Yellow Jackets Edged Out by No. Five Ohio Northern

ADA, Ohio – The DC softball team gave No. five Ohio Northern (21-1) all they could handle on Wednesday, April 7, losing 7-4 in the first game before dropping a nail-biter, 6-5, in the nightcap. Defiance, who remains in fifth-place in the HCAC, drops to 12-10 on the season.

Defiance took the early lead thanks to some patient hitting. Tasha Stuckey, Katie Miller and Brittany Gow each drew a walk in the first to load the bases for Aarika Davis, who was hit by a pitch to bring a runner in to score. In the second inning, Elizabeth Huffman and Aubrie Ridinger led off the inning with a pair of walks, and Stuckey hit a ball up the middle to load the bases. Huffman reached home on a wild pitch, putting the Jackets up 2-0.

The Polar Bears were held scoreless for the first three innings, but got rolling in the third,  scoring three runs in the frame as Kimi Blewett cranked a home run to left-center, giving ONU the 3-2 lead. Ohio Northern had another big inning in the bottom of the fourth, recording four runs on three hits to push their lead to five.

Defiance cut into the lead in the top of the seventh, as Miller and Marah Robinson began the inning with a pair of singles to center field, and Kaycee Butt followed-up with a two-run double to center field. However, the game came to a close on a strikeout, and the Polar Bears escaped with a 7-4 victory.

In the second contest, ONU scored one run in the bottom of the first to take a 1-0 lead, but Mallory Faling evened the score with a solo shot to left field, her second of the season, to tie the game 1-1. The Polar Bears would recapture the lead in the bottom of the second, when Chrissy Rankin doubled and came around to score on a wild pitch to give ONU the 2-1 lead.

After a scoreless third inning, DC would take the lead in the top of the fourth when Brittany Gow notched her second homer of the season with a two-run shot to left-center field that scored Robinson, who had reached on a single. The lead would not last for long, as ONU posted one run on two hits in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game, 3-3.

ONU outscored the Jackets 3-1 over the next two frames to go up, 6-4, going in to the final inning. Things got interesting when Davis walked and Katelyn Samples singled to the right side, giving the Jackets two runners on with zero outs. Davis would plate a run on a wild pitch to make it a one-run game, and Robinson walked to load the bases for Defiance. Faling, who had homered earlier in the game, stepped up to the plate, and lined a shot to center field, where Mandi Fought snagged the ball out of the air to end the game.   

The Lady Jackets return home to Sal Hench Field on Friday, April 9, for a doubleheader against Hanover College (6-14, 0-4 HCAC). The first of two games is set to begin at 3:00 p.m.