Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Contact: Tim Ertle

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OBERLIN, Ohio - The Ursuline College softball team went on the road and split Wednesday's (March 18) doubleheader at Oberlin College. The Yeowomen took game one, 2-1, but the resilient Arrows responded with a 7-5 victory that came in the final inning of Wednesday's second game.

UC is now 7-5 overall while OC was opening its 2015 season and now sits at 1-1.

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Game One: Oberlin 2, Ursuline 1 -- Game One Box Score
Ursuline jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the third after sophomore Ashlie Brown reached on an infield error and scored on a double to center field off the bat of junior Alison Porter.

The Yeowomen answered with a run of their own in the home portion of the inning after Tori Poplaski laced a one-out triple and later scored on Jenny Goldsmith's double to left.

It remained a 1-1 game until the home team manufactured a run in the fifth. Oberlin's Caroline Hamilton led off with a double to left center and Goldsmith moved her up a base. With one out, OC pitcher Katie Pieplow helped her own cause simply by putting the ball in play. Her sacrifice fly to center plated Hamilton for what was ultimately the game-winning run.

UC threatened to tie the game in the top of the sixth when senior Sam Roberts started the inning with a single but she was ultimately stranded at third and the Arrows went one-two-three in the seventh.

Sophomore Brittany Humbel pitched well enough to win but was dealt the hard-luck loss to fall to 5-2. She worked all six innings and allowed two earned runs while striking out a career-high 10 and walking just three batters.

Humbel's counterpart Pieplow (1-0) was in control all afternoon. She went the distance and the only run that scored under her watch was unearned. Pieplow had four strikeouts and the only batter she walked was Humbel in the first.


Game Two: Ursuline 7, Oberlin 5 -- Game Two Box Score
For the third time this season, the Arrows won a game when tied or trailing after six innings. The latest thriller came with two runs in the seventh and completed a come-from-behind victory.

UC fell behind 3-0 after one frame but answered with two runs in the top of the second and two more in the top of the third to jump in front 4-3. The Yeowomen regained the lead by pushing a pair of runs across home plate in the bottom of the fourth to make it a 5-4 game after four innings.

Ursuline knotted the game at 5-5 in the fifth and ultimately won it when freshman Briana Benge singled home senior Sam Roberts and freshman Leah Leshnack with two down in the seventh to decide the final margin of 7-5.

The trio of Leshnack, sophomore Brigitte Snow and Roberts made life miserable for OC pitching. That group was a combined 6-9 and scored all seven runs (Leshnack scored three times, the other two came around twice). Snow and Roberts both doubled and both had a stolen base as well.

UC freshman pitcher Gina Rosshirt started in the circle and went five innings. She allowed five runs on eight hits and had five strikeouts before leaving with the game deadlocked at five.

Sophomore Brittany Humbel handled the last two innings and struck out three while facing just one above the minimum. She was the pitcher of record when UC went ahead and earned the win to improve to 6-2.

Oberlin's Katie Pieplow, the game one winner, took the loss in game two. She was the third OC pitcher of the game but allowed three runs - two of which were earned - in her three and two-thirds innings. Starter Tori Poplaski allowed two runs in the first before giving way to Sandra Kibble who surrendered a pair of runs in two and a third.

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The Arrows will open Great Midwest Athletic Conference play this weekend at Davis & Elkins College. UC and D&E will get together for a 3:30 p.m. game on Friday (March 20) before Saturday's (March 21) doubleheader that starts at 2:00 p.m.

Friday's game will be covered with free live stats. Live stats will also be available for Saturday's games, as will a video-only webcast (no audio). The links are game specific: Game One // Game Two.

EDITOR's NOTE (March 19):
Per the Davis & Elkins Sports Information Director, the softball games at Davis & Elkins College have been moved.

UC will play a doubleheader at D&E on Sunday (March 22) with game one starting at 2:00 p.m. On Monday (March 23), the teams will wrap up the series with one game that will start at noon.

We'll keep you posted as we gather more information. Follow us on social media and check the website (www.UrsulineArrows.com) for updates.