Box Score 1 | Box Score 2 | Box Score 3 | Box Score 4 Winning the Ohio Athletic Conference regular season title last season yet going two-and-out in the tournament has left a collective bitter taste in the mouths of the John Carroll softball players for the past ten months.

Leaving six-in-the-morning practices and the cold air behind in Cleveland, the Blue Streaks headed down to the National Training Center in Clermont, Florida, to start their 2012 season in the sunshine during spring break.

Based on early results, John Carroll has come ready to play.

Consistent batting and miserly pitching have been key factors as JCU has swept it first four opponents.

On Monday evening, the Blue Streaks rolled past Susquehanna Univeristy by a score of 6-1. Hours later, John Carroll made quick work of Marywood University, 10-1.

The first game was pitched by sophomore Trisha Pike, who come back stronger than ever, only allowing one run to score.

During the third inning, a pair of singles by Colleen Brady and Michelle Murphy earned them a base. As soon as the sophomore short stop Sam Becker stepped up to plate, she unleased a hard hit triple to the left side to plate Brady and Murphy.

Becker did not stop there.

In the next inning, Becker complimented her offense with a double play. While fielding a grounder at shortstop, Becker tagged the girl in front of her and had enough time to throw the ball to first and get the inning-ending out.

Erin Riccardi and Mackenzie Griffin took advantage of shoddy defense to score runs in the fifth, while Ollie Mathews hit a line drive double which eventually lead to the sixth and final run.

Collectively as a team, there was only one strikeout on the offensive side.

Showing why she earned Ohio Athletic Conference Pitcher of the year in 2011, senior Brittany Danilov came out strong in her 2012 season debut. Against Marywood, Danilov produced 13 strikeouts in a total of five innings. Along with her 13 strikeouts, only three runners touched the bases yet none of them scored under Danilov's watch.

The offense piled up ten runs in support of Danilov, with nearly everyone in the line-up accounting for a run scored or a run driven in.

"We all ate our Wheaties today", stated Brady, who had two triples against Marywood.

Following Danilov's lead, freshman Rachel Byrnes started off her college career by pitching the last innig, earning her first strikeout of the season.

On Tuesday, JCU opened play by defeating St. Vincent, 3-0. In a game where runs were tough to come by, the duo of Pike and Danilov were on their games. Pike went five innings and struck out eight while giving up just three hits, while Danilov worked the final two innings for the save and allowed just one hit.

The Streaks scored all three of their runs in the fourth inning, loading the bases thanks to hits by Brady and Lia Locey and a walk by Murphy. Becker came through with an RBI single to score Brady, while Locey and Murphy took advantage of an error and a passed ball to cross the plate.

In the second game of the day, JCU got past Northwestern (MN) by a final of 7-4. The Blue Streaks improved to 4-0 against the Eagles, who were predicted to finish second in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) this season.

Danilov worked six innings, racking up 10 strikeouts to give her collectively 27 strikeouts in 13 and 2/3 innings.

JCU broke open a 2-1 game with five runs in the seventh. The Blue Streaks loaded the bases thanks to a walk by Murphy, a single by Becker, and an error which allowed Mackenzie Griffin to reach. Riccardi cashed in when she hit a triple to plate three runs, and then came home herself when Mathews hit a double.