Lady Pioneers close out regular season with split at Kenyon
Fourth-seed Marietta will take on top-seed Muskingum in first round of OAC Tournament Friday

May 5, 2005
GAMBIER, Ohio - Marietta's softball team took the field Wednesday (May 4) against Kenyon for a final tune-up before it goes to battle at the 2005 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament this weekend (May 6-7). The Pioneers won game one 5-3, but the Lords salvaged a split with a 2-0 victory in the nightcap.

Marietta moves to 16-23 overall on the year, while Kenyon finishes the year 16-19.

The Lady Pioneers took control of game one by scoring three runs in the first frame. Freshman Brandy Jacob (Wellington/Keystone) led off with a single, stole second and was sacrificed to third. Sophomore Lindsey Romick (Hannibal/River) followed with an infield hit and senior Katie Moriarty (North Canton/Hoover) drilled a three-run homer to left to give MC a 3-0 lead. The home run was her third of the spring and the team's seventh, breaking the single-season home run record of six set in 2001.

Romick added to her single-season hits record with her 51st of the year in the second, driving in freshman Nicole Veigel (Canton/Canton South), who singled earlier in the inning.

Kenyon was able to pull within a run at 4-3 by scoring a run in the third and two more in the fourth of Marietta starter Kristen Quintana (Denver, CO/Littleton). The Pioneers, however, added an insurance run in the sixth on a RBI single by Jacob and junior Amie Weis (Burlington, WI/Wetosha) shutdown the Lords over the final 3.0 innings to pick up the save.

Quintana worked 4.0 innings, giving up three runs (one earned) on six hits to improve to 14-7 on the year. Weis scattered three hits in her time on the mound in relief.

Jacob, Romick, Jenny Carroll (Lisbon/Beaver Local) and Abby Higbie (Anchorage, AK/Service) each finished with two of Marietta's 12 hits in the win.

Kenyon was able to close out its season with a win by taking the nightcap 2-0. Marietta managed just two hits in the game, both by junior Sue Schwamberger (Covington).

The Lords scored both their runs in the fifth off junior Stephanie Houston (Newark/Licking Valley), who suffered the loss to fall to 2-8 on the year. Houston allowed two runs on 10 hits in the complete-game loss.

Marietta will look to regroup for its biggest test of the year, a match up between it and Muskingum, Friday in the first round of the OAC Tournament. The two teams split the season series. It will be the Lady Pioneers first trip to the tourney, which will be hosted by the Fighting Muskies, since 1999, while Muskingum has won it seven straight times. Action gets underway at 11 a.m. Friday with No. 2 Mount Union taking the field against No. 3 Capital. Marietta and Muskingum will follow at 1 p.m.