Cold Weather; Hot Bats for the Yellow Jackets

DEFIANCE, OHIO – The weather was cold, but the bats were hot as the Defiance College softball team swept Adrian (Mich.) College in the home opener in non-conference play at Sal Hench Field.

In game one, both teams were held scoreless until the third inning. Defiance (8-6) broke the stalemate with three runs that began with a RBI-single from junior Emily Denhard (Troy, Mich. /Kolbe Academy). An error from the Bulldogs (1-4) allowed two more runs to score to put the Yellow Jackets ahead, 3-0.

Adrian looked to rally in the fifth, when they scored three runs of their own to even the game, 3-3. DC answered back in the bottom of the fifth with two runs to regain the lead. Junior Megan Warren (Mason) hit her first-of-two homeruns of the day to drive in what proved to be the winning runs as the Yellow Jackets kept Adrian scoreless the final two innings and took the victory, 5-3.

DC had four hits with four different Yellow Jackets recording a hit in freshman Jordan Osborne (Deleware/Rutherford B. Hayes), Denhard, Warren and senior Megan Pleskovic (Strongsville).

In the circle, sophomore Sarah Kaya (Lorain/Clearview) pitched a complete game and recorded her fifth win of the season. She gave up just three runs on 12 hits and sat down four batters.

In game two, the Purple and Gold put the first run on the scoreboard early when Warren hit an RBI-triple to plate Osborne in the bottom of the first inning. After a scoreless second-inning, the Bulldogs tried to chip away at the deficit with one run of their own but Defiance wasn't going anywhere and scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning. Warren hit a RBI-single, and sophomore Kaity Kuhn (Celina) hit a two-RBI single to account for the three runs.

In the fourth, sophomore Haley Patty (Bradford) hit a solo homerun (career first) to tally another run on the scoreboard and give Defiance a 5-1 lead.

The Bulldogs looked to make a comeback in the fifth, scoring two runs, but quick defense with a double-play got the Yellow Jackets out of a jam before the Bulldogs could do any more damage.

DC scored their final three runs of the game in the bottom of the sixth after a sacrifice fly from Denhard allowed Patty to score and Warren hitting her second homer, recording two RBI's. The Yellow Jacket defense held the Bulldogs to three-up, three-down in the seventh to finalize the 8-3 victory.

Defiance had nine hits with three Yellow Jackets recording a multi-hit game. Warren went a perfect three-of-three with four RBI and two runs scored, Pleskovic also went perfect at two-of-two and one run scored. Patty rounded out the multi-hitters with a two-of-three effort to go along with one RBI and two runs scored.

Pitching in game two came from freshman Jamie Kimbler (Huber Heights/Wayne) and sophomore Sydni Smith (Jackson, Mich. /Lumen Christi). Kimbler pitched four and one-third innings, while allowing three runs off of eight hits. She was the pitcher of record and moved to 2-1 for the season. Smith pitched a perfect two and two-thirds innings of relief, allowing no runs and no hits, while striking out one batter.

The Yellow Jackets will continue their home stretch as they host Denison University on Wednesday, Mar. 23 at Sal Hench Field. The first game of the non-conference doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:30 p.m.