Softball team eliminated from MIAA Tournament with losses to Hope and Trine

ANGOLA, Ind. – The Olivet College softball team fell to Hope College (3-1) and Trine (Ind.) University (12-1) to be eliminated from the 2014 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Tournament today at the TU Softball Field in Angola, Ind.

Hope took a 1-0 lead in the first inning on leadoff triple, followed by a sacrifice fly. The Comets had the tying run in scoring position in the second and third innings but failed to push across a run. The Flying Dutch added to their lead with a single tally in the bottom half of the third inning.

Olivet cut its deficit in half in the fifth inning. Junior Ashley Milheim (Eaton Rapids) singled up the middle and scored on an RBI-double by senior Lauren Lenard (Dimondale/Lansing Catholic). Hope manufactured its third run in the sixth inning with a single, sacrifice and another single.

For the game, the Comets had five hits. Milheim had two singles, while Lenard went 2-for-2 with two doubles and a walk. Freshman Jessica Palumbo (Oxford) walked twice. In the circle, freshman Ashlynn Grubb (LaGrange, Ind./Lakeland) suffered the pitching loss, allowing five hits and striking out six in the complete game performance.

Batting first, Trine used a two-out hit to score a run in the top half of the first inning. Olivet answered with its own two-out hit to tie the game at 1-1. Milheim and Lenard walked to start the game. After the second out was recorded, senior Alyssa Nielsen (Greenville) lined a single in the left-center field to drive in Milheim from second base.

The Thunder took the lead back on a solo home run in the fourth inning. Trine put the game away by scoring six runs in the fifth and four runs in the seventh.

At the plate, the Comets were held to three hits. In her final collegiate game, Nielsen was 2-for-3 with an RBI. Lenard had the third hit, a double in the sixth inning. Freshman Morgan Stratton (Grand Blanc) was tagged with only her second pitching loss of the season. She gave up 12 runs (eight earned) on 14 hits.

Olivet finishes the 2014 season with a 26-11 overall record, with the 26 wins being the most in school history. In addition, the Comets posted team single-season records in runs scored (219) and RBI (194).

NOTES: Lenard ended her career by breaking school all-time records for games played (138) and games started (136). She also ranks tied for first in RBI (76), eighth in on-base percentage (.415), sixth in at-bats (366), tied for eighth in runs scored (59), tied for fourth in hits (119), ninth in doubles (21), tied for sixth in total bases (146), first in walks (51), first in times hit by a pitch (seven), ninth in fielding percentage (.974), first in fielding chances (820) and first in putouts (737).

Senior Terri Hurosky's (Nashville/Maple Valley) name can also be found among the career leaders at Olivet. She ends her career tied for fourth in games played (133), fourth in games started (127), seventh in at-bats (351), fifth in runs scored (64), ninth in hits (97), tied for ninth in home runs (5), third in runs batted in (66), ninth in total bases (143), fifth in walks (39), tied for fifth in times hit by a pitch (four) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (18). When you combine Nielsen's single-season record seven triples this season with her one as a freshman, she finishes her career with the second-most.

Nielsen posted the seventh-best slugging percentage this season at .612. Milheim drew the most walks (25), scored the second-most runs (38) and had the fourth-best on-base percentage (.493) in 2014. Grubb collected the second-most RBI (32) in a season.