WILMINGTON, Ohio - The Wilmington College softball team stepped out of Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play for a twinbill with Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) on Wednesday. In perhaps the best weather of the month, the two teams split with the Battling Bishops winning game one 4-1 and the Fightin' Quakers taking the nightcap 6-2.
In game one, OWU plated two runs on four hits in the second to take a 2-0 lead. Wilmington looked to answer as singles from Claire Scully and Lizz Hadley along with a Sam Schwab walk loaded the bases, but Mollie Moore struck out with the bases loaded.
That second inning would be the best chance WC had to score. Katie Chittum, the Bishops' starter, kept the Quakers off balance by pounding the outside part of the zone. Wilmington would be retired in order for three straight innings, and despite getting multiple runners on in the sixth and seventh, a sacrifice fly from Bailey Hypes would be all the hosts could muster offensively.
Chuttim earned won the complete-game win, allowing five hits with five strikeouts and one earned run. Izzy Rothrock dipped to 2-8 on the year despite allowing just a single earned run in five innings. Hillary Huffer and Hannah Hall pitched the final two innings for WC.
Sophia Cegledy finished 2-for-4 for OWU while Hadley went 2-for-3 for Wilmington.
In the nightcap, the Quakers continued to use the sacrifice fly to score as Lindsey Carter scored Rachel Berry in the third and Judaea Wilson plated Logann Julian, with the aid of a Bishop error, in the fifth.
Trailing 2-0, OWU cut the deficit in half with an RBI-single up the middle in the sixth, but WC starter Alexis Stringfellow induced a foul out and a groundout to third base to end the inning. The Quakers all but put the game away with consecutive two-RBI doubles from Kylah Morrison and Wilson in the bottom of the sixth.
Stringfellow won her fifth game of the season, scattering four hits over six innings. Lindsey Carter pitched the seventh, allowing a single run in the inning. Kaelyn Rodriguez fell to 1-3 for OWU allowing six earned runs on 10 hits. The three pitchers combined for a single strikeout.
Wilson and Carter had two hits each and combined for three RBIs at the top of the Wilmington lineup while McKenna Archey and Rachel Berry also had multi-hit games. For OWU, McKenna Tuttle and Rylee Anspach had two hits each in defeat.
The Quakers return to OAC play against Heidelberg University on Saturday. The senior day twinbill is scheduled for 1 p.m.
