Hawks open new softball complex with Sunday Sweep
The Hocking College Softball team opened it's new softball complex on Sunday with a doubleheader sweep of the St. Mary of the Woods College JV Pomeroy's by the scores of 5-4 and 9-1 in 5 innings.
In Game 1 after the Pomeroy's opened the scoring with a 2-run home run to left field in the first inning the Hawks finally settled in and knotted the score at 2-2 when Sophomore Carah Mladek got things going with a leadoff walk and moved to 2nd base on Sophomore Grace Hash's sacrifice bunt. Mladek then went to 3rd on Sophomore Makayla Ball's single. Ball stole 2nd and Sophomore Carissa Wheeler's infield single scored Mladek and Ball. In the bottomg of the fourth inning Sophomore Chylece Cluck hit a 1-out double to get things going for the Hawks and Freshmen Aleia Spangler followed that up with a single to right to score Cluck. Spangler then came home on a 2-out double by Hash to give the Hawks a 4-2 lead. The Hawks would scored again in the bottom of the 5th inning as Kristen Stromack, Katie Hoffa, and Cluck hit back-to-back-to-back singles to load the bases and Stromack came across the plate on a passed ball to push the lead to 5-2. The Pomeroy's would score two more runs in the top of the 6th inning to close the gap to 5-4 and would threaten again in the top of the 7th inning as they would have runners on first and third but Stromack would shut the door and close out the game with a strikeout. Ball and Cluck would lead the hitting attack with two hits each and a run scored each. Stromack picked up the win in the circle scattering 8 hits and striking out 11.
In Game 2 the Hawks grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the 2nd inning when Katie Hoffa singled, moved to 2nd on a groundout by Cluck and scored on a single to right by Sophomore Amanda Lillis. After the Pomeroy's evened the score up at 1-1 in the 3rd inning, and the Hawks went scoreless in the bottom half of the third, the Hawks exploded for 5 runs in the bottom of the 4th inning to blow the game open. Cluck started the inning with a triple. Lillis followed that up with a walk and Freshmen Hannah Nicholson laid down a bunt to load the bases. Hash hit a single to right center to score Cluck and Lillis. Ball reached on base with a Fielder's Choice which moved Nicholson to 3rd. Sophomore Alessandra Mavilla's ground out to the 2nd baseman scored Nicholson and moved Ball to 2nd. Wheeler's infield single scored Ball and Stromakc followed that up with a double down the left field line to score Wheeler which would give the Hawks a 6-1 lead. In the bottom of the 5th inning Lillis and Nicholson walked to start the inning. Hash then came up and hit a double to right center to score Lillis and Nicholson. Ball would then walk it off with a single to score Hash and close out the game with a 9-1 mercy rule in 5 innings. Hash led the attack going 4-4 with a double, run scored, and 4 RBI. Ball also chipped in 2 hits, a run scored and an RBI. Spangler stayed perfect in the circle moving her record to 4-0, scattering four hits, striking out six and walking just one.
The Hawks return to action on the road this weekend with a pair of OCCAC doubleheaders against Lakeland Community College on Friday and Terra State on Saturday.