CANTON, Ohio – The Malone University softball team needed one win in the final doubleheader of the regular season against the University of Findlay Oilers and got just that in a 3-0 win in game one of the day. The Pioneers clinched the eight-seed with that win, but the Oilers secured the victory in game two 5-1 to earn the number two seed in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Championship.
Malone ends the regular season with a 24-18 overall record and 10-14 mark in league play. Findlay is 32-12 and 19-5 in the G-MAC.
GAME ONE RECAP:
It was a pitcher's duel early on as neither side was able to get more than one hit in the first four innings. In the bottom of the fifth, the Pioneers were able to break through for the game's only runs.
The Oilers hurt themselves with a pair of errors to begin the inning and place the go-ahead run on third in
Ella Collinsworth.
Aricka Young stole second to put a pair of runners in scoring position for
Lacie Quarles. Quarles came up big with a single through the left side of the infield for a run.
Marlee Pireu did the same to extend the lead to 2-0 and a throwing error by the catcher led to a third run for Malone in the frame.
Mia Rose worked around a hit by pitch in the sixth and a pair of hits in the seventh to preserve the shutout and win her tenth game of the season (10-11). She struck out three batters in her seven innings of work.
Sidney Conti joined Quarles and Pireu with hits for the home team, but she was the only one to reach base twice with a walk as well.
GAME TWO RECAP:
A two-run homerun in the top of the first put Findlay in front to begin the final game of the regular season.
Jessie Crookston and
Hallie Miller had a single and double to begin the bottom half of the inning and
Halyn Cawthorne cut the deficit in half with a sacrifice fly.
A trio of two-out baserunners by the Oilers in the fourth allowed the visiting team to tack on an insurance run, but pitcher
Allie Weilnau stayed steady and got out of the inning with limited damage. Findlay extended the lead to 5-1 in the final inning of play and kept the Pioneers at bay in their last at-bats.
Miller was 2-for-3 in the contest.
Emma Oshel and
Rachel Finnical were 1-for-1 at the plate as a platoon of Malone hitters made a plate appearance. Weilnau (14-7) completed the regular season with a complete game where she fanned eight and allowed four earned runs.
UP NEXT:
The Pioneers will face the top seed Tiffin University on Wednesday, April 30 at 12:00 P.M. in game one of the 2025 G-MAC Softball Championship. The four-day event emanates from Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio.
