a run in the first inning, when freshman Brandy Jacob (Keystone/Wellington) singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice and scored on a RBI single by Sue Schwamberger (Covington).

Muskingum tied the score at 1-1 in the second frame and Marietta took the lead for good with a run in the third, when Jacob started things off once again with a single and Schwamberger drove her in with a two-out hit.

Marietta added to its lead in the fourth, when sophomore Lindsey Romick (Hannibal/River) hit a bases loaded double to put the Pioneers ahead 4-1.

Jacob picked up a RBI single in the fifth to give Marietta a 6-1 advantage. Muskingum put together a rally in their half of the fifth, scoring four runs, but could not get any closer.

The Pioneers added two insurance runs in the seventh and held on for the 8-5 upset victory.

Jacob finished 4-for-5 with three runs scored and a RBI in the win, while Romick and Schwamberger each had two of Marietta's 12 total hits.

Kristen Quintana (Denver, CO/Littleton) held the high-powered Muskies to just five runs on eights hits in the complete game victory. The sophomore walked four and struck out four to improve to 10-5 on the spring. Erica Hoyt suffered the loss, falling to 20-2 on the year.

Muskingum jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the night cap, before Marietta piled five runs on the board to take a 5-3 lead after the top of the second.

The Lady Pioneers sent 10 batters to the plate in the inning, which was highlighted by a 3-run double off the bat of senior Katie Moriarty (North Canton/Hoover).

The Fighting Muskies countered Marietta's rally with a offensive surge of their own in the bottom of the second to take a 7-5 lead and then added three runs in the fourth and four more in the sixth to pick up the 14-5 mercy rule victory and salvage a split.

Junior Stephanie Houston (Newark/Licking Valley) was tagged for 10 runs (nine earned) on 11 hits in 3.3 innings of work, before Quintana returned to pitch the final 2.0 innings. Quintana surrendered four runs on three hits in the loss. With the loss, Houston falls to 2-5 on the spring.

Jacob added two more hits in the nightcap, while teammates Kelly Rucker (Rocky River) and Krista Huffman (Woodsfield/Monroe Central) each went 2-for-3 in the loss.

Freshman Jamie Echelberger fired six innings and scattered 11 hits to earn the win and improve to 2-1 on the year.

The Lady Pioneers has now proven to themselves, by splitting with Muskingum and falling to No. 4 Salisbury (MD) 4-3 in nine innings earlier this spring, that they can play with the best in the nation. They will look to carry that confidence with them the remainder of the regular season as they battle for a spot in the OAC Tournament.

Marietta's next challenge comes Saturday (Apr. 16), when it travels to John Carroll for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.