Marietta softball finishes OAC play 13-5 after doubleheader spilt at John Carroll
OAC Tournament seeds will be determined after Sunday's action

Apr. 28, 2007
UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, Ohio — The No. 24 Marietta College softball team wrapped up Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play with a doubleheader split at John Carroll Saturday (Apr. 28). The Blue Streaks snapped the Lady Pioneers' six-game win streak with a 3-2 victory in game one. Marietta then needed a late-inning outburst to take the nightcap, 8-5, and salvage the split.

The Lady Pioneers, who are now 28-8, finished 13-5 in OAC play. Marietta has already secured a spot in the OAC Tournament, which will begin Friday on the campus of the top seed. Capital, Muskingum and Ohio Northern have also earned invites. There are still make-up games to be played on Sunday (Apr. 29) to help determine the seeding. The Blue Streaks improve to 17-20 with a non conference doubleheader at Case Western remaining. John Carroll finishes OAC play at 8-10.

Marietta's Kristen Quintana (Denver, Colo./Littleton) suffered the loss in the opener after allowing three runs on five hits while walking four and striking out eight. The eight strikeouts gave the school's all-time strikeout queen a new single-season school record of 217. Quintana, who is now 18-5, set the previous record of 214 in 2006.

The Pioneers led 2-0 after the first inning of the opener. Junior Brandy Jacob (Wellington/Keystone) began the game with a walk. She advanced to second when senior Jenny Carroll (Lisbon/Beaver Local), who set a school record for games played in a career on Saturday with 144, singled to left field with one out. Two batters later, sophomore Nikki Driscoll (Bellaire) doubled home both Jacob and Carroll for the first runs of the game.

The Blue Streaks also plated a run in the first inning, using a lead off single, sacrifice bunt, stolen base and sacrifice fly to pull within a run, 2-1.

The game remained 2-1 in favor of Marietta until the bottom of the sixth, when Quintana hung a pitch that was deposited over the fence for a two-run home run, giving John Carroll a 3-2 lead.

The Pioneers got runners on second and third with no outs in the top of the seventh with the heart of their order up, but two ground outs and a fly ball ended the threat and the Blue Streaks won 3-2.

Marietta out-hit John Carroll 7-5 and neither team made an error in the game. Sophomore Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) and Carroll both went 2-for-4 in the loss.

Sophomore Christina DeMoss (Bellville/Clear Fork) picked up the complete game victory in the nightcap. The right-hander, who improved to 9-2 on the year, scattered five runs (four earned) on nine hits, walked five and struck out eight.

The Pioneers fell behind early, 2-0, after the Blue Streaks scored single runs in the first and second innings.

Marietta made it 2-1 with a run in the fifth. Freshman Katie Woolf (Louisville) doubled home sophomore Erin Faulkner (Wheelersburg), who singled to right with one out.

A four-run sixth gave the Pioneers the lead for good. McComb led off with a single, and Carroll followed with a walk. Both runners then moved up on a wild pitch. After a ground out, McComb was out at home on a Driscoll fielder's choice. DeMoss then helped her own cause with a RBI single to right to plate Carroll. Faulkner, the next hitter, drilled a pitch over the fence for a three-run home run, her second of the year. It gave Marietta a 5-2 lead.

The Blue Streaks added two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to pull within a run, 5-4, but the Pioneers came back with three runs in the top of the seventh to boost their lead to 8-4. Carroll walked with one out and then scored on a triple by senior Lindsey Romick (Hannibal/River). Driscoll followed the triple with a two-run home run, her third of the spring.

John Carroll opened the last of the seventh with two hits and scored a run on a fielder's choice, but DeMoss retired the next two hitters to secure the win.

Marietta finished with 10 hits and made one error, while John Carroll had nine hits in the game. Woolf was 3-for-3, while Romick and Faulkner added two hits each for the Pioneers.

The Pioneers have one final tune up before the OAC Tournament. Marietta will visit Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) Tuesday (May 1) for a 4 p.m. doubleheader.