After going 14 consecutive outings without scoring more than five runs in a game, JCU has reached seven runs in its last three consecutive games.

That was the good news from Thursday's doubleheader at Oberlin.

The not-so-good news was that despite the offensive eruption, the Blue Streaks were unable to close the door on what could have been its first sweep since March 20, instead coming away with a split. John Carroll defeated the Yeowomen, 7-4, in the opener, before falling in the nightcap, 8-7.

Game One
    
The Blue Streaks put their batting struggles to rest right away by manufacturing one of their best offensive innings this year to get the game going. In the top of the first, right fielder Quinn Sobieszczanski got it started with an opposite field single to right. That was followed by Miranda Noday getting hit by a pitch and with runners on first and second Lindsay McKnight singled through the middle of the infield for an RBI single to put JCU on the board. A pair of walks put another run on the board for the Blue Streaks and then Elizabeth Fraas sent a sacrifice fly to left field for the third and final run of the inning.

Junior pitcher Jenn Patterson would take the circle in game one for the Blue Streaks,  holding a 2.53 ERA in 16 appearances. This day would not start well for her as Oberlin would responded in a big way to the JCU quick start. Leadoff batter Cat Maruzzi got it going for the Yeowoman with a leadoff double. The Senior two hitter, Emma Downing, got a pitch to hit and sent a shot over the left field fence to cut the Blue Streak lead to 3-2. Patterson would settle in after that and hold JCU's lead at 3-2.

Oberlin was able to continue to chip away. In the third inning, Caley Dunlap opened it up with a leadoff double and found paydirt when the first baseman Kat Ladoucer singled to left evening the score up at 3-3.

In the fifth inning, the top of the JCU lineup put the Blue Streaks back in control of the action. Sobieszczanski sent a hard grounder to third that was not fielded cleanly and she beat out a late throw for a leadoff single. Noday's sacrifice bunt was followed by a McKnight single to center and JCU had runners on the corners early. McKnight initiated the double steal by swiping second, allowing Sobieszczanski to steal home giving John Carroll the lead at 4-3.

The sixth inning caused some drama for John Carroll on the defensive side. Madison Eagle relieved Jenn Patterson and the first two batters she faced reached via singles. After a sacrifice bunt, the Yeowoman had runners on second and third with one out. Eagle locked in and forced two ground balls to Junior Alee Burke at second base to escape the inning with no damage done.

John Carroll exploded in the top of the seventh inning. Sobieszczanski got the inning started with a single up the middle, Noday followed with a single herself to have two on with no outs. After an Oberlin pitching change, McKnight stepped into the box and wasted no time taking the first pitch she saw deep to left field for a home run, her fourth on the year. The three run shot gave the Blue Streaks a commanding 7-3 lead.

Patterson earned her seventh win and Eagle her first save.

The top four of the JCU line-up -- Sobieszczanski, Noday, McKnight and Kristen Jesberger -- were a combined 9-14 with seven runs and four RBI.

Game Two

Another showing of John Carroll's strengths put Oberlin on their heels to start game two. The top of the order once again proved lethal for the Blue Streaks as the first three batters were on base in inning one. 

Sobieszczanski was walked as the first batter up and advanced on a wild pitch to second base. Noday bunted Sobieszczanski to third while getting on base herself. A perfectly executed double steal put Noday on second and allowed Sobieszczanski to swipe home for a 1-0 lead. McKnight then smashed a double to bring Noday home and the Blue Streaks jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

Oberlin would answer with two runs of its own in the bottom of the frame to knot the score at 2-2.

Noday would essentially manufacture the Blue Streaks' third run on her own in the third. She singled, stole second, and then stole third, which induced a wild throw that allowed her to come home.

The Yeowomen would take a 5-3 lead after four innings, but John Carroll had an answer in the top of the fifth. 

Sobieszczanski got on base once again, stole a base, and then came home on a McKnight single. The aggressive base running continued as McKnight stole second and Jesberger ripped a single to score McKnight, tying the score at 5-5. Emma Gurley then hit a double over the third baseman's head to move Jesberger to third. She would later score on a Crista Nativio sacrifice fly, making the score 6-5.

A two out single by Sobieszczanski followed by a Noday single led to Sobieszczanski crossing home plate after Oberlin made miscues in the field.

The 7-5 lead would not hold unfortunately for the Blue Streaks. Oberlin used a two-run double to tie the game at 7-7, and then used a two-out single to push across what proved to be the winning run.

Fighting all the way to the last pitch, Jesberger started the inning with a single, but two consecutive force outs put Nativio in a spot to keep the game going. She did just that, singling to put the tying run at second base. But another ground out would end the contest.

"Our offense did a great job today," said John Carroll head coach Nicole Loudin. "We adjusted well to the off-speed pitches and we took advantage of their miscues. We just could not put the nail in the coffin to close out game two."

The Blue Streaks move to 12-18 on the year and 2-9 in the OAC. They will look to continue their offensive power in OAC doubleheader against Ohio Northern University on Saturday in Ada, OH at 1:00 p.m.