#12 Raiders and Polar Bears Split Twinbill
Mount Union College's softball team (27-7, 10-4 OAC) split a double header with Ohio Northern University (21-8, 10-4 OAC) on Saturday April 19, at the 23rd Street Field in Alliance. The Purple Raiders took the opener 5-3 and dropped the second 2-1.
In game one, the Raiders struck first in the bottom of the second off the bat of freshman/catcher Mara Palombaro to give the Purple and White the lead 1-0.
Great pitching held both teams in check until the top of the fifth as the Polar Bears grabbed three runs to take a 3-1 lead. Mount Union would storm back in the bottom of the fifth, striking for two runs on a RBI by sophomore/outfielder Meghan Allen and a solo home run by sophomore/third baseman Anna Horning to tie the game at 3-3.
Senior pitcher Lindsey Royer held the Polar Bears scoreless in the sixth and seventh innings, giving the Purple and White a chance to win it in the bottom of the seventh. After a lead off single by Palombaro and two quick outs, Allen won the game for Mount Union on a two-run, walk-off home run to give the Raiders their 27th win of the season.
Individually, Palombaro went 3-3 with with one RBI and two runs scored and Allen was 2-4 with three RBI. In the circle, Royer notched her 18th win of the season going the distance with eight strikeouts.
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Game two saw both teams held in check by great pitching as Royer went up against Stephanie Inkrott for the Polar Bears.
Both teams were held scoreless until the top of the sixth inning when Ohio Northern put the first run of the game on the board a Tina Mangola sacrifice fly.
The Polar Bears would add one more run in the top of the seventh to make the score 2-0. Mount Union staged a comeback in the bottom of the seventh with back-to-back doubles by senior/outfielder Erin Duignan and Anna Horning to cut the lead in half at 2-1. However, the Raiders would get no closer as they fell by the same score.
Horning led the way for the Purple and White in game two as she went 2-3, including a double and the lone RBI.
Mount Union will step away from OAC play on Monday, April 21 when they will travel to Hiram College. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30.
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