TIGERS OPEN CONFERENCE PLAY WITH COMEBACK WIN OVER ROOSEVELT
Game 1
Game 1
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Roosevelt | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 13 | 1 |
|
Olivet Nazarene | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 2 |
BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Playing on their home field for the first time this season, the Olivet Nazarene University softball team rallied back from a four-run deficit to take down the Roosevelt Lakers 7-6 in the CCAC opening matchup. The second game of the doubleheader had gotten underway but had to be postponed with the Tigers leading 5-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth inning due to darkness.
Game One: Olivet Nazarene 7, Roosevelt 6
The Tigers struggled to get any offense going in the opener. Roosevelt (8-7, 0-1 CCAC) broke the scoreless tie with a run in the top of the third, added another in the fourth, and two more in the sixth to put ONU in a four-run deficit.
But this is when the bats finally got rolling for ONU. Gwen Bender smacked a pinch-hit double and was quickly brought in when Haley Dobson rocked a double of her own to get the Tigers on the board in the bottom of the sixth. Dobson then came home on a Roosevelt error to cut the deficit to two. Megan Mann then roped an RBI double down the right-field line that plated Avery Osborn, and Carissa Bombardiere tied the game when she lifted an RBI single to right field.
The Lakers tacked on two runs in the seventh inning, but the Tigers had the answer. A Mallory O'Connor RBI double cut it back down to one. With the bases loaded, Zoe Oshiro sent a single up the middle to tie the game. In the next at-bat, Osborn worked a full-count RBI walk to bring in the game-winning run and walk it off for ONU.
Emily Blucker was credited with the win in relief, scattering four hits and two earned runs in 1.1 innings of work. Kori Fricke went 5.2 innings as the starter, surrendering three earned runs with two strikeouts.
Game Two: Olivet Nazarene 5, Roosevelt 4 (Postponed)
The second game of the doubleheader followed a similar script, with the Lakers quickly putting up four unanswered runs to have ONU in a 4-0 hole early.
Megan Mann ignited a big inning in the bottom of the third when she lifted an RBI single to left field. Avery Osborn then cleared the bases with a two-RBI double to put ONU within one.
The Tigers tacked on two more runs to take the lead in the bottom of the fourth, thanks to a Faith Mikos RBI double and a Gwen Bender sacrifice fly, before the game was postponed due to darkness. The game will pick back up at a later date with the Tigers leading the Lakers 5-4 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Tigers will continue their conference slate with a doubleheader at Saint Xavier on Friday, March 31. The first game is set to begin at 3 p.m. CST.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu
