Winning is rather difficult without offense. Opponents of the John Carroll pitching staff have found this to be true over the past two weeks.  

Entering play, John Carroll pitchers had surrendered one run or less in four of their previous five games. That positive trend continued in both games on Monday afternoon in University Heights.

JCU's pitching unit hurled 13 innings of one-run ball to win 6-0 and 9-1 over the Wilmington Fightin' Quakers in a late afternoon doubleheader at Bracken Field. With two victories, the Blue and Gold improve to 12-10, 4-4 OAC while Wilmington falls to 5-21, 1-7 OAC.

Game 1 - John Carroll 6, Wilmington 0 

John Carroll took advantage of defensive miscues committed by the Fightin' Quakers, scoring five runs in the first inning on the way to a 6-0 win.

JCU capitalized on three errors to charge Wilmington pitcher Becca Carpenter with five unearned runs as part of the rout. Senior AnnMarie Kirchner (4 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 3 K) and junior Jessica Cook (3 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 2 K) combined for a two-hit shutout and only allowed five opposing players to reach base.

All facets of the contest were dominated by the Blue Streaks as they swiped six bases, tallied 10 hits and fielded their positions to perfection. Nineteen different players logged action in the one-sided affair.

Junior Hannah Mizener was the team's catalyst with two singles and a run scored out of the leadoff spot while senior Carly Simecek chipped in two hits, two runs and a RBI out of the three-hole.

The majority of the offensive production came in the opening frame when the Blue Streaks batted around their lineup and registered five runs within moments of the game's first pitch. Senior Victoria Eder, junior Maggie Gannon and Simecek each knocked in a run during the rally.

Two more errors from the Fightin' Quakers yielded one last unearned run in the fourth. From that point on, JCU pitching hung zeroes on the scoreboard to keep the Fightin' Quakers offense at bay.

Game 2 - John Carroll 9, Wilmington 1

The home nine distributed their scoring in a well-balanced manner in the latter half of the doubleheader.

The Blue Streaks wasted no time in grasping an early advantage and maintaining it for the duration of the contest, driving home six in the final inning to run rule Wilmington.

The first inning prosperity continued when the first five hitters notched a single, including sophomore Lindsay McKnight and senior Angie Zappitelli with a pair of RBI base knocks.

Senior Brianna Lach furthered the program's spectacular pitching effort by giving up one run (unearned) on two hits, zero walks and five strikeouts (three groundouts, four flyouts). Freshman Jennifer Patterson followed suit with a clean two innings – 2 IP, 2 H, 0 R/ER, 2 BB, 4 K.

Six runs of insurance were added in the sixth inning. The highlight came when sophomore Jennie Broski launched a three-run double to deep center field, clearing the bases and setting up a big play. Eder lined a RBI double through the left side to force the run rule and set off a dugout celebration.

Simecek had another outstanding game, going two for three with two runs scored. Both Mizener and Gannon ran their streaks of consecutive games safely reaching base to seven.

Next up will be a quick turnaround for JCU as the Blue Streaks clash with the Mount Union Purple Raiders on Tuesday beginning at 3:00 p.m. from Bracken Field.