DC Softball Splits Pair with Adrian

DEFIANCE, Ohio - The Defiance College softball team got seven shutout innings from Kelly Schnipke to take a 7-0 victory over Adrian in the first of two games on Thursday. Adrian responded in game two however, taking an 11-0 win in five innings. Defiance moves to 16-16 on the season with the split.

Schnipke's stellar pitching performance in game one came against an Adrian team that entered the day scoring 6.8 runs per contest, and boasting a .337 team batting average. The five-hit, no-run, complete-game shutout marks Schnipke's seventh complete game of the season, and her first without allowing a single run. The game was also just the second time this season that Adrian has lost on the road.

DC's Marah Robinson got things going in the bottom of the third inning with a solo shot over the left field wall, marking her fourth home run of the season. After a scoreless fourth frame, DC began to separate from the Bull Dogs with a big inning in the fifth, which began with Aarika Davis, Robinson and Mallory Faling each reaching base with singles to load the bases.

Freshman infielder, Katie Miller, worked the count and drew a walk with the bases loaded to bring in Davis and put Defiance up, 2-0. One batter later, Kaycee Butt singled up the middle to drive in a run and make it a three-run advantage, before Miller plated a run on an error by the catcher to put the Jackets ahead by four.

The Jackets followed the three-run fifth inning with three more runs in the sixth, sparked by a lead-off double by Katelyn Samples to start the inning. Stucke, Davis and Faling would each record a hit in the inning, and Kaycee Butt hit a sacrifice fly to right field to put Defiance up, 7-0, for good.  

The script was flipped in game two, as the Jackets were held scoreless with just one hit in the contest, and the Bull Dogs claimed an abbreviated 11-0 victory. The majority of the damage was done in the second inning, as Adrian recorded six runs on seven hits to take the wind out of the sail of the Jackets, who suffered their most lopsided loss of the season.

Defiance will travel to Terre Haute, Ind., on Saturday, April 24, for a crucial doubleheader against Rose-Hulman (12-10, 7-3), who currently owns the fourth-place spot in the HCAC. The Jackets will need to win both games to stay in contention for postseason play.