Softball team defeats Wooster and Eastern Nazarene at Gene Cusic Classic

The Olivet College softball team evened its overall record to 4-4 with two wins this morning inside the Northwest Complex at the Gene Cusic Classic in Fort Myers, Fla. The Comets defeated the College of Wooster (Ohio), 6-3, and Eastern Nazarene (Mass.) College, 6-1.

Wooster took a 1-0 lead with a run in the top half of the first inning. Olivet answered with a run its half of the first, as junior Heidi Wear (Hastings/Wayland Union) hit a RBI-double to score junior Anna Braner (Belmond, Iowa/Marshall). Braner led off the game with an infield single and moved to second on a wild pitch. The Scots took a 2-1 lead with a home run in the third inning.

The Comets regained the lead at 5-2 with a four-run fourth inning. They had three hits and took advantage of three Wooster errors to score the four runs. Olivet added a run in the fifth inning. The Scots closed the scoring with an unearned run in the seventh inning.

Offensively, the Comets collected 10 hits, including two each by Braner and Wear. Juniors Cassie Bowerman (Quincy) and Kacey Darling (Hartford) had a RBI a piece. In the circle, freshman Katie Harper (Vassar) pitched seven innings, allowing five hits, while striking out four.

Against Eastern Nazerene, Olivet took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning when Wear hit a two-run home run. The Crusaders scored their only run in the bottom half of the first. The Comets put the game away with three runs in the second inning. The big hit of the frame was a two-run triple by Bowerman. A wild pitch scored Bowerman. Olivet tacked on its sixth run in the sixth inning.

In the circle, junior Beth DeLora (Muskegon/Oakridge) went the distance, giving up five hits and striking out four. She helped her own cause at the plate with three hits. Wear finished the game with two hits and three RBI. Four others each had a hit, including a triple by Darling.

The Comets are back in action tomorrow for a 9 a.m. game against Pine Manor (Mass.) College and 1 p.m. contest against New Jersey City University.