March 26, 2008

Box Score |  Wright State Doubleheader 

DAYTON, Ohio-The Ohio softball team split a doubleheader with Wright State Wednesday afternoon in Dayton. The Bobcats now stand 10-9 on the season, while the Raiders are 11-13.

The Bobcats dropped the first game by a score of 8-0. Freshman designated player Melissa Bonner (Kings Mills, Ohio) led Ohio with two hits, while senior pitcher Michelle Sauter (4-4, Chehalis, Wa.) suffered the loss on the mound. She allowed three earned runs in five and two-thirds innings on nine hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

Wright State first baseman Allison Cox had three hits, while left fielder Michelle Logan and catcher Jherica Williams had a pair of hits. Designated player Jamie Perkins had the big blow with a three-run homer in the fifth inning.

The Raiders pushed eight runs across in the sixth, but were aided by a pair of Bobcat errors. Sharon Palma improved to 6-4 on the mound with a complete game shutout. She allowed just four hits and two walks with a pair of strikeouts.

Ohio struck back early in the second game, plating four first-inning runs. Bonner did her damage with one swing this time as she launched a grand slam, her first home of the season, to put Ohio up 4-0.

Logan answered with a two-run shot of her own in the bottom of the third, but Ohio pushed the lead back to 5-2 on an RBI-single through the right side by senior shortstop Amanda Sacks (Chugiak, Alaska).

The Raiders trimmed the lead back to two on an RBI single by catcher Briauna Birl in the bottom half of the inning, but the Bobcats unleashed four more runs in the top of the fifth to put the game away. Bonner, senior right fielder Maureen McKelvey (Stow, Ohio), sophomore designated player Deanna Hartsough (Santa Ana, Ca.) and Sacks plated the runs with base knocks.

Wright State first baseman Jacqueline Macy homered in the bottom of the seventh to make the final margin 9-4.

Ohio senior left fielder Courtney Waters (Eagle River, Ak.) also had three hits. For the Raiders, shortstop Kristen Bradshaw, Cox and Birl had a pair of hits.

Ohio freshman pitcher Emily Wethington (New Palestine, Ind.) picked up the win to improve to 6-4. She went the distance, allowing four runs on nine hits with four strikeouts. Wright State's Perkins dropped to 1-2 as she was unable to get out of the first inning. She yielded eight runs on seven hits and one walk in two-thirds of an inning as she re-entered at pitcher in the fifth frame.

The Bobcats face Ball State in a doubleheader at 1 p.m. in Muncie, Ind.