The Kenyon softball team played its final home games of the regular season, sweeping Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday for Senior Day. The victories ran the Owls’ win streak to three games, and with just two games to play before the NCAC Tournament, Kenyon’s record sits at 19-19 (7-5 NCAC).

Ohio Wesleyan got off on the right foot in game one, scoring the contest’s opening run in the first inning. However, Kenyon responded with a massive second inning. First, Kinsey White ’28 smoked an RBI single up the middle to score Brooke Avila ’27 before Peyton Green ’29 scored on a wild pitch just one play later. Then, Jillian Messinger ’26 grounded out, scoring White and putting the Owls up 3-1.

Kenyon had another big inning in the fifth. With the bases loaded, Leah Schlissberg ’29 roped a single to center field, plating two runs and extending the Owls’ advantage. Kenyon was not done there, as its next hitter, Maeve McLaughlin ’26, hit an RBI single of her own. Finally, to cap things off, Leah Kuban ’28 crushed a three-run homer, her 13th of the year, to push the lead to 9-1 and end the game after five innings on a run rule. Pitcher Kylie Hamm ’27 was strong, pitching five innings with only one earned run.

Once again, it was Ohio Wesleyan that got on the board first in game two, going up 2-0 in the first inning. Kenyon was quick to respond, though, as a pair of RBI singles from McLaughlin and Kuban tied the game. White then hit an RBI single of her own, before Madison Buckwalter ’26 drove in two runs and, finally, Kenyon concluded its massive first inning with a two-run triple from Keala Montgomery ’27 to push the Owls’ lead to 7-2.

After a couple of Battling Bishops runs in the second, Kenyon kept itself out of reach with an RBI double from Montgomery in the third and a home run from Kuban in the fourth. Going into the sixth with a three-run lead, the Owls put the nail in the coffin. Green cleared the bases with a three-run triple and was then driven in on a single from Emma Cashell ’28. Montgomery finished things out with a single to score Cashell, once again ending the game on a run rule by a score of 14-6.

Following the games, McLaughlin reflected on her time in the program in an email to the Collegian. “Senior Day was really awesome and our team did a really nice job putting everything together,” she wrote. “Going into it we knew it would be a day for the senior class but also that they were 2 super important games for us to stay in a spot for the NCAC Tournament.”

Now, Kenyon will turn its attention to its regular season finale: a doubleheader at DePauw University on Saturday. The Owls have not beaten the Tigers since 2016, but McLaughlin was confident about Kenyon’s chances. “As NCAC play finishes up I think we definitely wanna take at least one from DePauw,” she wrote. “Notorious for being the best team in the conference I think with that talent we have this year it’s doable.”