Marietta's three seniors named All-OAC in softball
McComb named to first team, Faulkner selected to second team and Driscoll given honorable mention

May 3, 2009
ADA, Ohio — The Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) office released its 2009 Softball Award Winners on Sunday (May 3) afternoon following the conclusion of the OAC Tournament, and all three Marietta College seniors received recognition. First baseman Emily McComb (Gnadenhutten/Indian Valley) earned first team honors, pitcher Erin Faulkner (Wheelersburg) received second team honors and second baseman Nikki Driscoll (Bellaire) picked up honorable mention. The trio graduated with the most wins in school history, having accumulated a four-year record of 111-49 (.694).

McComb produced one of the best offensive seasons in Pioneer softball history in 2009. The 2008 All-OAC second team and All-Central Region third team selection broke the school’s single season hit record with 57 hits. She finished with 10 doubles, one triple and one home run to go along with 31 runs scored, 20 RBI and 260 putouts. Overall, McComb batted .456, which is the second highest average in school history; she hit .500 during Marietta’s OAC slate. McComb, who had a hit in 31 of the team’s 36 games, finished with 16 multiple hit games, including a pair of four-hit performances, this season. She closed the year on a 16-game hit streak, which also set a new school record. McComb finished her career as the all-time leader in games played (159), hits (182) and putouts (983), while second in at-bats (507), doubles (24), stolen bases (47), sacrifices (41) and fielding percentage (.983).

Faulkner was Marietta’s primary pitcher for the second straight season in 2009; she earned All-OAC second teams honors in both years in addition to being named All-OAC second team as a designated hitter in 2007. This season, the right-hander went 11-7 overall, 6-5 in league play, and finished with a 2.28 ERA. Faulkner appeared in 19 games, made 16 starts and had 13 complete games with four shutouts. She allowed 51 runs (29 earned) on 97 hits and struck out 58 in 114 2/3 innings. Faulkner finished her career 26-16 with a 2.76 ERA. In 50 appearances, which spanned 280 innings, she allowed just 86 earned runs and fanned 161.

Driscoll overcame a slow start to finish the 2009 season hitting .292; she batted .348 during her squad’s OAC games. The 2006 and 2007 All-Region and 2007 All-OAC selection collected 28 hits, which included six doubles and two home runs. She added 10 runs scored and 15 RBI in 2009. Driscoll, a career .302 hitter, capped her time at Marietta ranked second all-time in games played (155) and at-bats (437), while third in RBI (74).

Head Coach Jeanne Arbuckle’s team had an up and down season in 2009. Marietta won 13 straight games midway through the year. During that run, Arbuckle picked up her 400th career victory as part of a doubleheader sweep at Otterbein College on April 4. The Pioneers then won a twinbill against rival Muskingum College for only the second time ever. The previous sweep came in the 1996 regular season when Marietta captured the OAC tournament title. 1996 was also the last time that Muskingum lost both games of an OAC doubleheader. Unfortunately, the Pioneers dropped seven of their final 10 contests and finished tied for fifth in the OAC, one win shy of making the OAC Tournament for the second straight season.