Kentucky Wesleyan College Athletics

Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
Stepping out of conference to play on a weekday, Kentucky Wesleyan softball continued their season against Oakland City.

KWC blasted three home runs, all of them in game one, en route to a 16-2 win.  Josalyn Ress threw a three-hitter in game two as the Panthers (11-6) run ruled Oakland City (2-10), 9-1 in five innings. 

GAME ONE – KWC 16, Oakland City 2 (7 innings)

Samantha Marksbury put KWC up 2-0, two batters into the game with a two-run homer.  The Panthers would not score for the next three innings and Oakland City put up one in the third and one in the fourth to tie the game at two after four innings.

Neither team scored in the fifth and KWC's bats woke up in the sixth inning.  Courtney Lockwood hit her first home run of the season, a two-run homer to give the Panthers a 4-2 lead;  Samantha Marksbury continued the offensive assault with an RBI single to score Alexis Chapman and make it 5-2.

Kaci Ovelgoenner capped the six-run sixth with a three run home run to left field to make it 8-2.  Starter Casey Smith was lifted after the fifth and Jessica Carmon shut the door in the sixth.

An eight-run seventh would set the score for the Panthers at the final margin of 16-2.  With two on and none out, Alexis Chapman singled to right center field and drove in Jaclyn Parker to make it 9-2 and was followed by the next hitter, Kayla Norris, scoring Lockwood on a sac fly to right.

Chapman would score on an error to make it 11-2 and leave her on base with one out.  With two on and two out, Mackenzie Weedman singled in Amber Pendergraft to make it 12-2.

Ashley Crooke continued the train with an RBI single to score Marksbury and Jaclyn Parker drove in Weedman with a double to make it 14-2.  The last two runs came in when Parker and Crooke both scored on an error.

Every Panther had at least a hit and an RBI on the game and Casey Smith was the winner, pitching five innings and surrendering four hits and two runs with three K's.  Carmon pitched two perfect innings of relief and struck out two.

GAME TWO – KWC 9, Oakland City 1 (5 innings)

The Panthers jumped on OCU early again in game two, this time on an Ashley Crooke two-run double to make it 2-0 after one.  Oakland City would cut the lead in half in the third, but KWC was able to respond in the top of the fourth.

Pendergraft singled to bring in Lockwood and make it 3-1 and she was followed by Marksbury, who doubled in two more runs and made the score 5-1 after the four.  The Panthers would finish the run rule victory in the fifth, with three runs scoring on a pair of Oakland City errors and a sac fly from Pendergraft that made it 9-1.

Josalyn Ress pitched the entire game for KWC, allowing just three hits and a run in five innings, while also striking out four. Marksbury finished the doubleheader 5-8 with six RBI's and a home run.

Next up for KWC is a visit from Great Midwest Athletic Conference foe Ursuline College.  First pitch on Thursday is tentatively set for noon.