MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – The No. 10 Marian softball team got out to an early lead against No. 25 Mount Vernon Nazarene to win game one, before falling in game two to a hot hitting Cougars' team. After the split, Marian moves to 36-4 overall and 25-3 in Crossroads League play.
Game 1 | Marian 8-4 Mt. Vernon Nazarene
Marian had no issues getting the bats going early as they started off the game with three singles before Hayley Greene scored two with her single. A double by Grace Meyer allowed two more to score, giving the Knights the 4-0 lead after inning one, while Abby Madere hit the RBI single in the bottom half of the second inning to add one more run to their lead.
Olivia Stunkel saw four batters in the bottom half of the second inning, striking out the last three. Stunkel continued her work in the third inning as her and the Marian defense went three up three down to help the Knights hold the lead.
After a silent fourth inning, the Cougars made a dent into their deficit by scoring three runs. Marian had an answer in the top of the seventh inning after Meyer's single scored Sierra Norman. Abbi Wirey reached home a few plays later, while Savannah Harweger had the sacrifice fly to score Mackenzie Dalton to give the Knights' a few insurance runs going into the final half of the inning.
MVNU tired to make a last effort attempt as they cut their deficit in half after an RBI single, but the Marian defense behind Stunkel proved to be too much as the took game on with the 8-4 victory.
Marian was explosive with 13 hits with Meyer leading the way with three hits and a double, while Harweger, Madere, and Greene each added two. Four different Knights each recorded a hit, while Meyer and Greene had three and two RBI, respectively. Stunkel was the winning pitcher as she dished out seven strikeouts in her seven innings pitched.
Game 2 | Marian 7-10 Mt. Vernon Nazarene
In a flip of scrip, the Cougars jumped out to the early 1-0 lead. However, Marian had a response with Dalton hitting the RBI single and Harweger doubling to score Dalton and Savannah Baker to go ahead 3-1.
Mt. Vernon took back the lead after an offensive fury, registering four hits to add four runs to the scoreboard. The Cougars went one-two-three with Marian's batters before taking the 10-3 lead after packing on five runs in fourth inning.
Norman's three-run homer got Marian back within four and would hold the Cougars scoreless into the top of the seventh inning, giving the Knights a chance to tie or take the lead. Marian scored after a walk and got bases loaded, but the Knights were unable to produce enough runs to take the game to extra innings.
In Marian's nine hits, Harweger, Norman, and Dalton led the charge with two hits. Norman and Harweger led in the RBI category as well with three and two, while Norman added a homerun and Harweger hit a double. Sydney Wilson fell in Marian's loss, pitching 3.1 innings and striking out one, while Abigail McPherson came in to pitch the final 2.2 innings, giving up one hit and no runs.
The Knights take a one-day break before traveling to Spring Arbor on Friday for a 3 p.m. doubleheader.
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