Senior Sydney Motylinski joins 100-Hit Club as Softball drops doubleheader to Capital
By Wes Mayberry
ADA — Senior Sydney Motylinski (Ida, Mich.) recorded her 100th career hit Wednesday as the Ohio Northern softball team fell 6-3 and 6-5 in a doubleheader against Capital at the ONU Softball Field.
The Polar Bears fall to 19-13 overall and 9-5 in the Ohio Athletic Conference while the Comets improve to 14-14, 6-8.
Motylinski entered Wednesday's doubleheader sitting on 97 career hits, and she added a solo home run in Game 1 to creep closer to the milestone.
She tallied three more hits, including a pair of doubles, in Game 2 to give her 101 hits in her ONU career.
Motylinski is the 43rd member of ONU's 100-Hit Club, and she is tied for sixth all-time with 16 home runs.
Briana Shearer pitched well for the Comets in Game 1, limiting the ONU offense to three runs on four hits and one walk while striking out six.
However, the Polar Bears took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning following a leadoff walk to sophomore Callie Rosser (Republic/Monroeville) and a single from senior Lauren Walls (Grove City).
A sac bunt from fifth-year senior Abby Elliott (Loveland/Ursuline) advanced the runners to second and third, and Rosser and Walls scored when junior Kaylie Griffin (Grafton/Elyria Catholic) reached base via a CU fielding error.
The Comets answered with an RBI sac fly and RBI single in the fourth inning to tie the score and added two more runs in the sixth for a 4-2 lead.
CU extended its lead to 6-2 in the top of the seventh before Motylinski capped the scoring with her homer in the bottom of the frame.
In Game 2, a 2-RBI double from Motylinski, her 100th career hit, plated Elliott and Rosser to tie the score at 2-2 with two outs in the bottom of the sixth.
With the score still tied, the Polar Bears found themselves with an opportunity to win the game in the bottom of the seventh with runners on second and third and just one out. But an attempted sac fly to left field off the bat of Rosser was just shallow enough for the throw home to get sophomore pinch runner Chandler Clark (Lima/Bath), sending the game to extra innings.
The Comets scored four runs in the top of the eighth to take control, but Northern stormed back in the bottom of the frame.
With one out, Elliott and Griffin both reached base via CU errors and were driven home by Motylinski and freshman Allie Wilson (Wapakoneta).
Senior Allie Bican (Solon) plated Motylinski from second on an RBI single to cut the ONU deficit to 6-5 before CU pitcher Krislyn Bales induced a fielder's choice to end the game.
The Polar Bears return to action on Thursday for an OAC doubleheader at Mount Union beginning at 3 p.m.