DC SB Splits Doubleheader At Adrian

ADRIAN, MICH. -- The Defiance College softball team lost the opener to Adrian (Mich.) College, 2-1, before grabbing a 9-4 victory in the nightcap against the Bulldogs in a non-conference matchup in Adrian, Mich.

The opener was scoreless through three frames before the Yellow Jackets attacked in the fourth, when junior Haley Patty (Bradford) crushed one over the left field fence to give DC (15-14) a 1-0 advantage. Junior pitcher Sarah Kaya (Lorain/Clearview) held the Bulldogs (10-20) at bay through six innings of work, but ran into trouble in the seventh, as Adrian had four straight runners reach base, including hitting a walk-off sacrifice fly to steal a 2-1 victory in game one.

Kaya finished the contest throwing the full 6.2 innings, allowing two runs on four hits with a pair of walks and three strikeouts.

On offense, sophomore Jordan Osborne (Delaware/Rutherford B. Hayes) had the lone multi-hit game for the Yellow Jackets, going two-of-four with a triple.

Defiance began the scoring in the second inning of game two, as Michaela Bauer (Hicksville) roped a double to right-center field to give DC a 1-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets added four more in the fourth inning. After Emily Denhard (Troy, Mich./Kolbe Academy) took a bases-loaded walk to make it a 2-0 lead, senior Megan Warren (Mason) singled up the middle to score two more and make it a 4-0 game. Junior Kaity Kuhn (Celina) finished the rally with a sacrifice fly to give DC a 5-0 margin.

After Adrian scored two runs to cut the deficit to 5-2, freshman Brooke Gostomsky (Covington) responded with a solo homer in the sixth to expand te lead to 6-2. A two-out triple for the Bulldogs made it a 6-4 game entering the seventh inning. Sophomore Jackie Hartman (Parma/Padua Franciscan) hit a two-run home run in the seventh frame to make it 8-4. Defiance wrapped up the scoring for the night three batters later, as Libby Leach (Cheshire/River Valley) singled to score Ari Richards (Covington) en route to the 9-4 DC victory.

Freshman Sydney Zeuch (Mason/Mount Notre Dame) threw six strong innings in the nightcap and allowed just two earned runs on four hits. Junior Sydni Smith (Jackson, Mich./Lumen Christi) threw a perfect seventh while adding a strikeout.

Offensively, Warren, Kuhn, and Leach each finished the game with a pair of hits. Warren was two-of-three with a homer and two RBI, while Leach was two-of-three with a two RBI and a run scored. Kuhn was two-of-two with a double and a run batted in.

Defiance returns to Sal Hench Field to take on the Calvin (Mich.) College Knights on Tuesday, Apr. 18. The first contest is set for a 3:30 p.m. first pitch.