Yellow Jackets Dominate the Yeowomen

OBERLIN, OHIO – The Defiance College softball team outhit their opponent 15-3 in game one and 17-13 in game two to cruise past Oberlin College in non-conference play in Oberlin, Ohio.

Defiance (17-19) started scoring right out of the gate and never looked back. The Yellow Jackets started with a four-run first inning to take an early 4-0 lead over Oberlin (2-33). Senior Makayla McAvoy (Mt. Gilead) drove in the first run of the day after a single up the middle. Junior Megan Warren (Mason) brought McAvoy home with a RBI-double to right field. Sophomore Keri Hupp (Louisville) brought the final two runs in after hitting a two RBI-double to score Warren and sophomore Haley Patty (Bradford).

After a scoreless second, the Yellow Jackets tacked on two more runs thanks to a two-run long ball from Patty that was set up after Warren singled earlier in the inning.

DC held the Yeowomen and added three more runs in the top of the fifth inning. Freshman Jackie Hartman (Parma/Padua Franciscan) started with a lead-off double and two batters later, freshman Jordan Osborne (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) recorded a RBI-ground out to score Hartman. Further down the lineup Warren doubled to left center to score junior Emily Denhard (Troy, Mich. /Kolbe Academy) and McAvoy to boost the advantage to 9-0.

With the mercy rule in play, the Yellow Jackets defense held the Yeowomen to three-up, three-down and finalized the 9-0 victory in favor of Defiance.

DC recorded 15 hits coming off the bats of eight different Yellow Jackets. Osborne, McAvoy, Warren, Patty and Hartman all recorded a multi-hit game. In the circle, sophomore Sarah Kaya (Lorain/Clearview) pitched the complete game and recorded the shutout victory. She allowed just three hits, while striking out five batters in five innings of work.

Game two mimicked the first, as the Yellow Jackets scored four early runs in the first inning to take the 4-0 lead over the Yeowomen. Sophomore Kaity Kuhn (Celina) crossed home first, thanks to an error from the defense. Patty then recorded a RBI-single to plate Warren. Another Yeowomen error allowed senior Megan Pleskovic (Strongsville) to cross, while Patty followed close behind thanks to a RBI-single form Hupp.

The Yellow Jackets added four more runs before Oberlin pushed a runner across home to bring the score to 8-1. After a scoreless inning from both teams, Hupp broke the stalemate with her second home run of the game to extend the Yellow Jacket lead 9-1. In the bottom of the inning, the Yeowomen looked to make a comeback, after scoring four but the Yellow Jacket defense held Oberlin to take a 9-5 lead into the top of the sixth.

The Purple and Gold put together a six-run sixth-inning to put the mercy rule in affect thanks to a commanding 16-5 lead. The DC defense held Oberlin to a scoreless inning and secured the 16-5 game two victory.

DC tallied 17 hits coming from 10 different Yellow Jackets. Denhard, Warren, Pleskovic, Patty, Hupp and senior Sandra Hubler all recorded a multi-hit game. At pitcher, freshman Jamie Kimbler (Huber Heights/Wayne) recorded the start and the win after pitching five innings, allowing just five runs off of 12 hits. Kaya came in and pitched one inning of relief and allowed just one hit and zero runs.

The Yellow Jackets will conclude their regular-season play on Saturday, Apr. 30 when they travel to Franklin, Ind. to face Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference opponent Franklin (Ind.) College. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.