Softball team splits doubleheader at Kalamazoo

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Olivet College softball team split a doubleheader against Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Kalamazoo College today in Kalamazoo. After the Hornets won the opener, 7-1, the Comets rebounded to win the nightcap, 4-1.

In the first game, Kalamazoo took advantage of an Olivet error to push across two runs in the first inning. The Hornets plated five runs in the third inning. The Comets scored their only run in the sixth inning. Junior Kelsey Scheenks started the inning with a double to left field. Junior Taylor Smith walked. A ground out moved both runners up a base, and sophomore Larissa Ludwick brought home Scheenks with an RBI-single up the middle of the infield.

Olivet finished the game with just five hits, led by junior Ashlynn Grubb's 2-for-3 performance. Junior Carrie Chamberlain suffered the pitching loss after allowing all seven runs, three earned, on seven hits, while striking out four in six innings.

The second game saw the Comets take a 2-0 lead with a pair of runs in the third inning. With the bases loaded, Chamberlain roped a two-run single to score Smith and sophomore Olivia Peraino. The Hornets cut their deficit in half with a run in the fifth.

In the bottom half of the sixth, Olivet scored two runs. Sophomore Haley Reed slapped a single up the middle and hustled around the bases to score on Smith's double to center field. Grubb followed with double into the left-centerfield gap to plate Smith.

The Comets recorded 11 hits in the win. Chamberlain was 3-for-3 with a double and two RBI. Smith also had three hits and scored twice. Grubb and Reed were both 2-for-4. In the circle, Grubb earned her 10th win of the season after yielding the one run on seven hits, with five strikeouts in the complete game effort.

Olivet plays a league doubleheader tomorrow at Alma College. First pitch from Scots Park is slated for 2 p.m.