Defiance SB Pushes Win Streak to Seven With HCAC Sweep

DEFIANCE, OHIO -- The Defiance College softball team exceeded the 20-win plateau and pushed their winning streak to seven games as they swept Franklin (Ind.) College, 11-4 and 8-2, in a set of key Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference contests on Sunday.

The Grizzlies started game one with three runs in the first inning off junior hurler Sarah Kaya (Lorain/Clearview), but DC responded in the second as Michaela Bauer (Hicksville) and Jess Mello (Vermilion) hit back-to-back run-scoring singles to left field to cut the deficit to 3-2.  

The Yellow Jackets continued that into the third, as Jackie Hartman (Parma/Padua Franciscan) hit her ninth home run of the season to put Defiance back in front, 4-3. Hartman's nine home runs tied the school-record for homers in a season with Shawn Mitchell, who hit nine home runs in 1993.

After a sollo home run by Franklin in the fifth tied the game at 4-4, Defiance rallied in the bottom half of the inning. DC scored seven runs on seven hits as they put eight straight runners on base in the inning and was highlighted by a two-run single by Jordan Osborne (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes), to put Defiance ahead 11-4. Kaya finished the game with two more shutout innings as DC earned their 20th win of 2017.

Kaya improved to 11-8 on the season with the victory on the mound, throwing a complete game, allowing four runs on 11 hits and striking out two Grizzlies.

Hartman led the way for Defiance at the plate, batting two-of-three with three RBI and scoring three runs. Bauer contributed a pair of hits with two RBI and a run, while Warren and Haley Patty (Bradford) each grabbed two hits while scoring two runs.

Game two started similarly to game one, as Franklin put up a two-spot in the opening half-inning. Defiance looked to crack Grizzly starter Kayla Selzer, but failed to do so until the fifth inning. The Yellow Jackets loaded the bases to open the fifth before freshman Brooke Gostomsky (Covington) knocked in two of them with a double to right center field. An RBI groundout by Hartman then put Defiance in front, 3-2, through five frames.

Defiance continued the scoring in the sixth, as the middle of the order delivered once again. Warren, Gostomsky, and Hartman smoked three straight RBI singles up the middle to extend the DC lead to 6-2. After another single by Kaity Kuhn (Celina), Patty finished the rally with a two-run single to center field to put Defiance in front, 8-2.

Sophomore pitcher Jamie Kimbler (Huber Heights/Wayne) finished the sweep with a scoreless seventh inning to give DC an 8-2 win in the nightcap.

Kimbler now sits at 5-1 on the season after the complete-game victory in the circle, settling down to allow only the two first-inning runs for the Yellow Jackets.

Osborne highlighted the offense in game two, going a perfect four-of-four with four singles. Kuhn added three hits while Gostomsky wrapped up her great weekend at the plate with two hits and three RBI for DC.

Defiance puts their winning streak on the line on Wednesday, April 26 as the Yellow Jackets do battle against Anderson (Ind.) University at Sal Hench Field. First pitch for game one is set for 3:30 p.m.