Softball team swept by #7 Grand Valley, 3-0 and 9-0

The Olivet College softball team opened the northern portion of its schedule this afternoon and was swept in a non-conference doubleheader by Grand Valley State University. The Lakers, ranked No. 7 in the latest National Fastpitch Coaches Association poll, won by scores of 3-0 and 9-0.

In the first game, GVSU took a 1-0 lead in the third inning. Nichole Woityra led off the frame with a single, stole second and scored on a single by Elizabeth Smith. The Comets (4-9) had a chance to score a run in the top half of the fifth inning when they left a runner stranded at third base. The Lakers scored their other two runs in the home half of the fifth when they strung together three straight hits and a sacrifice fly. Olivet did not go down quietly, leaving two runners on base in the seventh inning.

At the plate, the Comets were limited to two hits. Both were by junior Beth DeLora (Muskegon/Oakridge). One of her hits was a double. In the circle, freshman Katie Harper (Vassar) gave up the three runs on eight hits, while striking out three. Defensively, Olivet had zero errors.

In the nightcap, the Lakers scored one run in the second inning and four runs each in the third and fourth innings to force the eight-run mercy-rule ending. The Comets' lone base runner in the game was a walk issued to junior Cassie Bowerman (Quincy). In the circle, DeLora was tagged with the loss. She threw four innings and allowed nine runs on nine hits.

Olivet is idle until next Wednesday, March 26, when it hosts Manchester (Ind.) College for a non-league doubleheader, beginning at 3 p.m.