The Ladies softball team got back in the win column this week, as they swept doubleheaders against Oberlin College and Marietta College, before dropping a pair of games against the College of Wooster. The Ladies are now 20-10 on the season.
On April 7, Nicole Bishay ’22 led the way against Oberlin’s Yeowomen, starting and winning both halves of the doubleheader on the mound. Kenyon’s bats came alive in the second inning, when six Ladies crossed home plate. Though Oberlin made it a two-run game heading into the home half of the fourth inning, the Ladies were able to reestablish their six-run cushion. From there on out, Bishay kept Oberlin’s bats quiet, and the Ladies won 12-4 after six innings due to the mercy rule. In the second game, the Yeowomen took an early 3-0 lead, before Kenyon’s offense then exploded for a six-run third inning. Bishay then got back to work, pitching two scoreless innings. Though Oberlin cut into Kenyon’s lead in the fifth as the sun began to sink below the horizon, the game was called with a final score of 9-5.
In the first game against non-conference foe Marietta, Emily Pater ’22 got the start for the Ladies. Kenyon capitalized on a series of Pioneers miscues to lead 6-1 after two innings, but Marietta did not give up without a fight, and Kenyon entered the top half of the sixth inning leading by just one run. However, Kenyon tacked on two key insurance runs, and though the Pioneers would get a run back in the final half inning, the Ladies hung on for a 9-7 win. In the second half of the doubleheader, Bishay, who was later named NCAC Softball Pitcher of the Week, found herself in a pitchers’ duel with Marietta’s Amelia Timko. Through seven innings of work, Bishay allowed just three singles and no runs, while Timko allowed five hits and no runs through her first five innings of work. In the sixth inning, the Ladies’ potent offense finally broke through. After forcing Timko out of the game with a double and a walk, the Ladies scored the game’s only five runs. Bishay, who has pitched a complete game in each of her starts this season, closed out another game to give her a 12-2 record on the season.
With a four-game win streak in hand, the Ladies were proud of what they had accomplished. “Going into the heart of our conference season, I think the streak gives us the confidence we need to get it done when it matters,” Sara Campagna ’22 wrote in an email to the Collegian after the Marietta games. “We have the capability to win a lot of games, we just need to capitalize on our opportunities and execute what we know how to do.”
The Ladies were unable to extend their win streak further when they faced Wooster on Tuesday. After trading leads and ties to begin the first game, Maddie Friday ’24 gave Kenyon a 4-2 lead in the second inning with her two-run home run. After four scoreless innings, the Fighting Scots took the lead thanks to timely hits, a Kenyon error and a bases-loaded walk. The Ladies were unable to score in the top of the seventh, and lost 5-4. Kenyon trailed 1-0 for the first six innings of their second game against Wooster, until Emily Buckwalter ’22 doubled home Grace Finn ’22 in the top of the seventh. Clare McMahon ’22, who was previously named the NCAC Softball Player of the Week, gave Kenyon the lead in the top of the 10th inning with a sacrifice fly. In the bottom of the 10th, Wooster tied the game with a double and walked it off with a sacrifice fly, winning 3-2 in the long, extra-inning affair.
With 10 games remaining in the season, Kenyon’s overall record sits at 20-10, though their conference record sits at 2-4. The Ladies next play Saturday, as they face off against Ohio Wesleyan University at home. With only conference games remaining on the schedule, Campagna is confident that the team can get back on the right track and finish strong. “At this point in the season we know we have what it takes to win, we need to go into conference with that same confidence and play like we know how,” she said.