WINTER HAVEN, Fla. – The Ohio Wesleyan University softball team hit the field on Tuesday afternoon for day two of their spring break trip to Florida, taking on Penn State Behrend and Bowdoin. Unfortunately, the Battling Bishops struck out in both games, falling to 2-2 on the season after a 7-3 loss to Penn State Behrend and 13-7 loss to Bowdoin.
GAME ONE: OHIO WESLEYAN 3, PENN STATE BEHREND 7
The Bishops found themselves playing from behind early in game one after allowing four runs in the bottom of the second. However, the Red and Black got right back in it in the top of the third, plating three runs to pull within one.
The third started with a
Rylee Myers single to center field. Rylee Gist,
Ryla Zehring, and
Jessie Spurling followed with a walk and a single to load the bases.
Jessie Spurling then forced a walk to get Myers in. A few batters later,
Liv Yeary singled to left to bring in both Spurling and Gist.
Unfortunately, that would be the last of the scoring for Ohio Wesleyan despite some close chances in the remaining innings. Penn State Behrend added one in the fourth and two in the sixth to go on to a 7-3 win.
Makenna Knisley (1-1) got the nod, going 1.1 innings with four earned runs, four hits, two walks and one strikeout. Zehring provided relief, pitching 4.2 innings with five hits, three earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts.
Yeary reached twice in four plate appearances with a walk and a single and drove in two runs.
Myers and Zehring were both 2-for-4 with a run scored. Zehring doubled.
Gist scored the remaining run, reaching once on a walk.
GAME TWO: OHIO WESLEYAN 7, BOWDOIN 13
The second game started with a slugfest featuring 12 combined runs through the first two innings. The Battling Bishops took an early lead with four runs in the bottom of the first after just one from Bowdoin in the top half.
Chameron Vanden Eynden and
Rylee Myers started it off with singles. The two were then brought in by a single by
Rylea Gist. Next, Gist scored on a double by
Ryla Zehring. Finally, Zehring came around to score on an error.
The Polar Bears pulled ahead in the top of the second, scoring five to make it a 6-4 ballgame. The Bishops soon tied it back up with two runs in the bottom of the second. Again it was Vanden Eynden and Myers getting on base via singles. Gist and Zehring then scored Vanden Eynden and Myers on back-to-back productive groundouts.
OWU would score one more in the bottom of the fourth when
Liv Yeary drove in Zehring on a groundout. Unfortunately, this was outmatched by Bowdoin's two runs in the top of the each the fourth and fifth innings, as well as three runs in the top of the sixth, leading to a final scoreline of 13-7 for the Polar Bears.
Olivia Basil (0-1) made the start and pitched 1.2 innings with four hits, three earned runs, three walks, and two strikeouts.
Shelby Morris (2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 1 SO),
Emma Dahlstrom (0.2 IP, 1 ER, 3 BB), and Zehring (2.1 IP, 3 H, 4 SO) came in in relief. Zehring's four strikeouts was a career high.
Gist plated three runs on a 2-for-3 afternoon with two singles, a sacrifice hit, and a run scored.
Zehring grabbed a pair of hits in two at-bats – one double – as well as a pair of RBIs and a pair of runs scored.
Vanden Eynden and Myers scored twice and hit safely twice. Vanden Eynden was 2-for-5. Myers was 2-for-4.
UP NEXT
The Bishops hit the field again on Thursday, playing Albertus Magnus and Dominican in Winter Haven at 1:45 and 4:15 p.m.
