FRICKE'S FIRST CAREER MULTI-HOME RUN GAME AND COMPLETE GAME ON THE MOUND LIFTS TIGERS OVER USF
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Francis (Ill.) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 2 |
|
Olivet Nazarene | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | X | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
St. Francis (Ill.) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 | 0 |
|
Olivet Nazarene | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | X | 3 | 9 | 1 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – The Olivet Nazarene University softball team swept their doubleheader series match up with the Fighting Saints of Saint Francis. A pivotal meeting between two top-three teams in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference ended with the Tigers jumping into second place with a 1.5 game lead and holding the tie-breaker. Kori Fricke was credited with the win on the mound in game one and hit two home runs, including the game-winner in game two.
GAME 1: ONU 6, SFU 1
St. Francis marked the scoreboard first manufacturing a run in the first inning. The Tigers found their swings in the third inning loading up the bases with no outs. Haley Dobson drove a ball back up the middle to score two runs. Megan Mann stepped up for the very next at-bat and singled to left field to help Zoe Oshiro cross Homeplate. Kate Landis rounded out the scoring for the inning as her sacrifice flyball grew the score to 4-1 in favor of ONU.
Kate Landis added an insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning as her double to left-center field tallied her second RBI for the contest. Oshiro registered her 19th RBI of the season with an RBI single for the last run of the ballgame.
Kori Fricke improved to 11-4 on the year after a complete-game performance that only allowed one run dropping her ERA to 2.78. It was the fourth game of the season that the Manteno, Ill. native held her opponents to one run or less for a game.
GAME 2: ONU 3, SFU 2
Game two of the doubleheader began much the same way as the first. The Fighting Saints took the early lead from an RBI single to center field in the first inning. The SFU starting pitcher, Hannah Vachon, gave the Tigers problems in the first half of the game holding them scoreless with only four hits. Fricke sparked life into the home side with a home run to right field knotting up the score 1-1.
A pitchers' duel broke out as neither team allowed more than one run scored in an inning. Olivia Finn's outing spanned five innings, striking out two batters, allowing zero walks, and two earned runs. The Mokena, Ill. native retired 16 of 21 batters faced with 55 of her 79 pitches finding the strike zone.
The visitors regained the lead in the fifth inning driving in a run off of a double to right-center field. Oshiro tied up the contest once more as her RBI single to right field allowed Mattie Lanie to score. With extra innings looming, Fricke stepped and gave ONU their first lead of the game with a home run to left field. It was the junior's first multi-homerun game in her career and put the Tigers in front 3-2.
Emily Blucker stepped on the mound in relief for the final two innings of the day. The sophomore hurler struck out two batters and finished the ballgame with a clean seventh inning. She was credited with the win to improve to 6-2 on the season while extending ONU's winning streak to six games unbeaten.
GAME VITALS
St. Francis (Ill.) (22-12, 12-6 CCAC) | Olivet Nazarene (25-11-1, 15-4 CCAC)
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Tigers will travel to Elgin, Ill. next Tuesday for a doubleheader series with the Eagles of Judson. Start times for the games are scheduled for 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. CST. Please visit ONUTigers.com to follow all the action.
--ONU-
*Contact: Patrick Kaindl, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, pkaindl@olivet.edu