COLUMBUS, Ohio – On the first day of the Blue Bridge Battle, the Ohio Dominican softball team took home two wins. The Panthers took down the Tritons, 5-4, and then defeated the Hawks, 7-0.
The Black and Gold secured 23 hits between the two games with Kaleigh Golden (Thornville, Ohio) and Alexis Stevens (Marion, Ohio) both securing four. Against UMSL, Golden went 3-4 from the plate while Stevens went 2-4, including a triple, and a run batted in. Golden added a hit in the second game while Stevens notched two doubles and three RBIs.

Lindsey Potter (Plain City, Ohio) and Saadie Maysonet (Worthington, Ohio) both had multiple hit games. Maysonet secured hers against the Tritons and added two RBIs. Potter notched hers against the Hawks, grabbing a double and a triple. Potter had an RBI and accounted for two runs.

In the circle, Addison Smodilla (Terre Haute, Ind.) picked up her first win of the season. The graduate pitched 6.2 innings and retired four batters. Marlee Jacobs (Plain City, Ohio) came in during the top of the seventh inning to net her first save of the year. Grace Hammer (Uniontown, Ohio) pitched the second game and went the distance. She pitched a complete game shutout while striking out eight.

Game One
In the bottom of the opening inning, Golden and Stevens tabbed singles, but were stranded. UMSL recorded two hits and loaded the bases with an error in the top of the third, yet the Black and Gold got out of the jam. In the next inning, the Tritons got on the board first after stringing together two hits.

The Panthers responded in the bottom of the frame with back-to-back bunt single from Emily Walker (Plain City, Ohio) and Potter. An error scored Walker while Maysonet plated Potter with her single to left center, making it 2-1.

In the next inning, Missouri-St. Louis tied it at two with two hits. The Black and Gold answered with three hits of their own, securing three runs to make it 5-2. Stevens hit a triple with Kendrick Sterling (Crothersville, Ind.) and Maysonet both grabbing singles. UMSL rallied in their last at bat with a two-run single but came up short, securing a 5-4 win for ODU.

Game Two
The Black and Gold started strong in the opening frame with a Stevens double that scored Alli Madden (Cincinnati, Ohio). In the next inning, Sterling and Maysonet both tabbed hits. ODU opened it up in the top of the fourth after Potter led off with a double. Lilly Irvine (Delaware, Ohio) recorded her first hit, resulting in an RBI. A Stevens two-run double pushed the Panthers to 4-0.

In the top of the next inning, Addie Triplett (Johnstown, Ohio) registered her first hit, setting the stage for a Potter Triple. A wild pitch scored Potter followed by an RBI single from Golden to make it 7-0. Five strikeouts from Hammer in the next two innings helped secure a 7-0 win for the Panthers.

Up Next
The action continues tomorrow as ODU takes on #9 Indianapolis at 1:00 PM EST and Alabama-Huntsville at 3:00 PM EST.