April 18, 2008
Malone Picks Up Pair Of Wins At Ursuline, Drops Two Games At Home To Shawnee StateThe Malone College softball team swept both games of an American Mideast Conference North Division doubleheader at Ursuline College on Thursday afternoon as the squad racked up a combined total of 27 hits in victories of 15-4 (six innings) and 8-5. After all of this offense on Thursday, the Pioneer bats fell silent on Friday afternoon at home as the squad managed just five total hits in non-conference losses of 6-1 and 10-2 (six innings) to Shawnee State University. Following Thursday and Friday’s action, Malone’s record now stands at 12-16 overall with a 6-8 mark in the AMC North.
In Thursday’s opener at Ursuline, the Pioneers took command at the start by scoring nine runs over the first two innings. The Arrows scored solo runs in the bottom of the second and bottom of the third to trim the deficit to 9-2, but Malone then tacked on two runs in the top of the fourth and four more runs in the top of the sixth en route to the 15-4, run-rule victory. Senior pitcher Kathryn Bzdafka (Avon Lake H.S.) started the game and earned her third victory of the season after limiting the Arrows to two runs on five hits over three innings pitched. The Pioneers registered a season-high 19 base hits in the contest as freshman outfielder Elizabeth Sarkissian (Twinsburg H.S.), freshman catcher Laura Ronk (St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.), junior first baseman Ashleigh Ralston (Wadsworth H.S.), and senior shortstop Holly Christopher (Garfield H.S.) each went 3-for-4 at the plate.
Malone again grabbed an early lead in game two on Thursday, plating five runs over the first two innings. The Pioneers’ advantage then ballooned to as much as 8-2 in the seventh before the Arrows put together a late rally. Ursuline brought home three runs in the bottom of the frame and then loaded the bases with two outs before Ralston induced a fly out to escape the jam and preserve the 8-5 victory. Ralston picked up her sixth win of the season after pitching the first 1.1 innings and then re-entering the game in the bottom of the seventh. Ronk continued her strong day the plate, going 2-for-4 with two doubles, two RBI and a stolen base in the nightcap. Junior third baseman Caitlin Ott (Glendale, AZ) crushed a two-run homer in the top of the sixth and sophomore outfielder Laura Blackburn (Thomas Worthington H.S.) also contributed offensively by going 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI double.
Against Shawnee State in game one on Friday, the visiting Bears jumped out to an early 4-0 lead after scoring in each of the first three innings. Malone got on the scoreboard in the bottom of the third when sophomore second baseman Leslie McCammon (Wadsworth H.S.) led off the frame with a triple to the right-centerfield gap and then later came home to score on a groundout by Ott. The Pioneers were unable to muster any additional offense over the remainder of the game, though, as Shawnee starting pitcher Lori Harmon held Malone to just two hits over the final four innings. Ralston took the loss (6-6) after tossing the first five innings of the contest, giving up six runs (four earned) on ten hits while striking out five and walking two.
In Friday’s finale, the visiting Bears again pulled out to an early lead with three runs in the top of the third. Shawnee State then scored five more times in the top of the fourth as it pulled away for a 10-2, six-inning run-rule win. Bzdafka started and took the loss (3-6) after surrendering three runs (two earned) on three hits over three innings pitched. The Pioneers only hits of the game, a run-scoring double by Christopher and a run-scoring single by McCammon, occurred consecutively with two outs in the fourth inning.
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