Game 1 Box Score  |  Game 2 Box Score

The Malone University softball team swept both games of its non-conference doubleheader at the University of Mount Union Wednesday afternoon, tallying a 1-0 victory in the opener and an 8-7 triumph in game two. Pitcher Brittany Larch tossed a two-hit shutout to lead the Pioneers to the game-one win. Malone then came out on top of a back-and-forth affair in the finale as shortstop Kristen Atzenhoefer broke a 7-7 tie in the top of the seventh, plating the go-ahead run on a two-out double. The Pioneers' overall record climbed to 14-17 with Wednesday's victories while the Purple Raiders fell to 17-11.

Wednesday's contests were originally scheduled to be hosted by Malone but, due to the Pioneers' field being unplayable, the games were moved to Mt. Union's field in Alliance. Malone was the “home” team in game one while Mt. Union got to bat second in game two.

The lone run of the opener came in the bottom of the fourth inning. After the first two Pioneer batters of the frame were retired, Atzenhoefer reached first on a single down the leftfield line. Third baseman Megan Lane followed with a double to right-center, plating Atzenhoefer all the way from first. This would turn out to be all the offense Larch would need as a leadoff double in the first and two-out double in the fourth proved to be Mt. Union's only base hits. Larch struck out three and walked three as she tossed her ninth complete game of the season. Malone posted six hits in the contest as Lane and catcher Laura Ronk each went 2-for-3.

The squads made up for the lack of offense in game one by lighting up the scoreboard with 15 runs and 22 hits in the finale. After falling behind 2-1 early on, Malone fought back to knot the score in the top of the fourth on a two-out single to left by centerfielder Elizabeth Sarkissian. The Purple Raiders plated one run in the bottom of the inning to pull in front 3-2 before the Pioneers responded in the top of the fifth, grabbing a 4-3 advantage on back-to-back solo homers by Ronk and first baseman Karre Thompson. An unearned run allowed Mt. Union to re-tie the game in the bottom of the frame. The seesaw battle then continued in the top of the sixth as Malone brought home three more runs to grab a 7-4 lead. The Purple Raiders pulled even after stringing together four straight one-out base hits in the bottom of the sixth. However, Malone managed to take the lead for good in the seventh after Larch reached on a fielder's choice and then raced all the way home on Atzenhoefer's big hit to left-center. Larch, who started the game as the Pioneers' designated player and then came on to pitch with one out in the sixth, then worked a scoreless bottom of the seventh to preserve the Malone victory and pick up her second win of the afternoon (7-6). Shelby Snyder started the game in the circle and earned a no-decision after surrendering three runs over the first four innings. Atzenhoefer tallied two of the Pioneers' 11 hits in the contest, ripping a solo homer in the sixth to go with her game-winning double in the seventh. Ronk, Sarkissian and Lane also posted two hits apiece for the Pioneers in Wednesday's second game.

Malone will be back in action on Thursday as the squad returns to American Mideast Conference play with a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader at Notre Dame College. The Pioneers and Falcons were originally scheduled to square off on Tuesday but the match up had to be delayed due to the wet weather conditions. Fans that cannot be in attendance can follow the action on-line with live statistics courtesy of the Notre Dame Sports Information Department.