Softball team loses one-run decisions to Alma, 5-4 and 8-7
The softball team had leads in both games of a MIAA doubleheader before Alma College rallied to win them, 5-4 and 8-7, today at the Cutler Athletic Complex.
OLIVET, Mich. – The Olivet College softball team had leads in both games of a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) doubleheader before Alma College rallied to win them, 5-4 and 8-7, today at the Cutler Athletic Complex.
In the opener, the Comets took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. The Scots responded with four runs in the top half of the third inning. Olivet tied the game at 4-4 in the home half of the third when sophomore Ciara Santos (Lansing/Everett) blasted a two-run home run over the left field fence.
The score stayed 4-4 until the top of the seventh when Alma plated an unearned run for the go-ahead run. The Comets did not go down quietly in the bottom half of the inning as they had runners on second and third with one out, but a flyout and strikeout ended their threat.
For the game, each team recorded five hits. Olivet's only extra base hit was the home run by Santos. In the circle, senior Katie Harper (Vassar) was the losing pitcher, as she surrendered the five runs (four earned) and struck out two batters.
Batting as the home team in the second game, the Scots pushed across two runs in the first inning. The Comets used small ball to score the first two runs and long ball to score the last four runs in the third inning. Highlighting the inning were two-run homers by junior Brooke Coshow (Niles/Brandywine) and junior Kelsey Greene (Burr Oak).
Alma scored two runs in the third and two more runs in the fourth to tie the game, 6-6. Olivet regained the lead with a run in the top half of the seventh inning. Junior Bridget Lathers (Grass Lake/Lumen Christi) lined a hit into left-centerfield. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by sophomore Lindsey Maas (Pinckney) and scored on a single by senior Jenny Robbins (Fenton). The Scots took advantage of three Olivet errors to score two times in the bottom half of the sixth.
Olivet finished the nightcap with six hits. Greene was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI. Junior Rachel Cook (Traverse City/Central) suffered the pitching loss. She allowed all eight runs, five earned, on 10 hits.
The Comets will play their next four MIAA doubleheaders on the road, beginning next Wednesday against Adrian College at 3:30 p.m. Sandwiched between the first and last four games is a home non-conference doubleheader next Sunday, April 17, against Finlandia University.