UNOH Comes from Behind to Save Split on Senior Day

LIMA, OH - UNOH softball blew a lead in game one Sunday but reversed that trend in game two to earn a split with UM-Dearborn on Senior Day. The Racers led 4-3 entering the sixth inning of the opener but saw the Wolverines plate five more times to steal the win 8-4. The opposite was true in the nightcap as UNOH erased a 4-1 deficit with a pair of three-run frames to split the doubleheader, 7-4.

UM-Dearborn took the first lead of the day with a two-run bomb in the top of the third but the two runs were answered quickly in the home half of the inning. Thanks to an error, a walk, a sac fly and a wild pitch, the Racers needed just one hit to tie the game with Tayler Braun and Brenna Cobb both crossing the plate. The two teams matched again in the fourth with each putting up a single run that made it a 3-3 game entering the fifth.

The action heated up in the top of the frame as the Wolverines managed to load the bases but some nice defensive saves kept them off the board and gave UNOH a chance for their first lead of the game. Brenna Cobb answered the call with a lead off homer that kissed the center field fence on it's way out, her second of the season, but it would be the last of the game for her team. 

The game was turned on its head in the top of the sixth inning after a pitching change resulted in three straight walks on twelve straight pitches to fill the pond again for UM-Dearborn. The next batter came through with the team's second homer of the game to the deepest part of the field, this time in the form of a grand slam, that put them up 7-4. The offense wasn't done though with a double and a single following the home run to finish off what would be the biggest frame of the day for either team.

Karsyn McGlothen worked five innings off the start giving up three runs on six hits with two earned. Lanie Wooten (11-13) had a tough time in relief making it just one third of an inning that saw five runs score on two hits. Chloe Scott finished a clean inning and two-thirds allowing two hits and no walks while striking out two.

The Wolverines strung together three hits in their first at bat of game two opening a 2-0 lead for a second time in the doubleheader. UNOH had three hits of their own in the home half, capped by a Cecilia Campbell double, but they managed just one run for their efforts and were held to that score through the first three innings. UM-Dearborn added a single score in the top of both the third and fourth to push their lead up to 4-1, but the Racers worked their way right back into the game thanks to Brenna Cobb.

With two outs in the bottom of the fourth, Cobb ripped a shot off the center field fence scoring Mackenzie Brandt from second and Tayler Braun from first. An errant throw after recovering the ball kept Cobb moving at top speed as she rounded third giving her an unofficially a little league home run that officially scored as a triple and an error tying the game at 4-4. Both teams put a runner in scoring position in the fifth but neither could get them home. The Wolverines threatened again in the sixth working their lead off hitter around to third with just one out, but Lanie Wooten battled herself out the precarious situation with a pair of strikeouts. Clutch hitting remained the story of the day as UNOH went to work again with two outs. Hailee Edgell launched her team leading fourth home run of the season to get her team back on top for good before Karsyn McGlothen added an insurance run. McGlothen pinch hit for just her third at bat of the season and smoked a shot off the fence in center field that drove in just the second RBI of the senior pitcher's career.

Lanie Wooten (12-13) worked around a one-out double in the final frame to snag the win in her 17th complete game of the season. She allowed four runs, three earned, on eleven hits with five strikeouts and three walks. 

Brenna Cobb and Cecilia Campbell combined for six of the team's 14 hits in the twinbill split with five RBI, a double, a triple and a home run between them.

With just two games left in the regular season, UNOH has already clinched a spot in the WHAC Tournament that begins April 24 with their split against No. 2 Madonna on Saturday. Mathmatically, the Racers still carry an outside track chance to host a four-team pod that is awarded to the top two finishers in the final conference standings, but would need some help to jump from their current fourth-place position. While they could still finish as high as second, just two games separate seven teams entering the final week making the season finale April 18 at Lourdes a critical showdown that could also see UNOH to fall as low as eighth when the dust settles.