Softball team ends season with doubleheader split at Defiance

Comets win game two, 9-8, in nine innings

DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Olivet College softball team ended the 2013 campaign by splitting a doubleheader against Defiance (Ohio) College this afternoon at Sal Hench Field in Defiance, Ohio. Defiance won the first game, 6-5, on a walk-off hit in the bottom half of the seventh. Olivet bounced back to win the nightcap, 9-8, in nine innings.

After three scoreless innings in the first game, the Comets broke through with a two-out rally to plate a run in the fourth. Seniors Alison Iuelle, Ciara Santos and Lindsey Maas had back-to-back-to-back singles, with Maas driving in Iuelle. The Yellow Jackets came right back and took a 2-1 lead with a two runs in their half of the fourth.

In the fifth inning, Olivet responded by sending 10 batters to the plate and scoring four runs to take a 5-2 lead. Defiance got one run back in its half of the fifth and evened the score at 5-5 with a pair of runs in the sixth. The Yellow Jackets then plated the winning run with a two-out RBI-single in the bottom half of the seventh.

Offensively, the Comets finished the game with eight hits. Seven of the nine starters had at least one each. Iuelle was 2-for-3 with two singles. Five different players scored one run apiece. Sophomore Jessica Duell was charged with the pitching loss, allowing four earned runs on 10 hits.

In game two, Olivet took an early 1-0 lead in the second when Santos drove in Iuelle, who led off the inning with a double to the right-center field gap. Defiance came right back with an unearned run in the last half of the second frame.

The Comets quickly answered with another run in the third. Junior Lauren Lenard walked to lead off the inning, went to second on a sacrifice bunt from freshman Lorren Springer and scored on a single up the middle by senior Marlene Packer.

Like the second, the Yellow Jackets leveled the score at 2-2 with an unearned run in their half of the third and took the lead for good for the first time in the fourth when it plated four runs for a 6-2 lead. Undeterred, Olivet came back to take a 7-6 lead with a single run in the fifth and four runs in the sixth inning. All four runs in the sixth were driven on two-out base hits.

Defiance quickly tied the game with another unearned run in the bottom half of the inning. In the seventh inning, the Yellow Jackets had the winning run on third base with nobody out, but the Comets escaped the inning with a fly out and line out double play.

The teams went straight to the international tiebreaker in the eighth inning, where a runner is placed on second to start the inning. Olivet scored a run in the top half of the inning, with Defiance matching the runner in the bottom half of the inning to send the game to another extra frame.

Packer was placed on second base to start the ninth inning. A groundout moved her to third, and after the second out was recorded, Maas drove in Packer with an RBI-single through the left side of the infield. The Yellow Jackets got the runner to third in their half of the ninth, but a foul out to the catcher for the second out and then a ground out ended their threat.

At the plate, the Comets recorded 12 hits. Iuelle finished with three hits and two RBI to go 5-for-8 in her final collegiate doubleheader. Packer and Santos each had two hits and two RBI. Packer scored twice, while Lenard crossed the plate three times.

Extra base hits in the games were doubles for Iuelle, Santos and freshman Amanda George. In the circle, freshman Maddie Siebenmark earned the win. She gave up two earned runs on 10 hits over the nine innings.