ASHLAND, Ohio -- The Ohio Dominican softball team drop both games at Ashland in its GLIAC opening games on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers (4-18, 0-2 GLIAC) dropped the first game by a score of 9-5. The Eagles (15-1, 2-0 GLIAC), who came into the weekend ranked just outside the national top 25, receiving the most votes of those left out, extended their winning streak to 10 with a game two victory of 6-5 in extra innings.

Senior Taylor Thomas (Bellville, OH) went 2-of-4 from the plate on the day, recording a home run for each hit. Thomas drove in a total of five RBI and scored three runs.

Freshman Taylor Kline (Bellville, OH) extended her hitting streak to 11 in the first game, and though she did not record a hit in game two, she kept her streak of reaching base safely to 13 games.

Senior Alex Cribari (Lyndhurst, OH) and juniors Kelsey Albanese (Westerville, OH) and Lizzy Weber (Canton, OH) each logged three hits combined in the two games.

In the first game, ODU jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead after scoring three times in the top of the first inning. Sophomore Casey Murdoch (Morrow, OH) doubled to drive in Weber for the opening run of the game. Thomas then homered in the next at-bat to give the Panthers the 3-0 lead.

Ashland, though, would accumulate a total of five runs in the first three innings to take a 5-3 advantage.

The Panthers would cut into the Eagle lead in the fourth as a Kline single would score junior Brier Sanner (Hartville, OH). Albanese would then give ODU the lead again as she drove in Thomas and Weber on a double in the top of the fifth inning.

The Eagles, however, would rally in the bottom half of the inning with four runs to seal the 9-6 victory.

Like ODU in game one, AU would jump out to an early lead in the second game, scoring twice in the top half of the first.

A Thomas home run in the bottom of the third would score three runs to give ODU a 3-2. AU would tie the game with their next set of at-bats, making the score 3-3 after four innings.

In the bottom half of the fifth inning, the Panthers would receive a two RBI double from sophomore Kelly Wallace (Oshkosh, WI), which score Kline and Cribari, to give ODU a 5-3 lead. The Panthers, however, could not hold the lead, as the Eagles would score once in the sixth and seventh inning to force extra innings.

AU would score one run in the top of the eighth inning, and the Panthers would be unable to bring in the runner from second base in the bottom half of the inning, falling 6-5.

The Black and Gold will return home for a non-conference doubleheader with West Liberty, starting at 1:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu