On Tuesday, the Kenyon softball team dropped a doubleheader on the road to Wittenberg University. Though the Owls picked up seven hits in each game, they fell 9-1 and 5-0 to the Tigers.
Allison McCutchen ’26 got the start for Kenyon in the circle for game one. After an error allowed the first Wittenberg batter of the game to reach, the Tigers tagged McCutchen for two unearned runs to take a lead they would never surrender. In the top of the second inning, McCutchen helped the Owls get a run back when she scored after stealing home. Unfortunately, that would be all the offense Kenyon could muster. Wittenberg chased McCutchen from the game with a four-run third inning, then added three more runs in the bottom of the fourth to secure the 9-1 run (mercy) rule win.
In game two, Amanda Harris ’25 worked around trouble to keep the Tigers off the board in the first inning, but Wittenberg broke through in the next inning. After plating one run on an RBI single, the Tigers took advantage of an error to double their lead. Wittenberg added another run in the fourth inning and a pair of runs in the fifth, and the Tigers came away with a 5-0 win.
Two of the eight first-years on the roster, McCutchen and Sofia Zayas ’26 (who leads the team with 58.1 innings pitched) acknowledged that the team has faced challenges that come with a young program. “I think the team has had to do a lot of growing and adjusting since we have a lot of new players that are still learning about each other and the program,” McCutchen wrote in an email to the Collegian. In her own email to the Collegian, Zayas echoed her fellow pitcher: “We are definitely experiencing growing pains, but we have been able to learn a lot about ourselves individually and as a team, which is beneficial for future growth.”
Kenyon will return to the diamond on Sunday to face Denison University at home. Both Zayas and McCutchen are hopeful that the team can end the season strong. “I hope that we can come together in order to execute and collect a few wins,” Zayas said. McCutchen particularly emphasized the need to enjoy the remaining six games: “Our goal for the rest of the year is to get some wins but also make sure that we are having fun and enjoying the end of our season.”