PORTSMOUTH, Ohio (Softball) – The Shawnee State softball team finally got the 2015 season underway Monday afternoon, splitting a twinbill with NCAA Division III opponent Otterbein University, with a 9-3 extra-inning defeat followed by a 9-7 victory at Boone Coleman Field.
After a scoreless top half of the inning for the Cardinals, Hannah Dittoe (JR/Pickerington, Ohio) got the season off to a flawless start. Following a leadoff double from Heidi Hall (SO/Greenwich, Ohio), Dittoe launched a no-doubt blast over the left-center field wall to give the Bears a 2-0 lead with a homerun in her opening at-bat.
In the second, Hall knocked in a run with a two-out RBI single to plate Jenna Crawford (FR/Franklin Furnace, Ohio). Crawford reached on a throwing error, moved to second on a sac bunt from Abbi Sparks (FR/Wheelersburg, Ohio) and went to third on a wild pitch.
The Bears offense would then sputter for the remainder of the game, as Otterbein starter Rachael Owens held the home squad scoreless for the rest of the contest.
Otterbein scored three runs to tie the game in the fourth thanks to a two RBI double from Courtney Hanna and an RBI single from Kennedy Daly off SSU starter Allie Champman. Chapman took the loss in the game, going 7.1 innings, while allowing six earned runs on 12 hits.
Neither team got on the board in the sixth or seventh frames, but it was the Cardinal offense which finally broke out in the eighth. Otterbein got six runs on seven hits in the frame, capped with a two RBI single from Bailey McElwain and an RBI single from Owens.
In game two, it was Otterbein who got on the board first scoring runs in the second and third innings to grab a 2-0 advantage. SSU responded back in the bottom of the second, when – with the bases loaded – Morgan McReynolds (FR/Covington, Ohio) knocked in a run with an RBI single and Sparks brought home another on a fielder's choice.
One inning later, the Bears broke out for three more runs. SSU took advantage of a mistake from the Cardinals when Hall beat a force throw home for a fielder's choice RBI from Jordyn Pennington (FR/Minford, Ohio). McReynolds followed with a two-RBI single to make it 5-2. Pennington scampered home on a wild pitch two batters later.
Otterbein responded with a three-run sixth to cut the deficit to one, but the Bears answered with three runs of their own, thanks in part to a pair of errors from the Cardinals. McReynolds also knocked in a run on a sacrifice fly, and a Hall double plated another.
Not done quite yet, McElwain lifted a homerun in the seventh to cut the deficit to two, but starter Alex Bowers (FR/New London, Ohio) shut the door with a strikeout to bring the game to a final. Bowers earned the victory, going seven innings, allowing seven runs (four earned) on 11 hits.
The Bears are back in action for another non-conference bout Tuesday, facing off against Ohio Christian University. First pitch for game one is slated for 3 p.m.
