Wins and help were needed on Sunday.
 
The John Carroll University softball team took care of its part of the equation with a 5-0, 5-4 sweep of host Marietta to help itself clinch the No. 4 seed in the OAC Tournament.
 
The Blue Streaks were aided by their cross-town rival Yellow Jackets. Baldwin Wallace forged a split with Muskingum. Had Muskingum recorded the sweep, the Fighting Muskies' and Blue Streaks' fates would have come down to the outcome of the second Ohio Northern-Capital game.
 
John Carroll improved to 22-15, 11-7 OAC while Marietta ended its season at 12-22, 5-13 OAC.
 
Game One
John Carroll 5, Marietta 0
 
John Carroll took advantage of four Marietta errors to cruise to the 5-0 win in game one.
 
The Blue Streaks scored their lone earned run of the game in the second. John Carroll loaded the bases before Taylor Tercek came through with a two-out infield single to plate Christie Wade.
 
A trio of Pioneer errors led to three Blue Streak runs in the fourth. Mikki Vance came in to score on the first error of the frame. Lauren Cianciolo added an RBI groundout to bring in AnnMarie Kirchner on the play. JCU scored its third run of the frame with Tercek scoring on a muffed throw by Marietta's first baseman that would have ended the inning.
 
JCU added an insurance run in the fifth. Ashlee Unrue brought in Wade for the game's final run. Wade started the inning with a leadoff walk.
 
Kirchner picked up the win to move to 10-7 on the year. The sophomore right-hander fired a six-hit shutout while striking out five.
 
Angie Zappitelli led the way at the plate finishing with three hits.
 
Game Two
John Carroll 5, Marietta 4
 
John Carroll walked the tightrope in game two hanging on to take the 5-4 win.
 
Marietta had the game-tying run on third base in the sixth and seventh innings. Rachel Byrnes was able work out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth only allowing one run. Kirchner came on for the save in the seventh recording the last out of the game.
 
John Carroll scored four runs in the second to open up a 4-1 lead. Wade sparked the two-out rally with a single to second. She would come in on Victoria Eder's single to right center. Tercek added an RBI single in the frame to plate Ally Kleinhans. JCU would score Eder and Unrue on two separate wild pitches.
 
Cianciolo connected on a two-out single in the fourth to plate Tercek for the run that would eventually prove to be the difference.
 
Marietta made it a one-run game in the sixth on Brey May's one-out double.
 
Byrnes picked up the win to move to 12-7 on the year. The senior fired 6 2/3 innings allowing four runs on eight hits. She struck out nine on the afternoon.
 
John Carroll will travel to Tiffin, Ohio for the OAC Tournament. John Carroll will open play against Heidelberg at noon on Friday, May 1.