GRANVILLE, Ohio – The Ohio Wesleyan University softball team traveled to Denison on Saturday night, unfortunately dropping both sides of a doubleheader. The Battling Bishops were outmatched 11-1 in game one but bounced back to compete in game two, coming up just short at 9-7.
Ohio Wesleyan slips to 6-24 on the season and 2-8 in the NCAC. Denison rises to 14-16 overall and 5-5 in conference play
GAME ONE: OHIO WESLEYAN 1, DENISON 11 (5 INN.)
Game one went sour quickly as Denison soared out to a 5-0 lead in the first quarter. The Big Red added six runs in the third to take their lead to 11-0. OWU's only solace was one run in the top of the fourth.
Rylea Gist got on with a one-out walk and advanced to third on a groundout and a wild pitch. She scored as
Katie Enneking reached on an error to third base, making the final score to 11-1.
Kennedy Dean (L, 0-1) got the start and pitched the first inning, allowing five earned runs on four hits and one walk with one strikeout.
Makenna Knisley pitched the final three innings, allowing five earned runs on five hits and three walks.
Gist reached twice, going 1-for-1 with a single and a walk. She also scored the Bishops' only run.
Enneking knocked in the only run for the Red and Black.
Chameron Vanden Eynden recorded the only other hit for OWU.
GAME TWO: OHIO WESLEYAN 7, DENISON 9
Game two got underway with a similar start as Denison scored six early runs, putting up three in the bottom of the first and three in the third. This time, the Battling Bishops fought back, responding with three runs in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit in half at 6-3.
Leah Collier and
Natalie Russell started the inning off by respectively reaching on an error and a single. Next,
Liv Yeary doubled to center to score Dean. Finally,
Shelby Morris doubled to score both Russell and Yeary. Unfortunately, the three runs were quickly wiped off the scoreboard as Denison scored three in the bottom of the inning, making it 9-3.
The Bishops did their best to come back in the sixth and seventh, scoring two in each inning, but the effort would come up just short at 9-7. In the sixth, Russell reached on a fielder's choice before scoring on a triple by Yeary. Yeary then came in to score on a wild pitch. In the seventh, the Red and Black rallied to get runners on first and second with a single and a walk. Next,
Rylea Gist singled to center, allowing Vanden Eynded to score on an error. Finally,
Rylee Myers scored on a fielder's choice by
Jessie Spurling. Despite still having two on with no one out, two pop-ups and a strikeout spelled defeat for Ohio Wesleyan 9-7.
Morris (L, 0-2) pitched the full game, allowing five earned runs on nine hits with three walks. At the plate, she was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.
Yeary went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
Gist and Spurling were both 1-for-4 with an RBI.
Myers was 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
Vanden Eynden was 1-for-3 with a run scored.
Russell scored two runs and went 1-for-4.
Dean scored a run as a pinch-runner.
UP NEXT
The Battling Bishops are back home on Tuesday for a doubleheader against Otterbein with games at 3:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
