WESTFIELD, Ind. — Ohio Dominican's softball team fell to No. 9 Southern Indiana by a final score of 5-2 and dropped a 5-4 decision to Bellarmine on Saturday at Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana.

In game one, ninth-ranked USI (5-1) used a five-run second inning to pull away and earn the 5-2 victory. The Panthers notched four hits in the contest and limited the Screaming Eagles to just five hits. Sophomore pitcher Taylor Farmer (Mt. Blanchard, Ohio) went all six innings in the circle and allowed just three earned runs on five hits, striking out three. At the plate, senior Liz Sutter (Mansfield, Ohio) led Ohio Dominican, going 2-for-4 with one RBI and one stolen base. Senior Taylor Kline (Bellville, Ohio) accrued two walks and stole a base, while freshman Kristen Bales (Pickerington, Ohio) and sophomore Brooklyn Rayburn (Reynoldsburg, Ohio) each notched one hit.

Southern Indiana capitalized on two Panther errors in the second inning and took a 5-0 lead through two. In the top of the fourth trailing 5-0, Sutter singled to the shortstop to score freshman Emma Bergman (Oak Harbor, Ohio) and then Rayburn scored on the throw to cut the deficit to 5-2. Farmer held the Screaming Eagles scoreless for the rest of the contest, but ODU could not muster the runs to complete the comeback, falling 5-2.

Bellarmine earned a 5-4 win in game two of the day. Ohio Dominican trailed 5-3 heading to the bottom of the seventh, but an RBI single by sophomore Cameron Barber (Powell, Ohio) scored junior Kelly Mix (Baltimore, Ohio) to cut the Panther deficit to just 5-4 with two outs in the bottom of the seventh. The Panthers had the game winning runs on second and third base, but Bellarmine pitcher Sabrina Fussenegger notched a strikeout to end the game and earn the 5-4 win for the Knights.

Barber went 3-for-4 with a double and RBI while also pitching 1.2 innings of scoreless softball. Sutter and Bales each went 2-for-4, while Rayburn notched an RBI triple.

ODU (3-5) will face Quincy tomorrow in a doubleheader at Grand Park, with games beginning at 2:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.

Contact: Aaron McPherson
mcphersa@ohiodominican.edu