Marietta falls to Mount Union, but avoids elimination with victory over Otterbein in day one of OAC Softball Tournament
Pioneers will take on Purple Raiders at 11 a.m.; winner battles Muskies in the championship

May. 5, 2006
NEW CONCORD, Ohio — The No. 13 Marietta College softball team survived to fight another day Friday (May 5), as it went 1-1 on opening day of the 2006 Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) Tournament, which is being hosted by Muskingum College. The Pioneers, seeded second in the tournament, fell to third-seeded Mount Union 4-0 in the first game of the day. Marietta, however, responded with a 3-0 victory over fourth-seeded Otterbein in the first elimination game of the tournament. It was the Pioneers' first OAC Tournament win since 1996, the year that they won the title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

The victory improved Marietta's record to 32-10 on the year and sets up a rematch with Mount Union (29-9) on Saturday (May 6) at 11 a.m. The winner faces the Muskies at 1 p.m. Muskingum (38-4) would need to lose twice not to take the Tournament championship for the ninth straight year.

Marietta failed to get its offense going in the opener against Mount Union, as Lindsey Royer held the Pioneers to just three hits en route to a 4-0 victory for the Raiders. Royer, who improved to 15-4, stuck out seven and walked just one.

Kristen Quintana (Denver, Colo./Littleton) was the hard luck loser, falling to 18-5 on the year. Quintana allowed four runs (two earned) on eight hits and struck out four in the complete-game loss.

Mount Union scored a pair of runs in the first inning to take the early momentum. The Raiders added single, unearned runs in the sixth and seventh, when they took advantage of two Pioneer throwing errors.

Junior Jenny Carroll (Lisbon/Beaver Local) went 1-for-2 to extend her hit streak to 10 games, while freshman Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) and senior Stephanie Houston (Newark/Licking Valley) each had hits in the loss.

Following a four-hour layoff, Marietta returned to action against fourth-seeded Otterbein with both teams' Tournament lives on the line.

Quintana was again handed the ball from Head Coach Jeanne Arbuckle and stepped up to the challenge. The right-hander shut down the Cardinal offense, limiting it to just five hits to lead the Pioneers to a 3-0 victory. Quintana struck out six and walked just one. She moved her season strikeout total to an astonishing 205 and improved her record to 19-5.

Marietta scored all three of its runs in the third inning. Sophomore Brandy Jacob (Wellington/Keystone) led off the frame with a single. McComb then reached on a fielder's choice with Jacob being thrown out at second on the play. Carroll followed with another fielder's choice; McComb was forced at second on the play. Junior Lindsey Romick (Hannibal/River) came through with an infield single to move Carroll to second base. Freshman Nikki Driscoll (Bellaire) then delivered her biggest hit as a Pioneer, a two-run double to left center field to give MC a 2-0 lead. Driscoll later scored the Pioneers' third run of the inning when freshman Christina DeMoss (Bellville/Clear Fork) reached on a error.

Overall, Marietta finished with six hits and player errorless softball after committing four errors in the first game. Carroll snapped her hit streak at 10 games after finishing 0-for-3.

The Pioneers need a victory over the Purple Raiders in the second elimination game of the weekend to advance to the finals of the OAC Tournament. First pitch with Mount Union is slated for 11 a.m.