March 22, 2015
ATHENS, Ohio -- The Ohio softball team (7-18) completed a weekend series sweep of Niagara (0-16) with a 5-1 win in the Sunday (March 22) finale at the Ohio Softball Field.
Senior Timmie Rappe (Wheaton, Ill.) led the offensive charge for Ohio, going 3-for-3 at the plate and driving in a run.
Junior Amanda Dalton (Salem, Va.) collected two hits, drove in a run and scored another.
Freshman Mikayla Cooper (Delaware, Ohio) threw for Ohio, going six innings and giving up four hits while striking out four. She improved to 1-1 in the circle on the season. She helped her cause by going 2-for-3 at the plate with a run scored.
Sophomore Leanna Bachman (Carroll, Ohio) tossed a scoreless top of the seventh for the Bobcats, fanning one while allowing one hit.
Junior Taylor Grieger (Rochester, NY) went the distance for the Purple Eagles, allowing five runs -- four of them earned -- on 11 hits.
Niagara was led at the plate by junior catcher Victoria Bretz, who went 2-for-3.
Ohio jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first inning and never looked back. Junior Sloan Walker (Cypress, Texas) was first to bat for the Bobcats and reached first base on a throwing error. After a Dalton single to left and a throwing error, Walker scored the 'Cats' first run of the game. Next up for Ohio was sophomore infielder Casie Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio) who lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Dalton.
The Bobcats made it 3-0 in the second when Cooper smacked a one-out single back up the middle and scored one out later on a base hit up the middle by Rappe.
Ohio went up by four runs in the fourth as senior Dakota Pyles (Galloway, Ohio) singled through the left side and later scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Dalton.
The Bobcats tallied their final run in the fifth when senior Kaylin Clarke (North Royalton, Ohio) cracked a leadoff double to left center, moved to third by way of a wild pitch and scored one out later an an RBI single up the middle by senior Adrienne Gebele (Anapolis, Md.).
The Purple Eagles posted their lone run in the sixth inning, as freshman Taylor Moody (New London, Ohio) walked and then advanced to second after a throwing error. Sophomore Chanelle Ward (Lemon Grove, Calif.) then singled through the right side to score Moody.
After today's win, Ohio is now 2-0 when they play at the Ohio Softball Field.
The Bobcats look to continue their winning ways Friday (March 27), as they travel to DeKalb, Ill., to open up Mid-American Conference play a doubleheader against Northern Illinois. First pitch of game one is set for 1 p.m. ET.
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