(WESTERVILLE, Ohio) – The Wilmington College softball team ended their season on a high note Saturday afternoon with a doubleheader sweep of conference foe Otterbein University. They took down the Cardinals, 9-5 in game one and run-ruled them 11-0 in five innings during game two.
Samantha Schwab had a great day for Wilmington, gathering five hits and driving in eight runs over the pair of contests. The Quakers end their season with a 19-20-1 overall record and a 7-11 mark in the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC).
Game One – Wilmington defeats Otterbein, 9-5
Otterbein took an early lead with a three-run homerun in the bottom of the first inning for a 3-0 advantage. Wilmington scored two in the top of the second on a Cardinals error and a Kylah Morrison RBI double to cut the lead to 3-2.
The Quakers struck for seven runs in the top of the fourth, and every run came with two outs. Jocelyn Franz drove in the first two runs to take a 4-3 lead. The Cardinals then committed a costly error to allow another run to score and keep the inning alive. Samantha Schwab and Claire Scully then followed with RBI doubles for a 7-3 advantage. Rachel Berry later hit a two-RBI single for a 9-3 lead.
This was all Aiyana Hancock needed as she cruised down the stretch and picked up the win for Wilmington in the circle.
Game One Notables
- The game had a one hour and five-minute rain delay.
- Jocelyn Franz, Samantha Schwab, and Rachel Berry all had two hits. Franz and Berry had two RBI.
- Wilmington had 11 hits in the game and four doubles.
- Aiyana Hancock earned her 11th win of the season, with a complete game performance in the circle. She struck out two Cardinals during the game.
Game Two – Wilmington defeats Otterbein, 11-0 (5 innings)
Judaea Wilson got the scoring started with an RBI double in the first inning for a 1-0 lead. It could have been two runs, but Jocelyn Franz was thrown out at the plate during the play. The second run came in the second on a Kori Cornett fielder's choice that allowed Mollie Moore to score for a 2-0 advantage.
Samantha Schwab hit a two-run homerun in the third and a Moore bunt single later in the inning extended the lead to 5-0.
Schwab hit another two-run homerun in the fourth, this time with two outs for a 7-0 lead. Schwab drove three more runs in during the four-run fifth with a three-RBI double. The final run of the game scored on a Cardinals error that allowed Riley Truesdale to score.
Game Two Notables
- Samantha Schwab had her third multi-homerun game of the season, and her third game with five or more RBI.
- With this two-homerun game, Schwab broke the program record for homeruns in a single season with 11, breaking the previous record of 10 set in 2013.
- Schwab also broke the single-season program record with 43 RBI, breaking the previous record of 36 set in 1999.
- Schwab and Judaea Wilson had three hits in the game, while Jocelyn Franz had two.
- In her final game as a Quaker, Hillary Huffer threw a complete game two hit shutout, while striking out two Cardinals. This is her second complete game shutout in her last three appearances in the circle.
What's Up Next
This concludes the Quakers 2024 season. They will be back on the field in the spring for their 2025 campaign.
