Softball Victorious
BY ZACH PRETZER

For some teams it takes longer than others to pick up their first victory, but for the Oberlin softball team, it couldn’t have come at a better time. 
After 15 consecutive losses to open the year, 10 of which occurred during a tough North Coast Athletic Conference schedule against the likes of Kenyon, Hiram, Wittenberg, Allegheny and Wooster, Oberlin picked up win number one at home against Lake Erie College on Monday, by a score of 12-11.
First-year outfielder Allison Dennis was the hero for the Yeowomen, as she drew a bases-loaded walk with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to force in the game-winning run for the Yeowomen. Dennis also had another walk, a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base in the game.
In the team’s victory over Lake Erie, Oberlin’s offense exploded for 14 hits, and the Yeowomen also showed their patience at the plate by drawing 11 walks over the course of the game. Leading the offense was sophomore third baseman Amy Golladay, who compiled three hits in the first game of the doubleheader, one of which was a RBI double which scored sophomore shortstop Maria Balducci in the half of the first. Junior pitcher Dawn Sweeney and sophomore second baseman Anna Roseberry also provided RBI doubles in the first as the Yeowomen found themselves out to an early 4-0 lead by the end of the inning.
Balducci led off the second inning with a double, then stole third base and scored on a single by Roseberry. The second run of the second inning came when senior outfielder Heather Barbee drove in Dennis, who had reached base on a walk, making the score 6-0 in favor of the Yeowomen. 
In the top half of the third, Sweeney got into trouble on the mound when Lake Erie first baseman Camile Mazzel jacked a two-run home run, and another Lake Erie player scored off of a ground out to Golladay at second base to make the score 6-3.
In the bottom of the third, though, Oberlin scored three more runs on a RBI single by Golladay, a RBI bases-loaded walk by Sweeney and a RBI fielder’s choice by Barbee. Lake Erie came back scoring four runs in the fourth and fifth innings, giving them an 11-9 lead. However, their lead was short-lived, as the Yeowomen came back with two runs of their own in the fifth. 
The two-run inning began with Roseberry roping a leadoff single up the middle. Then Sweeney hit a line drive to the shortstop, forcing Roseberry out at second for the first out of the inning. Next, junior outfielder Ann Frizzell, who went two for three in the contest, stroked a single into the outfield that advanced Sweeney to second. Sweeney scored on a ball that first-year outfielder Anna Gardner-Andrews hit to the second baseman, who then made an error on the play. The Yeowomen’s run in the fifth came on a RBI single by junior catcher Jessica Marish.
Sweeney held The Storm scoreless in the sixth and seventh setting the stage for Oberlin’s comeback victory. Gardner-Andrews led off the seventh with a walk, and Marish then drove a single to move Gardner-Andrews to second. Golladay followed Marish with another single to load the bases for Dennis and her game-winning walk.
About the team’s first victory, Assistant Coach Gavin Rogers said, “I think that we swung the bat really well. Overall, we have been hitting the ball a lot better and putting up quite a few more runs.”
“My arms got sore from waving them around first base,” fill-in first-base coach and junior baseball player Bob Montag said.
The win improved the Yeowomen’s record to 1-13 for the year. Sweeney threw seven innings, striking out three batters and only walking one.
In the second game of the doubleheader against Lake Erie, the final score ended in the same number, 12-11, but this time The Storm came out on top of the Yeowomen.
Oberlin once again jumped out to an early advantage, leading Lake Erie 4-0 after three innings. Lake Erie scored seven runs off of Barbee, who threw all seven innings from the mound, in the top of the fourth inning. In the fourth, Oberlin responded by rallying for seven runs of their own off of nine hits. It was Lake Erie who would be the comeback team this time, however, as they collected five runs in the next two innings to solidify their win.
Golladay once again paced Oberlin’s offense, as she went three for four. Senior catcher Sarah “Buh” Breon had a day at the plate as well, as she collected two hits and drove in three runs as well. Balducci, Sweeney and Marish also had two hits apiece in the loss for Oberlin.
Before they picked up their victory against Lake Erie, the Yeowomen traveled to Wooster on Saturday to play a NCAC doubleheader. Oberlin led 2-0 after three innings of play, thanks to a two-run RBI single by Sweeney. That would be all the scoring the Yeowomen would get, though, as they lost 3-2. Sweeney pitched a gem from the mound, going six innings while only giving up three earned runs and two walks. Balducci and Golladay scored the team’s only runs in the game.
The nightcap against Wooster proved to be less of a close contest, however, as the Fighting Scots jumped on the Oberlin pitching by scoring 14 runs on 17 hits in only five innings of play. Breon, who was batting in the designated hitter slot, provided Oberlin’s only hit in the game, as Wooster pitcher Angie Barone threw the entire game and struck out 12 Oberlin batters in the Yeowomen’s 14-0 loss.
Oberlin played two conference games Tuesday at home against Ohio Wesleyan. The Yeowomen racked up 11 hits in the first game, and the team was tied with the Lady Bishops 5-5 after five innings of play. Errors by the defense proved to be costly, as only four of the 11 runs Ohio Wesleyan scored were earned. Golladay paced the offense another three-hit game, including a double. Frizzell also added two hits in the 11-loss.
In the second game, Oberlin struggled to piece hits together, as they were shut out 7-0. Balducci, Sweeney and Roseberry each chipped in two hits for the Yeowomen. The two losses to Ohio Wesleyan dropped Oberlin’s record to 1-18 overall and 0-12 in the NCAC.
On the season, Sweeney is leading the team with a .312 batting average, while Golladay and Balducci are close behind with averages of .302 and .294, respectively. 
The Yeowomen will play host to Denison University, one of the best Division III teams in the country, in a doubleheader on Saturday at 1 p.m. The games will be Oberlin’s last two official games of the season.