Softball team ends season with two losses at Hope, 10-2 and 4-2

The Olivet College softball team lost two games to Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) rival Hope College, 10-2 and 4-2, today in its season-finale doubleheader at Wolters Stadium in Holland.

In the first game, Hope led 3-0 on a three-run home run in the first inning. Olivet got one back in the third. Freshman Lindsey Maas (Pinckney) singled into left field. Junior Kate Boss (Charlotte/Maple Valley) came into the game as a pinch runner for Maas. On sophomore Nicole Wernette's (Remus/Chippewa Valley) bunt, the Flying Dutch third baseman threw the ball into rightfield, allowing Boss to advance to third base. Junior Christine Daub (Hudson) lined a single into centerfield to score Boss.

In the home half of the third, eight straight Hope batters reached and six came around to score to make the score 9-1. Freshman Meghan Case (Vassar) led off the fourth with a solo home run over the fence in right field. The Flying Dutch answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the fourth. Hope got three outs in the fifth, causing the game to end early because of the eight-run mercy rule.

For the game, Olivet was held to just four base hits, singles by Daub, Maas and Nicole Wernette as well as Case's home run. In the circle, junior Katie Harper (Vassar) was tagged for nine runs on 11 hits in two innings to suffer the loss. Freshman Breanne Harmon (Quincy) allowed just one run on two hits in two innings of relief.

In the second game, Nicole Wernette led off the game with a slap bunt single. When Daub's sacrifice bunt was thrown wild, she went to third base. Sophomore Kelsey Greene (Burr Oak) lined a double in the right-center gap to score Nicole Wernette. The Comets added to their lead with a run in the second. Sophomore Cortney Wernette (Remus/Chippewa Hills) started the inning with a single. On the hit, the shortstop's throw was off the mark, allowing her to advance to second, where Boss came to run for her.

Nicole Wernette hit a single to move Boss to third. After a flyout, Case hit a single through the left-side of the infield to score Boss. Hope cut its deficit in half with a run in the third and took a 3-2 lead with two runs in the fifth. The Flying Dutch closed the scoring with a run in the seventh.

Offensively, the Wernette twins combined for three of Olivet's five hits – two for Nicole and one for Cortney. The other two were the RBI hits by Case and Greene. In the circle, Greene went the distance, giving up the four runs (three earned) on nine hits.

Olivet ends its season with a 14-18 overall record and tied for sixth in the MIAA standings with a 6-10 mark.