Softball team splits doubleheader at Manchester (Ind.)

The Olivet College softball team split a doubleheader this afternoon at Manchester (Ind.) College. The Comets (10-4) won game one, 13-0, in five innings because of the eight-run mercy rule. The Spartans (1-1) bounced back to win the nightcap, 7-5.

In the first game, Olivet scored three runs in the second inning before taking advantage of three Manchester errors to score 10 runs in the fifth inning. In the second frame, sophomore Anna Braner (Belmond, Iowa/ Marshall) hit a RBI-double to score senior Shannon Hall (Taylor/Truman), who led off the inning with a single. Sophomore Heidi Wear (Hastings/Wayland Union) doubled to score Braner and sophomore Aryn Perkins (Grand Ledge/Lansing Sexton). With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, sophomore Kacey Darling (Hartford) hit a triple to clear them.

At the plate, Wear was three-for-three with three RBI and two runs scored. Darling had two hits and also drove in three runs and scored twice. Hall along with sophomore Alisha Ridsdale (Laingsburg) each collected two hits. In the circle, sophomore Corie Greene (Brown City) tossed a complete game, three-hitter.

In the nightcap, Olivet jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a run in the first inning. Braner led off the game with a single, advanced to second on a groundout and scored on a single by Ridsdale. The Spartans came back to take a 3-1 lead by scoring three runs in the second. The Comets tied the game at 3-3 in the fifth on a two-run home run by sophomore Christina Luna (Charlotte).

Manchester regained the lead at 5-3 with a two-run homer in its half of the fifth inning. A two-run triple by Darling in the sixth forced a 5-5 tie. The Spartans pushed across their winning runs in the bottom half of the sixth frame.

For the game, Luna had three hits and drove in two runs. Braner tallied two hits and scored two runs. Four other Comets each had a hit. Greene was tagged with the loss after pitching the sixth inning in relief of senior Danielle Kapral (Lapeer/East). Kapral allowed five hits and five runs (three earned), while striking out three. Greene gave up two runs and two hits.

The Comets are back in action next Tuesday, March 20, when they host Grand Valley State University in their home-opener. The non-conference doubleheader will get under way at 3 p.m.