Softball team splits twinbill with Adrian to reach 20 wins in 2014

OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College softball team split a doubleheader with Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Adrian College this afternoon at the Cutler Athletic Complex in Olivet. After losing the first game, 3-2, the Comets salvaged the split with a 5-0 shutout win game two. With the win, Olivet improves its overall record to 20-9 to reach the 20-win plateau for only the seventh time in school history.

All of the scoring in the first game was done in the first inning. The Bulldogs plated their runs on an RBI-double by Katie Dewyre and a two-run home run by Karissa Devore. Olivet answered back with its two runs in the home half of the first. Junior Ashley Milheim (Eaton Rapids) reached on a throwing error and advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by senior Lauren Lenard (Dimondale/Lansing Catholic).

Senior Terri Hurosky (Nashville/Maple Valley) hit a double to score Milheim. Freshman Ashlynn Grubb (LaGrange, Ind./Lakeland) followed with a double to right-center field to plate Hurosky. The Comets left the tying run stranded in scoring position in the fifth and sixth innings.

For the game, Olivet had only five hits, including a 2-for-3 performance by senior Alyssa Nielsen (Greenville). Grubb suffered the hard-luck pitching loss, as she gave up the three earned runs on seven hits, while striking out eight and did not walk a batter.

In the nightcap, the Comets scored the only runs they would need in the second inning. Nielsen led off the inning with a single and went to third when the ball rolled through the legs of the left fielder. Sophomore Maddy Siebenmark (Bridgman) lined the first pitch she saw into center field to drive in Nielsen. Siebenmark went to second base on a passed ball before freshman Jessica Palumbo (Oxford) brought her home with a double over the center fielder's head.

Olivet added to its lead in the third inning when Hurosky deposited a 2-2 pitch over the fence in right-center field for her first home run of the season. The Comets capped their scoring with a two-run sixth inning. Hurosky and Grubb reached base to start the inning. After a pitching change, Nielsen sent a 2-2 pitch into center field to drive Hurosky and advance Grubb to third. Palumbo followed with an RBI-single to plate Grubb.

The Comets finished the game with six hits. Nielsen had a single and double to raise her batting average to a team-leading .410. Palumbo also recorded two hits and drove in a pair of runs. Hurosky scored two runs. Grubb threw a complete game, three-hitter. She struck out three, did not walk a batter and allowed only two runners to get into scoring position.

Olivet will take a break from MIAA Saturday when it travels to play a non-conference doubleheader at Manchester (Ind.) University, beginning at 1 p.m.

NOTES: The Comets are in fourth-place in the MIAA standings with an 8-6 record. Olivet will wrap-up its MIAA schedule next Saturday, April 26, with a doubleheader at Kalamazoo College. Alma, Adrian and Saint Mary's all sit in fifth-place in the standings with 4-6 records.  The top four teams will advance to the 2014 MIAA Tournament Thursday and Friday, May 1-2. The school record for wins in a season is 24 by the 2006 team.