Painesville, OH – On Saturday afternoon the Malone University Softball team traveled to Painesville to take on the Lake Erie Storm. The Pioneers took advantage of the struggling Storm and brought back a pair of conference victories. 

THE ESSENTIALS

• Game 1: Lake Erie Storm 1 – Malone University Pioneers 4
• Game 2:  Lake Erie Storm 0 -- Malone University Pioneers 10
• Records: Malone University 16-4 (2-0 G-MAC) | Lake Erie University 0-16 (0-2 GMAC)
• Location: Painesville, OH

GAME ONE
The Pioneers opened conference play with a bang as Taylor Kern launched her second homerun of the year in the 2nd inning. The Storm answered back with a solo shot of their own in the 4th. In a game highlighted by strong pitching and yet another dominant Mia Rose start, the Pioneers found themselves tied heading to the top of the 7th. Karlie Duvall broke the deadlock with a drive down the left field line to put Malone ahead 2-1. Following a Lacie Quarles single and a Rose walk, Faith Yoho gave the Pioneers some breathing room with a two-out, two-run double. Rose closed the door in the 7th and Malone won by a score of 4-1. 

GAME TWO
Malone looked to win more convincingly in Game 2 as they had an opportunity to surpass their previous season's win total of fifteen.  A trio of walks and a Madi Pukansky single put the Pioneers on the board early. Grace Kissick capped the inning with an RBI groundout to put Malone up 2-0 after one. Following a scoreless second, the Pioneers were gifted a pair of runs due to a trio of Storm defensive errors. A Taylor Kern fielder's choice helped stretched the lead to five through three innings. The ladies decided they wanted to end things early with an explosive 5th inning. Lacie Quarles sacrificed a run home and Pukansky followed with an RBI single to start inning. Mia Rose capped off her remarkable day with her first collegiate homerun, a 3-run bomb, as the Pioneers eradicated the Storm by a final score of 10-0. This victory brought their season total to sixteen, surpassing last years total of fifteen 

DETAILS

• Mia Rose was electric in Game 1 as she added ten more strikeouts to her season total. She allowed one run and improved to 5-3 on the year. Grace Kissick went the distance in Game 2 as she struck out five and allowed zero runs as she won her 6th game. 
• Rose led the way offensively with four hits, three RBI's, and a homerun. Faith Yoho and Madi Pukansky each had three hits. Yoho finished with three RBI's while Taylor Kern added two. 

WHAT'S NEXT
The Pioneers are back in action at home on Tuesday, March 19th at 3:00 P.M. vs. Point Park University.

FOLLOW THE PIONEERS
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