WILMINGTON, Ohio – The Wilmington College softball pitching staff was flawless on Saturday, allowing just a single run in 14 innings as the Fightin' Quakers swept Marietta College in an Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) doubleheader 1-0 in game one and 6-1 in game two.
Senior Megan Crager led off game one with a solo home run that would prove to be the only run of the contest for either side as both starting pitchers threw admirably. The Pioneers, who had three hits in the game, got a runner into scoring position in the second, sixth and seventh innings, but couldn't deliver the game-tying hit.
Lindsey Carter earned the complete-game win for Wilmington, scattering those three hits over seven innings with one walk and one strikeout. Maddi Liston took the loss for Marietta despite allowing just a single run on four hits with five strikeouts.
Alongside Crager's home run, Arianna Layne, Lizz Hadley and Carter all had hits for the Quakers. Whitley Arno, Jess Brown and Taylor Watts had the Pioneers' hits.
In game two, Wilmington got its bats going early once again as the first four in the lineup all reached via base hits. Crager and Hayley Suchland singled, and Layne drove them both home with a deep double to right center. Hadley singled Layne over to third, but three straight groundouts got the Pioneers out of the inning.
In the top of the second, Marietta loaded the bases with two outs, but a fielder's choice ended the threat. Wilmington took control in the bottom of the second as Andrea Edmisten, Crager and Suchland loaded the bases. After a Pioneer pitching change, Edmisten scored on a wild pitch and Layne singled home Crager with a ball on the ground that found space through the left side. The hosts, up 4-0, plated two more runs on a steal as well as an RBI-single to right center from Hadley.
Marietta's only run of the day would come in the fifth inning as Kaitlyn Carpenter hit a sacrifice fly to center that scored Micaela Bradley.
Alexis Stringfellow earned another complete-game victory for the Quakers, scattering eight hits with four strikeouts. Rachel Kazmirski, Marietta's starter, took the loss allowing five earned runs on six hits in 1.1 innings.
Layne led the way offensively for the Quakers in game two, going 2-for-2 with three RBIs, two walks and one run scored. Suchland, Hadley and Edmisten also had multi-hit games while Kylah Morrison also hit a double. Bradley and Jordan Pallay had two hits each for the Pioneers in defeat.
"I'm extremely proud of how well our pitchers threw today as they did a fantastic job keeping the batters off balance," Wilmington Head Softball Coach Beth Floyd said. "Megan Crager has been hitting the ball really well this year and got us off to a great start today."
Wilmington (8-6, 7-3 OAC) will head to Marietta for the final two games of the series tomorrow (Sunday).
