PAINESVILLE, Ohio -- The Ohio Dominican softball closed out the road portion of its regular season, defeating GLIAC foe Lake Erie by scores of 6-1 and 6-4 on Sunday afternoon.

The Panthers (9-33, 5-15 GLIAC) improved to 18-0 all-time against the Storm (10-20, 4-14 GLIAC) with the two victories.

Freshman Taylor Kline (Bellville, OH) added three hits on the day and has now run her current hitting streak to 10 games. Kline is just one game shy of tying  the season best streak, which she holds, with an 11 game hitting streak earlier in the season.

Sophomore Allie Hinton (Newcomerstown, OH) went 2-for-3 in the first game, running her season total to eight multi-hit games, the second highest on the team. Hinton also scored three times and drove in one run in the two games.

Senior Kelsey Seeds (Westerville, OH) went a perfect 2-for-2 in game one, while junior Lizzy Weber (Canton, OH) logged a 2-for-4 performance in game two. The two combined for four RBI and three runs scored.

With the score tied 4-4 in the seventh inning of game one, sophomore Kelly Wallace (Oshkosh, WI) would hit a home run to give the Panthers a 6-4 lead.

Freshman Alex Jander (Gahanna, OH), who came in relief during the sixth inning, would retire the Lake Erie batters in order to preserve the win for the Panthers.

ODU jumped out to an early lead in the first game, scoring the first three runs of the contest. Hinton led off the top of the third with her team high fifth home run of the season.

A single from Weber and walks by Seeds and senior Brandis Fishel (Gahanna, OH) would load the bases. Senior Taylor Thomas (Bellville, OH) would then drive in two runs with a single up the middle giving ODU a 3-0 lead.

The Panthers would add to their lead in the fourth inning as Seeds would record a bunt single, scoring senior Alex Cribari (Lyndhurst, OH) who walked, then advanced to third on a Hinton double.

Fishel would pitch 5.1 scoreless innings for ODU before being hit with four total runs, two earned, in the bottom of the sixth inning, as the Storm tied the score at 4-4 with one inning remaining.

In the second half of the doubleheader, the Panthers would score in the first inning as Kline would cross the plate on a Weber single, giving ODU a 1-0 lead.

The Black and Gold added two more runs in the second inning. With the bases loaded, Hinton would score on a fielder's choice, followed by a RBI single from Wallace, which drove in Seeds, giving ODU a 3-0 advantage.

The Strom would chip into the Panther lead in the third inning, scoring once to cut the lead to 3-1. Jander, who started the second game, though, would allow just the one run in 5.1 innings.

The Panthers would tack on three more runs in the sixth inning to take a 6-1 advantage. Kline would single to drive in Hinton and junior Brier Sanner (Hartville, OH). Weber would then drive in Kline.

Fishel would pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings in relief, not allowing a hit, as the Panther would complete the sweep by a final score of 6-1.

ODU will conclude the regular season with six games at home next week, starting with two games against Malone on Tuesday. The doubleheader is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. at Panther Field.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@ohiodominican.edu