(HANOVER, Ind.) - After dropping game one on a walk-off, the Quakers jumped ahead in the second game to run-rule the Panthers of Hanover College, splitting the doubleheader on Thursday night.
Game 1 – 4-3 Loss Against Hanover
Each team went down quietly until the Quakers struck first in the top of the 3rd. Addysen Stevens led off, reaching first on an error. Stevens then stole second, and Jocelyn Franz laced a single to left, scoring Stevens. Franz stole second herself, but Wilmington could not add on. Audrey Gildea remained clean through three innings, striking out two batters in the bottom of the 3rd.
Hanover got on the board in the bottom of the 4th. A one-out hit-by-pitch was followed by two straight singles, scoring the tying run. Gildea struck out the last batter, keeping the score 1-1. Wilmington retook the lead in the top of the fifth as Franz reached on a two-out hit-by-pitch. Kymberlin Masino singled, moving Franz to third. Megan Spence cleared the bases with a double, scoring both runners to lead 3-1.
Gildea worked around some two-out traffic in the bottom of the 5th to stay ahead 3-1. She led off with a double in the top of the 6th, but the next three batters went down in order. After giving up two straight singles, Gildea was pulled for Spence. Spence got the first out, then walked the next batter. With two outs, a single to center scored the tying run, knotting the pair 3-3. The Quakers went down in order in the top of the 7th. A leadoff single was followed by a walk-off triple for the Panthers to take game one, 4-3.
Game 1 Notables
Game 2 – 11-1 Win Over Hanover (5 Inn.)
A leadoff single by Jocelyn Franz put Wilmington in an aggressive spot early. Franz was moved over to third, and Ashley Jo Hardesty drove her in to put the Quakers ahead 1-0 after the top of the 1st. Jobey Hattan and Addysen Stevens both singled in the top of the 2nd but were unable to score.
Belle Baughman shined through her first two innings of work, stranding a runner on base in each inning. Wilmington went down in order in the top of the 3rd, as the Panthers bit back in the bottom half. Baughman started the inning with a strikeout, before allowing a single. A throwing error brought home Hanover's first and only run, an unearned run, to tie the game 1-1.
The Quakers' offense ambushed the Panthers in the top of the 4th. Audrey Gildea and Alaina Eldridge kicked off the inning by both reaching on errors. A sacrifice bunt by Alasandra Spears moved the pair over. Jobey Hattan singled, scoring both Eldridge and Gildea to go ahead 3-1. Stevens then reached on a fielder's choice, and Franz singled to load the bases. Kymberlin Masino then cleared the bases with a three-RBI single. Leading 6-1, Megan Spence singled in Masino to go ahead 7-1. As Wilmington batted around, Gildea singled in Spence. Eldridge singled and Maddie Starnes pinch-ran for her as Gildea scored on a throw to second, putting the Quakers ahead 9-1.
Wilmington tacked on two more runs with an RBI single by Masino and Hardesty in the top of the 5th to threaten Hanover with a run-rule. Baughman worked around a one-out single to get a flyout and groundout, securing the 11-1 victory for the green and white.
Game 2 Notables
What's Up Next
Wilmington opens their conference play this weekend on the road against Baldwin Wallace University with a doubleheader starting at 1:00 P.M. on Saturday.
