CANTON, Ohio - The Malone University softball team split its doubleheader against the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets with a 3-0 win in game one and a 5-3 loss in game two. The Pioneers finish the regular season at 25-19, while the Yellow Jackets drop to 18-32. In the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), both teams stand at 10-14.
GAME ONE RECAP:
Malone opened game one with a run in the bottom of the first inning.
Morgan Cantrell tripled to right field, and
Jessie Crookston brought her home with an RBI groundout for a 1-0 Pioneer lead.
The Pioneers added another run in the third after Cantrell delivered her second triple of the game.
Marlee Pireu followed up with an RBI triple to right field to score Cantrell and extend Malone's lead to 2-0. Malone kept control of the game in the fifth inning when
Halyn Cawthorne singled up the middle, and Cantrell struck once again with an RBI double to center field to go up 3-0.
The Pioneers held Cedarville scoreless the rest of the way to secure a 3-0 victory. Cantrell led the way for Malone, finishing 3-for-3 with three extra-base hits, two runs scored, and an RBI. Pireu and Crookston each added an RBI as well for the win.
In the circle,
Mia Rose (14-10) delivered a complete-game shutout. She allowed just five hits while striking out nine and walking zero across seven innings.
GAME TWO RECAP:
The Pioneers claimed a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Cantrell was hit by a pitch, stole second, and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Rose.
Sidney Conti followed that up with an RBI to left field, bringing Pireu across home plate.
Malone held onto the lead throughout the first four innings, with Cedarville kept off the board despite having runners on base. The Pioneers had opportunities in the second and fourth innings to extend the lead, but were unsuccessful, and the score remained 2-0.
Cedarville took the lead with a four-run fifth inning, but Malone responded with an RBI single by Rose to cut the deficit to 4-3. The Pioneers kept the pressure on with runners on base, but were unable to capitalize. The Yellow Jackets added an insurance run in the seventh, and Malone was held scoreless in the final frame to fall 5-3.
Summer McCaw gave the Pioneers a strong effort in the circle with seven strikeouts and zero walks across 4.1 innings. Rose (14-11) entered in a relief role and was unable to maintain the lead.
UP NEXT:
Looking ahead to the postseason, there are two spots available for Malone, Cedarville and Ursuline College to capture with one day remaining in the regular season. If the Arrows win one against Kentucky Wesleyan College on Sunday, they will clinch a postseason berth, otherwise both the Pioneers and Yellow Jackets will make it.
The tiebreaker between Malone and Cedarville will most likely need to be broken by the finish of the University of Findlay and Ashland University. If the Oilers are ahead of the Eagles in the final standings, Malone will clinch the final spot. Otherwise, it would go to Cedarville. Findlay goes to Tiffin University on Sunday and Ashland hosts Hillsdale College for doubleheaders.
