Multiple records fall as No. 14 Marietta splits at Ohio Northern
Quintana strikes out a school record 16 in win; Pioneers hit a school record five home runs in loss

Apr. 9, 2007
ADA, Ohio — Head Coach Jeanne Arbuckle admitted that she had never witnessed anything like what transpired Monday (Apr. 9) afternoon in the Ohio Athletic Conference softball doubleheader between her No. 14 Marietta squad and host Ohio Northern. In game one, senior Kristen Quintana (Denver, Colo./Littleton) struck out a school-record 16 Polar Bears. The Pioneers, however, needed an eighth-inning home run by sophomore Nikki Driscoll (Bellaire) to propel them to a 4-3 victory. In game two, the two schools combined to hit eight home runs—Marietta hit a school record five—in Ohio Northern's 11-9 win to salvage a split.

The split moved the Lady Pioneers' record to 18-6, 3-3 in the OAC. The Polar Bears improved to 17-5, 5-1 in league play.

Marietta opened game one by scoring in the first inning. Junior Brandy Jacob (Wellington/Keystone) led off with a single and advanced to third when the right fielder misplayed the ball. Sophomore Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) followed by reaching on another error with Jacob scoring on the play. Sophomore Christina DeMoss (Bellville/Clear Fork) drove in McComb with a sacrifice fly to put Marietta ahead 2-0.

Ohio Northern got a run back with a home run off Quintana in the bottom of the frame.

Senior Jessy Hutchison (Reynoldsburg) extended Marietta's lead to 3-1 with a RBI single in the sixth. The Polar Bears bounced right back with a run of their own in the inning and then tied the game, 3-3, with another run in the bottom of the seventh.

Driscoll began the eighth by hitting her second home run of the year to give the Pioneers a 4-3 advantage. Quintana then struck out three in the bottom of the eighth to secure the win.

Quintana, who improved to 12-3, set a school record with 16 strikeouts. The right-hander scattered three runs on six hits and walked four.

Marietta out-hit Ohio Northern 8-6 in the victory. Jacob, Driscoll and senior Jenny Carroll (Lisbon/Beaver Local) all had a pair of hits in the win.

DeMoss took the hill in the nightcap for Marietta, who was looking to make it a sweep. She was spotted a two-run cushion as McComb scored on a passed ball and Carroll scored on a wild pitch in the top of the first.

The Pioneers extended their lead to 4-0 an inning later, when freshman Katie Woolf (Louisville) opened the second with a home run, her first of the year, and Jacob matched her three batters later with a shot over the right field fence. The home run was also Jacob's first of the season.

A two-out, two-run double off DeMoss in the third made the score 4-2 in favor of Marietta. DeMoss answered by blasting her first home run of the year to lead off the fourth, giving the Pioneers a 5-2 advantage.

After DeMoss allowed a double to start the bottom of the fourth, she was replaced by Quintana. Quintana retired the next two hitters before allowing a two-run homer, as Ohio Northern decreased its deficit to 5-4.

For the third time in four innings, Marietta hit a home run to lead off a frame. This time, it was Carroll, who hit her third home run of the year to start the fifth and extend her team's lead to 6-4.

Ohio Northern, however, came right back with six runs on six hits off Quintana, knocking her out of the game. The Polar Bears hit two home runs en route to building a 10-6 lead.

Senior Lindsey Romick (Hannibal/River) hit a three-run home run with two outs in the sixth to move Marietta within a run, 10-9. The home run was the Pioneers' fifth of the game, which shatters the previous single-game school record of two, a feat that was done three times. It was also the seventh of Romick's career, which ties her with Rhonda Osborne '89 for the most in school history.

The Polar Bears added an insurance run off sophomore Erin Faulkner (Wheelersburg) in the bottom of the sixth. The Pioneers loaded the bases with no outs in the top of the seventh but could not plate a run, as Ohio Northern secured the win with 4-3 double play.

Marietta broke the school's single-season home run record in the game. It has now hit 11 on the year, four more than the previous mark.

Both teams finished with 14 hits. Marietta made two errors, while Ohio Northern had three.

Six Pioneers—Jacob, McComb, Carroll, Romick, DeMoss and Woolf—had two hits in the loss. Six Polar Bears also had a multiple-hit game.

DeMoss allowed three runs on five hits in three innings. Quintana, who suffered the loss to fall to 12-4, was tagged for seven runs on seven hits in 1 1/3 innings. Faulkner gave up one run on two hits in the final 1 2/3 innings.

Marietta is back in action Wednesday (Apr. 11), when No. 8 Mount Union visits Marietta Field for a 3:30 p.m. doubleheader.