CLEVELAND, Tenn – The Ohio Dominican softball team finished opening weekend earning a pair of victories on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers opened with a 10-0 victory against Emmanuel College on Saturday morning and earned a 12-8 victory over Lee.

GAME ONE

ODU collected four extra-base hits and eight RBI en route to scoring a season-high 10 runs. Madison Shemwell (Owensboro, Kentucky) continued her hot start at the plate, securing an opening double to center field in her first plate appearance. Allison Madden (Cincinnati, Ohio) reached on an error and would steal second, allowing both Panthers to reach second and third base safely. Braxton Downs (Louisville, Kentucky) hit a sacrifice fly as her ball to left field was deep enough to score Shemwell.

A single up the middle off the bat of Alexis Stevens (Marion, Ohio) doubled the ODU lead to 2-0 as Madden came around to score. In the second inning, the Panthers would score a pair as Shemwell singled up the middle to drive in a run and Downs would drive in Shemwell once more with a sacrifice fly to the outfield.

The Panthers added a pair in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 6-0 but put the game out of reach in the fifth inning. Kaleigh Golden (Thornville, Ohio) opened the inning with a single through the left side. Catcher Gracie Jo Thompson (Ashville, Ohio) was hit by a pitch and reached base.

Senior Keirah Smetzer (Ashland, Ohio) drove in two runs as she forced a throwing error by the pitcher that allowed Thompson and Golden to score to give the Black and Gold an 8-0 lead. Shemwell added an RBI single to centerfield that plated Smetzer and McKenna Conley (Mt. Orab, Ohio) drove in Shemwell to swell the lead to 10-0.

The Lions could not mount an answer in the bottom of the inning allowing the Panthers to claim victory in the opening contest.

GAME TWO

ODU continued its winning ways against Lee in the second game of the Saturday series. The Flames jumped out to a 6-0 lead after the bottom of the fourth inning, but the Panthers began chipping away at the advantage. Shemwell spearheaded a Black and Gold attack that cut the lead in half during the top of the fifth inning.

The Panthers scored seven unanswered runs to claim a 10-6 advantage heading into the seventh inning. Each team added a run in the latter portion of the game but the Black and Gold lead proved too much to overcome as the Panthers completed the Saturday sweep with a 12-8 win.

UP NEXT

ODU heads to Lincoln Memorial University to battle the Railsplitters and the Davenport University Panthers. First pitch is scheduled for 11 AM on Saturday, February 19.

Contact: Ralph Schudel
schudelr@ohiodominican.edu