Softball team run-rules Albion in opener, 12-2; loses nightcap, 4-3

ALBION, Mich. – The Olivet College softball team posted a doubleheader split at Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Albion College today on Dempsey Field and inside the Davis Athletic Complex in Albion. In the opener, the Comets run-ruled the Britons, 12-2, in five innings. The Britons salvaged a split in the doubleheader with a come-from-behind 5-3 victory in the nightcap.

THE BASICS
Final Scores: Olivet 12, Albion 2 (5); Albion 4, Olivet 3
Location: Dempsey Field; Albion, Mich.
Records: Albion 9-23 overall, 1-9 MIAA; Olivet 17-11 overall, 4-6 MIAA

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME ONE)

• The Comets took a 3-0 lead in the second inning after junior Dominique McKillop hit an RBI-double and sophomore Courtney Willson hit an RBI-triple.
• The Britons got one run back in their half of the second inning.
• Olivet manufactured a run in the third inning. Sophomore Kinslea Blouin had a leadoff double, went to third on a groundout and came around to score on sophomore Jazmin Hildebrand's sacrifice fly.
• In the fourth inning, the first nine Comets reached base safely and seven of the nine players came around to score a run. Driving in runs were junior Andrea Rico, Blouin, senior Konnor Geiger, sophomore Taylor Shellenberger and freshman Jordan Fox.
• Albion added a run in the bottom half of the fourth inning.
• Olivet scored its final run in the fifth inning. Blouin walked, stole second base and scored on Shellenberger's double.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet tallied 13 total hits, including eight for extra bases.
• Blouin was 3-for-3 with three doubles, three runs scored and two RBI.
• Shellenberger also collected three hits in three at-bats, including two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI.
• McKillop had one hit and walked three times.
• Willson drove in two runs.
• In the circle, Rico threw the five innings and allowed two unearned runs on five hits.

FOR THE BRITONS

• Angela Hoffsis notched three of the five Albion hits.
• Brianna Charron was tagged with the pitching loss. She surrendered 11 runs on 11 hits over three innings.
• Eryn VanderVlucht gave up one run on two hits in two innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED (GAME TWO)

• After getting out of a bases-loaded jam in the top half of the first inning, the Comets took a 2-0 lead on a two-run home run by Blouin in the bottom half of the inning.
• The Britons tied the game with single tallies in the second and third innings.
• Olivet grabbed a 3-2 lead in the sixth inning. Fox had a pinch-hit single. Freshman Kayla Blett came back into the game to run for her. She stole second base and hustled around the bases to score on Shellenberger's single.
• Albion used two-run double to score the tying and go-ahead runs in the seventh inning.

FOR THE COMETS

• Olivet had only seven hits in the game.
• Rico went 2-for-4 at the plate.
• Sophomore Gracie Boyle suffered the pitching loss. She yielded four runs (three earned) on 13 hits over six and one-third innings.
• Rico recorded the final two outs.

FOR THE BRITONS

• VanderVlucht threw the complete game, seven-hitter.
• Five Albion players had a multi-hit game.
• VanderVlucht helped her own cause at the plate by driving in the two runs in the seventh inning. She also had a single earlier in the game.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE

• The 17 wins this season are the most for head coach Darrick Brown in his first three years at Olivet.
• Fox's hit in game one was her first collegiate base hit.
• Blouin now has seven home runs this season, which is tied for the second-most in school history for a single-season. Her .856 slugging percentage is on pace to break the single-season mark.

UP NEXT

• Olivet travels to play MIAA co-leader and No. 7 ranked Saint Mary's (Ind.) College tomorrow at 1 p.m.