Scots Face Tough Week With Three NCAC Twinbills in Four Days

Ali Barone

With unseasonably cold weather still looming in the forecast, The College of Wooster softball team faces a challenging week, battling Mother Nature and three of the North Coast Athletic Conference’s top teams during a four-day span. The Fighting Scots are scheduled to begin the busy stretch Wednesday, April 11, at Allegheny College (7-11, 2-0 NCAC). The doubleheader will start at 3:30 p.m. The all-time series record between the two stands in Allegheny’s favor, with the Gators continuing to hold a slight advantage (9-7-1) after last year’s split – a 4-2 Wooster victory, followed by an 8-2 Allegheny triumph. On Thursday, April 12, the Scots will be home for a match-up with rival Wittenberg University (16-8, 1-1 NCAC), also at 3:30 p.m., in a twinbill originally slated for April 6, but postponed twice due to the weather. The Tigers, who produced the best non-league record of any NCAC team, are ahead 11-7 in the series with Wooster and run-ruled the Scots 15-0 and 9-1 last season. Wooster ends the week with a pair of contests Saturday, April 14, at the conference’s preseason favorite and defending champion, Denison University (12-10, 1-1 NCAC), beginning at 1 p.m. The Big Red are 12-5 all-time against the Scots, sweeping the twinbill in 2006 9-4 and 7-4.

    Last Week: Wooster managed to get one of its scheduled dates in, earning a doubleheader split during its conference opener to move its overall record to 8-14.
    On April 3, after being shutout 3-0 in game one, the Scots used timely hitting to bounce back, knocking off visiting Hiram College 2-1 in the nightcap. During the opener, the Scots smacked eight hits, led by Ali Barone (Akron, Ohio / St. Thomas Aquinas) and Courtney Joliat (Canton, Ohio / St. Thomas Aquinas), who were 2-for-4 and 2-for-3, respectively, but couldn’t crack the scoreboard. Andrea Kelley (Westerville, Ohio / Westerville South) was the tough-luck loser (4-7) as she threw a complete game, allowing two earned runs (one unearned) on six hits over the seven innings while fanning five batters. In game two, Wooster took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the third when Katelynn Caywood (Amherst, Ohio / Firelands) and Maria Gonzalez (Millersburg, Ohio / West Holmes) doubled back-to-back. The Scots added another in the fifth, with Gonzalez coming through again via an RBI single, which sent Barone home. Hiram made things interesting during the top of the sixth, scoring once to make it a 2-1 game, however, Kelley forced the next batter into a groundout to leave the Terriers with the bases loaded. Gonzalez ended the game a pefect 3-for-3 to lead Wooster, while Eva Lyon (Gallipolis, Ohio / Gallia Academy) was 2-for-3. Picking up the win was Katie Pifer (Meadville, pa. / Meadville), who threw four four-hit scoreless innings, and Kelley was credited with the save, finishing the last three innings with two strikeouts and the one earned run on three hits.