Tiger Softball Takes Two From John Carroll

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS, OH – Trying to put some distance between themselves and their conference opponents, Wittenberg Softball grabbed two more North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) victories, this time picking up a pair of 4-2 wins over host John Carroll at Bracken Field on Sunday, April 12. 

The Tigers have now won four in a row and sit at 17-11 overall and 7-1 in the conference. Wittenberg and DePauw have just one conference loss, while the next closest team is Kenyon at 4-4. Denison, John Carroll, Oberlin, and Wooster all have five losses. After dropping two to Wittenberg, John Carroll is 11-10 overall and 3-5 in the NCAC.

In game one, John Carroll was the first to cross the plate, putting a run on the board in the first inning. The Blue Streaks led 1-0 for only a short time as the Tigers plated four runs in the second that would hold up for the win. John Carroll's other run came in the fifth inning. Wittenberg scored four runs on 10 hits, while John Carroll scored two on eight hits.

Meghan McCans (Arcanum, OH / Arcanum), Shyann Beddow (Kearns, UT / Kearns), Kayla Drake (Wilmington, OH / Clinton-Massie), and Bailey Nichols (Tucson, AZ / Sabino) each drove in a run for the Tigers. Beddow was 3-for-3 with a double, Kirsten Wright (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge) was 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored, and McCans also had a double. Drake and Nichols each scored a run. Bekah Giel (Amelia, OH / West Clermont) led the team in stolen bases with two and Drake and Beddow each had one. 

Lilly Shaw (Washington Courthouse, OH / Washington) got the win in the circle and is now 2-1 on the season. Lilly James (Troy, OH / Troy) picked up her seventh save.

Wittenberg also won game two by the same score. After John Carroll jumped out to a 1-0 lead after an inning of play, the Tigers put a three-spot on the board in the top of the third. The Blue Streaks answered with a run in the bottom of the inning to make it 3-2. Then Wittenberg added an insurance run in the fifth inning to make it 4-2. The Tigers compiled nine hits in the game, while holding John Carroll to just five.

McCans led the Tigers in hits, going 3-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Others who drove in a run in game two included Giel, who was 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored, Wright was 1-for-2 with an RBI, and Emma Lohri (Heath, OH / Newark Catholic) had a hit for the other RBI. Ava Cyphers (Dayton, OH / Vandalia Butler) and Nichols scored the other Tiger runs. McCans had two stolen bases, while Rowan Goodpasture (Wabash, IN / Southwood) had another.

Phoebe Underwood (Seymour, IN / Seymour) and James shared the work on the mound, with James tallying the win, her third of the year.

Up Next

Wittenberg will host Capital in a non-conference doubleheader on April 15 at 3 and 5 p.m. before the two first-place NCAC teams battle it out on the field on April 18 at Wittenberg. Games against DePauw will take place at 1 and 3:15 p.m. 

Written By: Cindy Holbrook