Softball opens HCAC play with a split against Hanover

DEFIANCE, Ohio- The Defiance College softball team opened Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action with a doubleheader against Hanover College on Saturday afternoon. The Yellow Jackets claimed a split on the day by winning the opening game 1-0 before dropping the second game 8-7. 

In game one, the sides remained scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning when Josilyn Guzman singled up the middle to score Kalin Hubble for the lone run of the game. The Yellow Jackets would hold the Panthers in the top of the inning to secure the 1-0 victory. 

Taylor Biggs (5-7) pitched a complete game, throwing 7.0 innings surrendering five hits with one walk and striking seven. 

In game two, Hanover had a 3-0 advantage by the top of the fifth inning. Defiance took the lead in the bottom half of the inning when Savannah McCoy singled to right field and advanced all the way to third, allowing Natalee Cooper to score her with a single to right-center. 

Freshman Brooke Silcox gave the Purple and Gold a 4-3 lead as she hit her first career three-run home run to left-center in the bottom of the fifth inning. 

The Panthers answered back with a five-run sixth inning, regaining the lead by an 8-3 score. The Yellow Jackets did not go down without a fight as they scored three runs on four hits in the bottom half of the inning, making a one-run ballgame, 8-7. Defiance was unable to overcome the deficit, dropping the second game, earning a split on the day. 

Defiance out hit Hanover 15 to 12, but the Yellow Jackets were guilty of four of the five errors in the game. Hubble went 2 for 3 at the plate, registering two RBI, while Cooper went 3 for 3 with one RBI and two runs scored.

McCoy (3-2) got the start for game two and pitched 5.1 innings giving up seven runs, two earned, on 11 hits. Riley Alcorn made an appearance in the fifth inning, facing three batters before senior Jennifer Kaffenbarger finished the game pitching 1.1 innings, allowing one walk. 

The Yellow Jackets move to 9-10-1 overall on the season and 1-1 in HCAC league play. Defiance is scheduled to be back in action on Tuesday, April 6, as they continue their homestand against the Anderson University Ravens. The first pitch is scheduled for 3:30 pm at the Sal Hench Field.