Marietta rallies for sweep of host Baldwin-Wallace
Pioneers win both games 9-6; second game lasts eight innings

April 12, 2008
BEREA, Ohio — Marietta College softball swept a doubleheader from host Baldwin-Wallace College on Saturday (April 12) afternoon at the Cuyahoga Count Fairgrounds. The Pioneers won game one 9-6 and the matched the result with a 9-6 victory in eight innings to snap a six-game Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) losing streak and improve to 14-10, 4-6 in the Conference. The Yellow Jackets fell to 12-16, 2-8 in the OAC.

Junior Erin Faulkner (Wheelersburg) earned both wins on the day, improving her record to 9-5. In game one, she pitched all seven innings and gave up six runs (five earned) on 13 hits with three strikeouts and one walk. Freshman Amanda Strong (Mineral Wells, W.Va./Parkersburg South) got the start in game two and pitched the first three innings, giving up five runs on six hits. Faulkner came on in the fourth and threw the final five frames, giving up one run on four hits.

Marietta jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first inning of game one. Maggie Daubenmire (Thornville/Lakewood Hebron) led off the game with a single followed by a stolen base. After an error by the pitcher, Daubenmire advanced to third. She then scored when Faulkner grounded into a double play. Marietta added two more in the third. Kristen Tidd (Marietta/Frontier) scored on an Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) single. McComb then came around to score after sophomore Katie Woolf (Louisville) doubled.

Baldwin-Wallace got on the board in the fourth, making the score 3-1. Marietta scored one in the top half of the sixth to increase its lead to 4-1. The Yellow Jackets then rattled off four runs in the bottom half of the sixth to take the 5-4 lead.

Marietta reclaimed the lead with a five-run seventh, using two hits and three Yellow Jacket errors. Hope Cowoski (Perrysburg), McComb, Constance Whalen (Sharon, Pa.), Woolf and Nikki Driscoll (Bellaire) all scored in the inning. Baldwin-Wallace plated one more run in the seventh to make the final score 9-6.

Woolf was the only Pioneer with two hits in the win; she also had a RBI. Sarah Gruner (Gibsonburg) and Faulkner both added two RBI, while McComb and Driscoll each drove in one run.

Both teams scored a run in the first inning of game two. The Yellow Jackets scored four in the bottom of the third off of Strong to take control of the nightcap. Marietta answered with two in the fourth. Gruner and Tidd each delivered RBI singles in the frame.

Tidd singled again to bring home Woolf in the sixth and make the score 5-4 in favor of the Yellow Jackets. The Jackets plated one in the bottom half of the inning to make it 6-4 going into the seventh.

McComb started the seventh inning rally with a one-out singled. Woolf then came to the plate with two outs and blasted a home run to tie the score at 6-6, swinging the momentum back to Marietta. The Pioneers then plated three more in the eighth to secure its second 9-6 victory of the day.

Woolf paced Marietta in game two by going 4-for-5 with three RBI including the game tying home run, her third of the season. McComb added three hits with one RBI, while Tidd added two RBI singles in the victory.

Marietta will jump right back into action on Sunday (April 13) afternoon when it plays host to Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) College in a non-conference doubleheader. First pitch at Marietta Field is slated for 1 p.m. The action will be carried live locally on WMRT-FM 88.3 and online at http://pioneers.marietta.edu/onlinebroadcasts.html.