Yellow Jackets Fall in HCAC Tourney Opener

ANDERSON, IND. -- The Defiance College softball team struggled in the opener of the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament, suffering a 10-2 defeat against Transylvania (Ky.) University in Anderson, Ind. 

Defiance (24-16) kicked off the scoring in the top of the first, as Jordan Osborne (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) led off the contest with a double. Two batters later, senior Megan Warren (Mason) drove her in with a base hit to left field to give DC a quick 1-0 lead. 

After Transy (29-11) got the run back in the bottom of the first, the top of the Defiance in order added another run in the third. A one-out single by senior Emily Denhard (Troy, Mich./Kolbe Academy) was followed, two batters later, by a run-scoring double from freshman Brooke Gostomsky (Covington) to put DC in front, 2-1. 

The Pioneers tied the game in the third and added two more to take a 4-2 lead after four frames. Osborne led off the fifth with a base knock, advancing to second on a Denhard sacrifice, but the offense could not drive her in, coming up empty in the inning. Transylvania started the fifth with a walk and a double before depositing a three-run homer to extend the lead to 7-2. 

Defiance continued their offensive struggles in the sixth, going scoreless despite a one-out single from Kaity Kuhn (Celina). The Pioneers finished the job with three more runs in the sixth to give Transy the 10-2 run-rule victory over the Yellow Jackets.

Junior Sarah Kaya (Lorain/Clearview) pitched the full 5.2 innings, falling to 12-10 on the season for Defiance. 

Gostomsky led the way offensively for DC, going two-of-three with a pair of doubles, while Osborne and Kuhn added two hits apiece as well.

Defiance looks to fight back from the losers' bracket as they return to action on Saturday, May 6 at 1 p.m. at Anderson University. They will face the loser of the 11 a.m. game between the host Ravens and Franklin (Ind.) College in an elimination game.