Freshman outfielder Chameron Vanden Eynden knocked in the tying run to complete comebacks from 4-2 and 5-3 deficits, but the game was called because of darkness and the Ohio Wesleyan softball team tied Wilmington 5-5 in the nightcap of a non-conference doubleheader on Monday at Margaret Sagan Field.
In the opener, the Quakers broke a 2-2 tie with 3 runs and went on to the 7-4 win.
Wilmington jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the nightcap with the help of a sacrifice fly by Samantha Schwab, but the Bishops evened the score in the bottom of the inning on a fielder’s choice off the bat of junior first baseman Sophie Leohner and an infield single from senior shortstop Rylee Anspach.
The Quakers pushed across a pair of unearned runs in the second, but Ohio Wesleyan got one back in the bottom of the inning when junior shortstop McKenna Tuttle reached second on an error by Wilmington shortstop Chloe Dorn and senior catcher Sara Bias beat out an infield single, with Tuttle never stopping and coming in to score on the play.
Schwab’s run-scoring double gave the visitors a 5-3 lead in the top of the fourth, but Ohio Wesleyan rallied with 2 out in the bottom of the inning, with Bias lining a single, senior third baseman Alyssa Back slicing a triple down the right field line, and Vanden Eynden singling down the left field line to score Back with the tying run.
Senior second baseman Sophia Cegledy tripled with one out in the bottom of the fifth but was stranded at third base, and the game was called because of darkness shortly thereafter.
Bias went 2-for-2 and Back was 2-for-3 for Ohio Wesleyan. Sophomore righthander Makenna Knisley pitched the complete game, striking out 1 and walking 2.
The opener also saw Wilmington score twice in the first inning, this time on RBI singles by Schwab and Claire Scully.
Ohio Wesleyan pulled even as Cegledy singled in a run in the first and Vanden Eynden singled home a run in the second.
The Quakers took the lead on a 2-run single by Rachel Berry in the third and added an RBI double by Judaea Wilson in the fourth.
Tuttle singled in a run in the fifth and Back added a bases-loaded walk later in the inning as Ohio Wesleyan closed to within 5-4, but Wilmington answered with 2 runs in the top of the sixth for the 7-4 final.
Vanden Eynden and Tuttle each went 2-for-4 for Ohio Wesleyan. Senior lefthander Katie Chittum was the starting and losing pitcher for the Bishops.
OWU Sports Information contributed to this report.
