No. 16 Marietta softball splits twinbill at Kenyon
Second straight year Ladies take a game from the Lady Pioneers

March 30, 2007
GAMBIER, Ohio — The No. 16 Marietta College softball team had one final tune-up before opening Ohio Athletic Conference play Saturday (March 31) at Otterbein. The Lady Pioneers made a stop at Kenyon for a doubleheader with the Ladies Friday (March 30) afternoon, and, for the second straight season, the two schools split a twinbill. Marietta won the opener, 3-2, while Kenyon took the nightcap, 8-7.

The split moved the Pioneers' record to 15-3, while the Ladies are now 7-9.

Senior Kristen Quintana (Denver, Colo./Littleton) improved to 10-1 on the year with a complete-game victory in game one. Quintana, the two-time reigning OAC Pitcher of the Week, scattered two runs on four hits and struck out nine.

Both of Kenyon's runs came in the first frame, as it followed a one-out double with a home run to give the Ladies an early 2-0 advantage.

Marietta tied the game at 2-2 in the fifth. Senior Jessy Hutchison (Reynoldsburg) led off by reaching on an error. Freshman Maggie Daubenmire (Thornville/Lakewood) followed with a pinch-hit bunt single. Freshman Jen Woolf (Louisville), another pinch hitter, singled up the middle to load the bases. Hutchison then scored on a ground out by junior Brandy Jacob (Wellington/Kestone). Sophomore Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) reloaded the bases when she was hit by a pitch and then a walk to senior Jenny Carroll (Lisbon/Beaver Local) forced in Daubenmire with the tying run.

The Lady Pioneers took the lead for good an inning later. Again, an error opened the sixth inning. Sophomore Christina DeMoss (Bellville/Clear Fork) reached on the mishap before being replaced by sophomore pinch runner Courtney Reid (Canton/McKinley), who scored three batters later when junior Krista Huffman (Woodsfield/Monroe Central) tripled.

Marietta finished with five hits, all by different players, and did not commit and error in the win. Keynon had four hits and made three errors.

Game two was a wild one. The Lady Pioneers scored three runs in the top of the first. Carroll and senior Lindsey Romick (Hannibal/River) had back-to-back two-out singles and sophomore Nikki Driscoll (Bellaire) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. DeMoss followed with a three-run double.

DeMoss' luck quickly changed once she took the mound for Marietta, as Kenyon scored five runs on two hits without her recording an out. DeMoss walked three, before being replaced by sophomore Erin Faulkner (Wheelersburg), who finally got out of the inning after allowing a two-run single.

Marietta came right back with three more runs in the top of the second to regain the advantage, 6-5. The Pioneers loaded the bases with one out, when Huffman was hit by a pitch, Jacob walked and McComb reached on a bunt single. Carroll, like in game one, picked up a RBI without taking the bat off her shoulder. This time she was hit by a pitch, allowing Huffman to score. Romick then delivered a two-run single to center field, plating Jacob and McComb.

The Pioneers added another run in the top of the fifth, when Woolf doubled home a teammate. The Ladies, however, also scored a run in the fifth to pull within a run, 7-6, and then plated two in the sixth to steal the victory, 8-7.

Faulkner suffered the loss, falling to 1-1 on the spring. She allowed three runs on nine hits in five innings. Quintana returned to strikeout the final two hitters but the damage was already done.

Keynon out-hit Marietta 11-7 and each team made three errors in the nightcap. Carroll and Romick both finished 2-for-3 for Marietta, while four different Ladies had a pair of hits in the win.

Marietta continues its way to Westerville tonight and will take on rival Otterbein Saturday in an OAC-opening doubleheader. First pitch has been moved up to a 12 p.m. start to hopefully avoid some potential bad weather in the State's capital.