Softball team beats Anna Maria, loses to Washington at Gene Cusic Classic

In the third day of competition at the Gene Cusic Classic, the Olivet College softball team split a pair of games at the Lee County Sports Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. After losing to Washington (Md.) College 7-6 in eight innings, the Comets bounced back to beat Anna Maria (Mass.) College, 9-3.

Washington jumped out to a 4-0 lead with four runs in the first inning. Olivet came back with one run in the fourth, two in the fifth and one in the sixth to force extra innings. In the top half of the eighth, the Comets pushed across two runs. They had the bases loaded with nobody out, but two straight force plays at the plate and a fly out ended their threat. The Shorewomen scored three times in the bottom of the eighth to pull out the victory.

In the fourth, freshman Breanna Bunker (Charlotte) led off the frame with a double, just down the left field line, and scored on a ground out by freshman Alyssa Snyder (Imlay City). In the fifth, junior Christine Daub (Hudson) hit a RBI-double, scoring sophomore Cortney Wernette (Remus/Chippewa Hills). She later scored on an error. In the sixth, senior Jenny Robbins (Fenton) drove in freshman Tia VanWinkle (Parma/Western), who entered the game as a pinch runner after junior Katelyn Boss (Charlotte/Maple Valley) got a pinch-hit single.

In the eighth, junior Morgan Iloncaie (Port Huron/Imlay City) was placed on second to start the inning. A throwing error allowed Snyder to reach base and advance Iloncaie to third. On a failed pick-off attempt at third, Iloncaie scored and Snyder went to second. A walk and another error loaded the bases. Junior Katie Harper (Vassar) ripped a pinch-hit single to score Snyder.

Nine different Olivet players had a base hit. Daub went 2-for-4 with a double, a run scored and an RBI. Cortney Wernette was 2-for-3. Harper was the hard luck loser in the circle. She gave up seven runs (two earned) off seven hits, while striking out eight and walking two.

Anna Maria scored a run in the first and two more runs in the second to take a 3-0 lead. The Comets rallied with five runs in the bottom half of the third and two runs each in the fifth and sixth innings.

Olivet sent 10 batters to the dish in the third. Freshman Ciara Santos (Lansing/Everett), who was celebrating her 19th birthday today, had a single to start the inning. Two walks were sandwiched around a sacrifice to load the bases. Robbins then lined a double off the fence to score two runs. Another walk re-loaded the bases. Two errors and a sacrifice fly scored the other three runs in the inning. In the fifth, Bunker drove in sophomore Kelsey Greene (Burr Oak), and a Santos' sac fly scored Daub. In the sixth, Bunker and sophomore Mallory Schug (Climax/Galesburg-Augusta) had RBI-singles.

The Comets finished the game with nine hits. Bunker went 2-for-3 with three RBI. Greene was also 2-for-3 with three runs scored. In the circle, sophomore Rachel Cook (Traverse City/Central) started and went the first six innings. She gave up just one earned run off six hits to earn her first win of the season. Freshman Breanne Harmon (Quincy) pitched a hitless seventh inning.

After a day off tomorrow, Olivet returns to the Lee County Sports Complex for two games Wednesday. The Comets will play Clark (Mass.) University at 5 p.m., and Wilmington (Ohio) College at 7 p.m.