John Carroll softball split a doubleheader with Baldwin Wallace on Wednesday as the staff pitched a gem in game one, and a second game rally fell just short.
JCU took game one in University Heights, 4-1, and dropped game two, 7-6. The Blue Streaks go to 9-9 overall and 2-4 in OAC play. BW is now 8-10, and 2-4 in OAC play.
Game One - JCU 4, BW 1
A two-run second gave John Carroll the offense they needed, as
AnnMarie Kirchner and
Jennifer Patterson combined to five-hit Baldwin Wallace in a 4-1 victory.
Hannah Mizener and
Lauren Cianciolo both had a pair of hits, with Mizener driving in a run.
Jennie Broski hit a towering home run to left center, and
Mikki Vance drove in her first RBI of the season.
Vance's single up the middle in the second scored Broski and gave JCU a 1-0 lead. Mizener followed it up with a poke to left field that scored
Maggie Gannon. In the next frame, Baldwin Wallace scored on an error.
In the third, Broski reached on an error on her bunt, scoring
Lindsay McKnight. Broski would get her RBI in the fifth on an arcing shot that just cleared the wall in left center.
Kirchner (W, 3-2) tossed four innings of one-run ball, with the one run coming unearned. She allowed four baserunners. Patterson (S, 1) plowed through nine of 11 batters, striking out three.
Game Two - BW 7, JCU 6
Baldwin Wallace scored six runs over two innings to spoil JCU's chance at a sweep, winning 7-6.
Carly Simecek reached three times in game two, walking twice and driving a massive three-run home run to left center.
Lauren Cianciolo was 2-for-4 at the dish, scoring twice.
Victoria Eder and McKnight also drove in a run apiece.
Brianna Lach pitched four innings and was on the hook for three runs.
Kayla Navratil pitched in the fifth, allowing three.
Jessica Cook allowed four baserunners in 2.2 innings of relief. Nikki Turner (1-3) was the winning pitcher for BW, pitching the whole contest.
JCU had a 3-0 lead after three innings after a McKnight RBI single, a wild pitch, and a RBI bunt single by Eder. Baldwin Wallace plated a trio of runs in the fourth, leveling the game at 3-3. Baldwin Wallace extended the lead to 6-3 in the fifth after an error, a sacrifice fly, and a fielder's choice. The lead increased to 7-3 in the sixth.
John Carroll did not back down, as Simecek put a charge into a ball that landed well into fair territory on Schweickert Field, which sits adjacent to Bracken Field. JCU went 1-2-3 in the seventh and could not complete the comeback.
This was the first of three consecutive scheduled doubleheaders for JCU, with games at Allegheny on Thursday and against Wilmington at home on Saturday.
