ASHLAND – A throw from left fielder Jenny Raguz to cut down a Wheeling Jesuit runner at the plate in the top of the seventh preserved a 1-0 win for the Ashland University softball team and gave them a sweep of Wednesday’s doubleheader at Brookside Park.
The Eagles (25-18 overall, 10-6 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) won the first game, 5-3, and held on to win the second game, 1-0. Ashland is in the middle of a season best five-game winning streak.
In the second game, the Eagles scored the only run of the game in the bottom of the 3rd. Raguz opened the inning with a single. She moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kayla Troyer and then stole third. Dayla Denner lined a single to center to plate Raguz and give the Eagles a 1-0 lead.
Starting pitcher Hannah Stroe allowed only seven base runners for the Cardinals through the first five innings. In the sixth, two errors and a walk gave Wheeling Jesuit bases loaded with two outs before Stroe gave way to Paige McMenemy. McMenemy struck out the last batter of the sixth inning to stop the Cardinal rally and opened the closing frame with another strikeout. The junior walked Cassie Holstein who then advanced to second on a passed ball. After another McMerney strikeout, senior Dana Achille walked, giving Wheeling Jesuit runners on first and second with two outs.
That’s when Courtney Rogers lined a single to left and Raguz made the throw to catcher Cassie Haight who applied the tag to Holstein to preserve the win for the Eagles.
Stroe earned her eighth win, topping the seven wins she had in her freshman campaign, and McMenemy earned her third save.
In Game 1, Ashland opened the scoring in the bottom of the 1st when Denner scored on a sacrifice bunt by Alexis Van Horn.
Wheeling Jesuit answered with 2 in the top of the second. Sophomore Michaela Miller tripled with two outs to drive in Taylor DiPierna, who had singled to open the frame. Jackie Cramer singled to drive in Miller and put the Cardinals up, 2-1.
The Eagles knotted it up in the bottom of the second and added another in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI double by Denner to take a 3-2 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth, back-to-back RBI doubles by Kylie Asmus and Halle Dorko plated another two runs, to give the Eagles a 5-2 cushion.
In the top of the seventh, the Cardinals scored a run and had runners on first and second with one out on McMenemy before Stroe came on in relief. Stroe struck out the next two batters to preserve the 5-3 win for Ashland.
McMenemy earned the win, her 14th of the season, good for third place in the GLIAC.
“The entire day today was positive,” AU head coach Sheilah Gulas said. “It was definitely something we needed going into this weekend playing Hillsdale.”
Up next, the Eagles return to GLIAC play with a doubleheader at the Chargers on Saturday, April 22 beginning at 1 p.m. in Hillsdale, Mich.
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