MARIETTA, Ohio – Two great pitching performances by Sydney Aey and Nicole Watts and plenty of run support helped Lakeland softball pick up a sweep over Marietta College JV by the scores of 6-2 and 11-2 Friday afternoon.
With the sweep, the Lakers brought their record back to .500 at 5-5 overall.
Lakeland 6 – Marietta 2
Aey turned in her best pitching performance of the young season and her teammates provided the run support in a 6-2 victory to open the doubleheader.
Aey pitched all seven innings and allowed no earned runs on three hits while fanning 11 batters to get the win.
Cassidy Yarnell brought in two runs with a pair of singles. Cameron Malkamaki also brought in a pair and added a single. Elizabeth Montgomery added a single, double and brought in a run while Kallista Hribar and Jamie Matso each hit two singles in the win.
It took a couple innings but the Lakers provided run support in the third inning and it started with back to back singles from Matso and Hribar. Both players scored on a two-run single to right by Malkamaki for a 2-0 lead. Dana Turchon extended the lead to 3-0 with an RBI ground out to cap the scoring in the inning. Marietta did get one back in the bottom of the inning to get within 3-1.
Lakeland used a two-out rally in the fourth to get the lead back to three as Matso reached base with a two-out single and then came in to score on an RBI double from Montgomery for a 4-1 lead.
The Lakers looked to pad their lead in the fifth as Malkamaki reached base on an error and Turchon singled. Both players scored on a two-run single by Yarnell for a 6-1 lead. Marietta would add a harmless run in the bottom of the fifth but that would be the final run scored for both teams as Lakeland held on to win the opener.
Lakeland 11 – Marietta 2
Lakeland did not even want to go the full seven innings in the second game as jumped all over Marietta with eight runs in the first inning en route to an 11-2 victory in five for the sweep.
Watts nearly matched the pitching performance or Aey in the first game as Watts pitched all five innings and allowed one earned run on three hits while striking out one in the win.
Montgomery provided a big chunk of the runs with three RBIs with a pair of doubles and a single. Yarnell and Hribar each provided two RBIs and three hits in the win.
Lakeland couldn't have asked for a much better inning than the opening frame as Hribar started it all with a walk and Montgomery doubled in the first run of the game. Yarnell singled in a run three batters later for a 2-0 lead.
Following Yarnell, Lakeland got RBIs from Turchon, Aey and Nicole Ulogar to extend its lead to 5-0. With two outs, Hribar ripped a two-run double to left for a 7-0 lead and then Montgomery capped the scoring with an RBI single to left for an 8-0 lead after a half inning. Marietta did add one run in the second to pull within 8-1.
The Lakers did not let Marietta get any more momentum and went right back to scoring in the third as Hribar reached on a one-out single and then came around to score on a sacrifice fly by Malkamaki to center for a 9-1 lead. Yarnell followed with an RBI single to the right side for a 10-1 advantage.
Lakeland added on its final run in the fourth and it started with a two-out single from Hribar and then Montgomery doubled her in for an 11-1 lead. Marietta added one run in the fifth but it wasn't enough to extend the game past the inning as the Lakers picked up the sweep.
The Lakers will hit the road again on Tuesday, March 27 to face University of Northwestern Ohio JV for a doubleheader beginning at 3:30 p.m.
For more information about Lakeland athletics, visit www.athletics.lakelandcc.edu.
About Lakeland Community College
Founded in 1967, Lakeland Community College was the first college in Ohio created by a vote of the people. True to our mission, Lakeland provides quality learning opportunities to meet the social and economic needs of the community.
Offering day, evening, weekend and online classes, the college serves more than 10,800 credit and 2,800 noncredit students (2016). For more information about the College, visit www.lakelandcc.edu.