PAINESVILLE, OHIO –
Seven was unlucky for the Lake Erie College softball team on
Wednesday (March 17) as the Storm surrendered seven runs in both
games of a doubleheader sweep at the hands of Ohio Dominican
University at Slattery Field. Despite some big hits by the
Storm's catcher, The Panthers won by the opener 7-3 and then
rallied for a 7-5 win in game two.
With the two losses, Lake Erie
falls to 3-11 on the season. ODU improves to 7-12.
In game one, Ohio Dominican
jumped out to a 7-0 lead through three innings, highlighted by a
four-run second inning. Jennifer Baker's double and Samantha
Wolfe's single each brought in two runs in that second inning
as the Panthers appeared on their way to an easy win.
But the Storm battled back,
closing the lead to 7-3 on a pair of home runs by sophomore
catcher Megan Foley (Brunswick,
Ohio/Brunswick). Foley drilled a solo shot in the
fourth and then clobbered a two run bomb in the sixth to tie the
school single-game record shared by fourth others.
Lake Erie loaded the bases in
the bottom of the seventh, but Shana Etter got Foley, the potential
tying run, to hit a sharp liner back to the mound for the final
out.
Foley and junior
Brittany Sostre (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge) each
had two hits for Lake Erie in the opener. Baker went four-for-four
with two RBI and two runs scored to lead the ODU attack.
Maria Staton picked up the win
for the Panthers in the circle, tossing six innings. She allowed
three runs- two earned- on six hits without walking a batter. She
struck out four. Sam Ronde (Reynoldsburg,
Ohio/Reynoldsburg) suffered the defeat, falling to 1-4.
She surrendered seven runs- four earned- on eight hits in four
innings.
In game two, it was Lake Erie
who jumped out to the big lead, taking a 5-0 lead after three
innings. The Storm scored twice in the second on a throwing
error and a sacrifice fly by sophomore Haley Rathge (Edon,
Ohio/Napoleon) and then added three in the third on
Jamie Wodecki's (Northfield, Ohio/St. Peter
Chanel) grounder and a two-run single by Rathge to chase
ODU starter Etter.
Staked to the big lead, starter
Lauren Malicki (Independence, Ohio/Independence)
cruised through the first four innings but ran into trouble in the
fifth. Wolfe had a bases-loaded double that scored
three and after Chelsea Archer's RBI hit ended
Malicki's (1-4) day, Muriel Kelley hit a three-run
double off of reliever Lyndsie Delprato (McDonald, Pa./Fort
Cherry) to take the lead.
The Storm's offense
meanwhile, was shut down by Panther reliever Erica Sutter,
who allowed just one hit in 4 1/3 scoreless innings to even her
record at 3-3.
Rathge went two-for-two with
three RBI to lead LEC and sophomore Lindsey Pennell
(Columbus, Ohio/Westland) also had two hits.
The Storm is on the road this
weekend, traveling to the University of Findlay on Friday, March
19, and Clarion University on Saturday, March 20.
