The softball team had an impressive week, winning both games in a doubleheader against conference foe Oberlin College on Wednesday before splitting victories with Kenyon College over the weekend. This stretch kept the Scots on track for their first winning season since 2002.
Against Oberlin, the Scots were electric. After falling behind 3-1, Wooster bounced back, scoring three quick runs off of the big bats of Caitlin Gaffney ’11, Lauren Sargi ’11 and Rachel Gaines ’10 to take the lead 4-3 in the top of the third. They would not surrender this lead for the rest of the game, as the Scots then went on to score another five runs off of pitcher Megan Widmer, winning 9-3. Widmer allowed 18 hits to the Fighting Scots on the day, the most hits in a single game for the Scots this season.
In the second game, the Scots took away any chance for a competition from the start. In the second inning, with Wooster already up 2-0, Lauren Swinehart ’12 blasted a grand slam to put the Scots ahead 6-0 and essentially eliminate any Yeowomen hope for a comeback.
This lead became even more insurmountable in the very next inning, when Gina Pirolozzi ’13 hit her first home run of her career, while Priscilla Staples ’10 and Swinehart each batted in RBI’s to bring the lead to 11-0. The game ended in the fifth due to Wooster’s large lead at 14-4.
In the first game, runs were almost as frequent as the long lines at Lowry. Wooster came out swinging in the top of the first, taking a 1-0 lead off of a Jenn Horton ’13 RBI double. After the Ladies tied it up at one in the bottom of the frame, the Scots proceeded to open up a 4-1 lead on an RBI single from Rachel Gaines ’10 and a two-run double from Swinehart.
After Kenyon began climbing back into the game, tying the match at five a piece in the fourth, back to back triples from Swinehart and Gaffney as well as an RBI single from Staples gave the Scots the final push they needed as they went on to win 7-5.
Pitching for the Scots was Horton, whose complete game victory gave her an 8-3 record on the year, the best of any pitcher on the squad.
In the second game, the Scots came out sloppy, allowing the Ladies to take a 5-0 lead in the first due to throwing errors, hit batters and effective Kenyon hitting. This lead became insurmountable for the Scots, as the squad came no closer than a 6-3 deficit before having the game ruled over in the fifth by a run rule decision.
On Tuesday, in the double header against Case Western Reserve University, the Scots won two very different games. On the front end of the doubleheader, Horton pitched a gem giving up only one run over seven innings. She struck out nine of the Spartans she faced on the day as the Scots pulled out a 2-1 victory.
In the second game the pitching remained dominant, but the bats began to catch fire as the Scots took a 4-0 lead after the first inning.
Wooster tacked on another seven runs in the third inning to extend the lead to 11-0 over the Spartans.
A duo of first-year pitchers combined efforts to keep Case Western Reserve scoreless. Allie Webb ’13 started the game and pitched three innings allowing only two hits. Pirolozzi came in to clean up the last two innings allowing only four hits and no runs as the Scots finished off the second game with a 12-0 rout.
Swinehart, Gaines and Kelley Johnson ’13 all went 2-for-2 at the plate in the second game.