TIGERS SPLIT HOME OPENER WITH CORNERSTONE

BOURBONNAIS, Ill. – Olivet Nazarene University's softball team opened its home schedule with a split against Cornerstone on Friday, rallying for a 7-6 win in Game 1 before dropping the second game, 6-0. The Tigers' offense came alive in the fifth inning of the opener, scoring six runs to secure the comeback. 

In Game 1, ONU found itself trailing 4-0 entering the bottom of the fifth before exploding for six runs to take control. Stephanie Hause and Kahiwa Ili each delivered clutch RBI hits to tie the game, and Olivia Saldana put the Tigers ahead with a go-ahead RBI single. Meegan Randall capped the rally with an RBI single to give ONU a 6-4 lead. Ili added an RBI double in the sixth to extend the margin, and Saldana closed out the win with 3.1 innings of relief, allowing just two runs (none earned) while striking out one. Ili led the offense with two hits and two RBIs, while Hause, Zoe Oshiro, Saldana, Shylar Boze, and Randall each drove in a run.

Game 2 saw ONU struggle to generate offense against Cornerstone's pitching. The Tigers were held to just two hits, singles by Stephanie Hause and Ali Fullingim. ONU's best scoring opportunity came in the second inning when Hause singled and advanced to third, but the Tigers couldn't capitalize. Olivia Saldana took the loss, allowing four earned runs over 3.2 innings, while Allie Timm pitched 3.1 innings of relief, giving up two unearned runs with three strikeouts.

Looking Ahead

ONU will return to action with a home doubleheader against Clarke University on Mar. 18th, with first pitch scheduled for 2 p.m. CST.

—ONU—

*Contact Anyssa Hampton, Sports Information Graduate Assistant, ahampton@olivet.edu