HOUSTON, Texas – Squared off against one of the top NAIA schools in the country, Ohio Dominican's softball team snapped a seven-game slide with a 1-0 victory over Houston-Victoria in Thursday's opener at Burdge Field, before faltering 5-3 in the nightcap.

With the split ODU moved to 4-10 overall, while UHV now stands at 16-4 and 7-1 at home.

Sophomore Brooke McCartney (Salem, OH) ripped a two-out single to left in the fifth inning of game one, scoring senior Erin Sutter (Mansfield, OH) with the eventual game-winning run. Sutter led off the top of the fifth with a single to center and following a successful sacrifice bunt from freshman Alex Cribari (Lyndhurst, OH), reached scoring position on freshman Rachael Stanzel's (Angleton, TX) base knock to right.

Despite just three hits of support, Stanzel, the starter on the rubber, made the one run hold up as she scattered nine hits over the full seven innings, while fanning two and walking one on 86 pitches.

In the closing game of the twinbill, ODU scored the initial runs for the fourth straight contest, plating two runs in the second and one in the third for the 3-0 lead. With the bases full of Panthers following a fielder's choice and two walks by Sutter and Cribari, red-shirt freshman Kendall Lust (Marion, OH) singled to shallow left to score two. In the third, senior Caitlin Chaney (Newark, OH) tripled down the left field line and came home on a single to deep, right center from classmate Kylee Crislip (Louisville, OH).

However, Jaguars starting pitcher Dawn Villegas settled in and took over from there, holding ODU to just two hits the rest of the way. Houston-Victoria trimmed the deficit to one with a run in both the third and fourth frames, than took the lead for good with three runs on four hits, including the go-ahead score on a triple to left, in the sixth.

Crislip led the Panthers at the dish, going game 2-for-2 for the game with the RBI and one walk.

With the Spring Break trip over, ODU returns home for an eight-game, five-day homestand, beginning at 3 p.m. on Wednesday, March 21 as Notre Dame (Ohio) visits Panther Field for the home opener.

Contact: Bryan Desch
deschb@ohiodominican.edu