Racers, Jackets Split WHAC Doubleheader

DEFIANCE, OH - After a brief break from the rigors of WHAC play, UNOH softball got back into the conference with a doubleheader split at Defiance on Wednesday. The Racers controlled game one winning 7-3 but the Yellow Jackets stung back in game two coming from behind to steal the nightcap 5-4.

Morgan Piotrovsky, Makenna Goch and Paige Becker all singled in the second inning of game one to score the first run of the day. Five more Racer singles in the third resulted in three more runners crossing the plate as they went up 4-0 entering the fourth. A two-out RBI double off the bat of Brenna Cobb made it 5-0 in their next at bat before a wild pich a suicide squeeze in the fifth tacked on two more to cap the scoring for UNOH. Defiance entered the home sixth with just one hit but finally found some offensive rhythm using five hits to shave three off the deficit but sophomore Lanie Wooten retired the side in order in the final frame to finish off the win.

Wooten (11-11) went the distance for the 16th time this season allowing three runs on six hits with four strikeouts and a walk. 

Paige Becker led offensively with the first three-hit game of her career. She was perfect at the plate driving in one and was joined by Piotrovsky who finished 3-4 with one RBI.

The Racers scored twice in the top of the first of game two with a RBI single and another suicide squeeze. They were held without a hit over the next three innings before finally breaking through again with two outs in the fifth. Dominique Baker, Tayler Braun and Brenna Cobb all hit base knocks to bring in one with a double steal adding a second that gave UNOH a 4-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets returned the favor in the home half of the frame using two singles, a hit batter and a walk to score their first two with two outs. A Racer error kept the inning alive and proved very costly as three more runs would score giving Defiance their first lead of the day before the frame concluded. The five-run spurt would be not just the final runs of the game, but the final offense of any kind as the next nine batters went down in order to force a split.

Karsyn McGlothen (6-3) took the loss after four and two-thirds innnings that saw five total runs score with only two earned. Lanie Wooten finished the final inning and a third with one hit and one strikeout but it was enough for the hurler to reach two career milestones. Over the two games, Wooten pitched eight and a third innings moving her into third all-time with 342.2 over her two seasons. She also struck out five total batters on the day jumping her into fourth all-time with 176.

Tayler Braun was the only Racer to log multiple hits in game two but Brenna Cobb and Morgan Piotrovsky were still strong in the doubleheader. Both had two RBI on the day with Piotrovsky finishing 4-7 and Cobb going 3-6 over the two games.

UNOH will stay home for their next four games but face one of their toughest weekends of the season. It begins with a pair of games against No. 2 Madonna, who will enter with an overall record of 32-2, on Saturday, April 12. The Racers then take on UM-Dearborn on Sunday who sit just one game back from UNOH in the current WHAC standings.