PAINESVILLE, Ohio – Ohio Dominican's softball team rallied with a six-run seventh inning in the opener and junior Cailtin Chaney (Newark, OH) delivered a walk-off homerun in the nightcap to lift the Panthers to a remarkable sweep, 8-5 and 6-5, at Lake Erie Sunday in both teams' regular season finale.

Trailing 3-2 entering the top of the seventh in game one, back-to-back-to-back two RBI base hits by junior Kylee Crislip (Louisville, OH), sophomore Brooke McCartney (Salem, OH) and Chaney propelled ODU to their first lead since 2-0 in the third. Crislip scored senior Jennifer Baker (Cortland, OH) and freshman Caitlin Jividen (Wheeling, WV) with a single to center. McCartney doubled home Crislip and junior Erin Sutter (Mansfield, OH) with a shot to left center, while Chaney capped off the come-from-behind effort with a homer to left, plating McCartney. Brittany Sostre, Lake Erie's all-time leader in homeruns, connected on her second long ball, a two-run shot in the bottom of the seventh for the final tally.

Consecutive one-out singles by Baker and Sutter in the third and a throwing error by the catcher plated the Panthers' first two runs. Lake Erie grabbed the 3-2 advantage in the fifth as Sostre connected on a three-run homer to left center.

Baker and Sutter each went 3-for-4 with two runs scored to lead ODU, while senior Maria Staton (New Bremen, OH) picked up the win in the circle, allowing five earned runs on eight hits and fanning two in the complete game decision.

Just as in game one, the flair for the dramatics was the theme of game two as the Panthers twice rallied late to tie the game, including three runs in the bottom of the sixth, knotting the score at 5-5 before Chaney capped off ODU's inaugural season at the Division II level with her team-leading sixth homer and second of the day to centerfield in the seventh for the 6-5 walk-off victory.

After the Storm took the early lead with a run in the first and third innings, senior Cassandra Weitz (Dayton, OH) drew a bases loaded no-out walk in the fourth for ODU's first run and classmate Samantha Wolfe (Columbus, OH) followed with a sacrifice-fly to right to score McCartney and tie the score at 2-2.  

Trailing 5-2 entering the bottom of the sixth, the Panthers' second rally got a boost from a throwing error by the pitcher, scoring Wolfe from third after her lead-off double and a single by freshman Brittany Seavey (Flint, MI). Sutter reached on a two-out bunt single and came home to score with Seavey on a Crislip double to left center.

Staton grabbed the win in relief, her team-leading seventh of the year, after surrendering two runs on three hits in 2.2 innings of work. Crislip collected two RBI on two hits to finish the weekend a combined 11-for-19 (.579), and with a single to left in the fourth, McCartney extended her team-best hitting streak to 13 games.

With the series sweep of the Storm, ODU concludes their first season in the GLIAC with a record of 9-23 and an overall mark of 14-36, while Lake Erie finishes the year 10-38 and 2-28 in conference.

Contact: Bryan Desch
deschb@ohiodominican.edu