Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

Contact: Tim Ertle

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OWENSBORO, Ky. - The Ursuline College softball team went on the road and was swept by Kentucky Wesleyan College on Thursday (April 2) afternoon. KWC took game one 6-1 and then won the second game by a score of 7-1.

It was supposed to be a three-game series but Friday's (April 3) finale was canceled due to inclement weather and unplayable field conditions.

The Arrows are now 7-13 overall and 0-8 in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Kentucky Wesleyan has won eight straight and is 13-6 overall and 5-0 in conference play.

Ursuline is scheduled to play its first home games of the year on Wednesday (April 8) against Cedarville University. Game one will start at 3:30 p.m. and Max Radigan will call the action on the Ursuline College Sports Network.


Game One: Kentucky Wesleyan 6, Ursuline 1 (Box Score)
Ursuline jumped out to a 1-0 lead when junior second baseman Alison Porter singled home sophomore right fielder Brigitte Snow in the top of the third inning. After that, KWC pitcher Casey Smith (6-2) really settled down.

Sophomore first baseman Carly Hoffner singled in the top of the fourth but after that, Smith retired the next 11 hitters she faced to end the game.

While Smith was rolling, so was her counterpart. UC freshman pitcher Gina Rosshirt put four zeroes on the board until the Panthers struck for six runs in the bottom of the fifth.

After Rosshirt K'd the first batter of the fifth, she gave up a single to Mackenzie Weedman. The next hitter flied out to left field and then Smith worked a walk to put two on with two outs.

Courtney Lockwood came through in the clutch with a single up the middle that knotted the game at one. Another walk loaded the bases and then Kayla Norris worked a walk to bring home the go-ahead run.

The big blow came when Amber Pendergraft clubbed a three-run triple to left center and extended the lead to 5-1. She scored the sixth and final run of the game when Samantha Marksbury singled through the left side.

Rosshirt took the loss to fall to 1-5. She allowed six runs on six hits, four of which came in the fifth inning. Rosshirt surrendered four walks and hit a batter but did have five strikeouts.

KWC's Smith faced three batters above the minimum and had six strikeouts while not walking a batter in her six-inning complete game effort.


Game Two: Kentucky Wesleyan 7, Ursuline 1 (Box Score)
As was the case in the first game, UC jumped out to a 1-0 lead.

This time it came in the fourth inning when freshman Leah Leshnack and sophomore Carly Hoffner started the frame with back-to-back doubles. Hoffner's two-bagger down the left field line plated Leshnack and staked junior pitcher Rachel Jalowiec to a 1-0 advantage.

The lead didn't last long.

KWC's Kaci Ovelgoener homered to left field to start the home half of the fourth and then Mackenzie Weedman singled down the left field line. The next batter reached on a fielder's choice and a sacrifice bunt put two in scoring position with just one out.

Jessica Carmon followed with a two-run double to center field that ended Jalowiec's day. Rosshirt replaced her and the first hitter she faced reached on an error. She got Kayla Norris to fly out to center field which should have been the end of the inning but the error allowed to Carmon to tag and score and make it a 4-1 game.

KWC tacked on three more in the sixth. Carmon walked to start the inning and then a walk, followed by a sac bunt, put two in scoring position with one down. Amber Pendergraft knocked in Carmon on her single to right field to make it a 5-1 game and then the next hitter reached on another infield error.

Overgoener drove in a run on her sac fly to center and then Weedman knocked in another on her infield single with two outs. Only one of the three runs scored in that inning was charged to Rosshirt.

Jalowiec was dealt the loss to fall to 0-2. She allowed four runs, three of which were earned, in her three and a third innings of work. Rosshirt covered the final two and two-thirds innings and allowed just one earned run.

KWC's Josalyn Ress pitched all seven innings and allowed just one run to improve to 6-3. Ress had six strikeouts and didn't walk a batter.