Oakland City, IN - After a strong start to the season, the Oakland City University softball team, currently ranked 8th in the NCCAA, hosted the Bearcats of Brescia University at EGGSL Field. Winners of four straight, the Oaks, with a 6-3 record, looked to continue their winning ways against the winless Bearcats, who entered the day at 0-8 on the year.
Game one saw the Oaks send out sophomore
Kenzie Tooley to pitch. Seven innings of work later, Tooley earned the win, improving to 3-1 on the year, allowing just three hits and three walks, while striking out 10, in a complete game shutout, winning 6-0.
The Oaks took an early lead, as junior shortstop
Carmen Deisher led off the bottom of the first inning with a single, followed by a sacrifice bunt from freshman
Abbi Jaquess. Deisher later scored on a double by freshman catcher
Megan Ghrist.
OCU added to their lead in the fourth inning, sending four runners in to score. Ghrist led off the inning with a triple down the right field line, followed by an RBI double by sophomore third baseman
McKendree Ward. Senior first baseman
Valerie Lewis followed a single by junior right fielder
Reagan Hensley with a single of her own, sending Ward home from third base. Hensley scored on a single by Deisher, while
Misty Merter came home on a sacrifice fly from Jaquess.
After Ghrist singled to lead off the fifth inning,
Kate Gertin came in to pinch run, advancing to second on a passed ball. Ward singled through the right side, advancing Gertin, who later scored on a double steal, giving the Oaks their sixth and final run of the game.
Ghrist led the way for the Oaks offensively, going 3-3 at the dish, with a double and a triple, scoring once and knocking in another. Sophomore
McKendree Ward went 2-3 at the plate, including a double, with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base, while Deisher was 2-4, also with a run and an RBI.
Freshman
Ashton Steinbrenner took the ball to pitch game two for the Oaks, earning the win in a 4-2 decision, improving to 3-2 on the year. Steinbrenner gave up four hits, two runs, one earned, while surrendering no walks, hitting one batter, and fanning four.
Oakland City got on the scoreboard in the first inning again, as Deisher led off with a single, then advanced to second on an error. Jaquess followed with a single through the right side of the infield, scoring Deisher. After a single by junior second baseman
Lauren Stone, and a walk by Ghrist, the bases were loaded when Ward lined into a double play to the Bearcats' first baseman, ending what promised to be more OCU runs.
Neither team scored again until the fourth inning, when Steinbrenner scored with the bases loaded on a groundout by Deisher.
The Oaks added two more in the sixth, when Merter scored on a sacrifice fly by Hensley. Deisher tripled into the right field corner, and later came home on a single by Stone, giving OCU a 4-0 lead.
Brescia finally found a way to get on the scoreboard in the final inning of the day, as the leadoff hitter reached on an error, and advanced to second on a single by the next batter. Both runners advanced on a groundout, then scored on a one out single to deep center field by the Bearcat left fielder, who was thrown out on the play trying to reach second.
With the following groudout, the Oaks held on to win 4-2, improving to 8-3 on the year, while the Bearcats returned home with a record of 0-10. OCU will be back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Owensboro, Kentucky, to take on Kentucky Wesleyan University in a double header, with game one set to start at 1:00 pm.
