Marietta softball falls twice to visiting Ohio Northern
Polar Bears win 4-1 and 11-1

April 5, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College softball team dropped two games to visiting Ohio Northern University Saturday (April 5) afternoon at Marietta Field. The Polar Bears won game one 4-1 and then took game two 11-1 in five innings. The wins improved Ohio Northern’s record to 14-6 overall and 5-1 in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC). Marietta fell to 12-8 overall and 2-4 in the OAC.

Erin Faulkner (Wheelersburg) took the loss in game one. Faulkner (7-4) allowed four runs on 11 hits with four strikeouts and one walk in seven innings. Cortney Cash (7-3) earned the win for Ohio Northern, giving up one run on four hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Ohio Northern struck early with two runs in the first. Three Polar Bear hits and a costly Pioneer error gave the visitors the early 2-0 lead. The Polar Bears added another run in the third to make it 3-0. Ohio Northern went up 4-0 in the fourth after a double steal confused the Marietta infield, allowing both runners to advance, one to second and the home.

Marietta got on the board in the bottom half of the fourth. Faulkner reached on a fielder’s choice. Katie Woolf (Louisville) then hit a grounder to the third baseman, who came up with a bad throw to first, enabling Faulkner to move to third; Woolf was safe at first on the error. Sarah Gruner (Gibsonburg) followed with an RBI single to center, driving in Faulkner for the Pioneers’ only run of the game.

Marietta was limited to four hits in game one. Two of the hits came from junior Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley).

Ohio Northern struck again in the first inning of game two, plating five early runs. Danielle Goubeaux had the big hit, a grand slam to left field in the frame. The Polar Bears struck again with two more runs in the top of the second to lead 7-0. ONU’s hot-hitting knocked Marietta starter Amanda Strong (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) out of the game with no outs in the second. Faulkner returned to the mound and retired the next three hitters to get out of the inning.

Marietta plated one in the third after Woolf doubled down the left field line to drive in McComb, who reached earlier after being hit by a pitch.

Ohio Northern added four more runs in the top of the fifth off of Faulkner to make the score 11-1. The game ended after the Pioneers did not score in the bottom half of the inning. Marietta once again struggled at the plate, collecting only three hits in the nightcap.

Strong (5-2) was credited with the loss for Marietta after allowing seven runs on five hits in one-plus innings. Stephanie Inkrott (7-3) recorded the win for the Polar Bears. She struck out four and walked one in the victory.

Marietta will return to action on Wednesday (April 9) afternoon when it travels to Alliance for an OAC doubleheader with Mount Union College. Game time is slated for 3:30 p.m.