No. 15 Softball finishes NCSI trip with wins over Mary Washington (Va.) and Greensboro (N.C.)
By: Monique Bowman
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The No. 15 Ohio Northern softball team posted another rout early Thursday afternoon with a 10-0 win in five innings over Mary Washington (Va.) in day 4 of the National Collegiate Sports Invitational.
Northern followed up with a 7-2 win over Greensboro (N.C.) College to round out their spring break trip.
The Polar Bears improve to 5-3 overall, while Mary Washington falls to 5-9 and Greensboro moves to 1-4.
In game one against the Eagles, Northern kicked scoring off in the first when freshman Christin Miller singled then advanced on a wild pitch. Two batters later, junior Jackie Mangola homered to her sweet spot, over the left field fence, for the 2-0 lead.
After two more runs in the third inning, the Polar Bears exploded in the fourth inning with five runs. It started with Miller singling then advancing to second on a bad throw. Sophomore Ashley Sujkowski then doubled to bring in Miller.
Junior Kim Blewett singled which pushed Sujkowski to third, and then Mangola singled to bring in the runner at third.
ONU would score three more times and garner eight hits in all before leaving the inning with a 9-0 advantage.
Sujkowski, waiting at second base, would cross home plate one more time in the top of the fifth when Cretin singled to seal the deal.
Sophomore Abbey Bensing earned her second win of the season, striking out eight hitters and allowing just four hits in five innings.
"It was another great game. We're finally starting to get into our grove," says head coach Kim Burke. "Jackie has started to relax and she's starting to hit the ball really well."
Cretin finished with three hits in four at-bats with one run scored and two RBIs. Miller scored twice and also went 3 for 4 at the plate.
In game two against the Pride, Sujkowski went 3 for 4 with two RBIs, while Blewett and sophomore Alia Brodie each went 2 for 3 at the place.
The Polar Bears return to action March 19 and 20 when they travel to Maryville (Tenn.) College for a weekend tournament.