Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

NEW CONCORD, Ohio – The Otterbein softball squad completed a sweep of Muskingum on Thursday evening to improve to 4-0 in Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play after outscoring its opposition a combined 10-2 in the doubleheader.

Otterbein (15-5 overall) will resume its busy schedule tomorrow afternoon with a home doubleheader against Marietta beginning at 3 p.m. The Cardinals will then travel to Heidelberg on Saturday to end the week of competition.

Game One – Won, 5-0

A scoreless affair through the first two innings of action turned in favor of the Cardinals at the start of the third as a lead-off walk by senior Savannah Sarkine helped ignite a three-run frame.

Back-to-back singles from freshman Kristen Zink and junior Alyson Shaw led to Sarkine coming around to score the first run of the game on an error after Shaw's hit. Seniors Bailey McElwain and Megan Garner each reached on an error with one out, with Garner's scoring a pair of runs to boost the lead to 3-0.

Meanwhile junior Gabby Johnson notched yet another dominant performance in the circle, fanning five batters through the first three innings of play, all part of her eight strikeouts in the game.  

The top of the fifth inning was when Otterbein would plate its next run as Shaw led off with a solo home run, before Garner added an insurance run for the Cards in the seventh on a double to left center which scored McElwain.

Johnson finished the game to earn her team-leading seventh win of the year, with just one loss on her record, while also improving on her OAC-best strikeout total (74). Johnson is also averaging a league-high 9.42 strikeouts per seven-innings.

Game Two – Won, 5-2

Sophomore Courtney Hackney helped the Cards gain the lead early in game two with a two-run home run to left center, which scored pinch-runner Kendall Lloyd who ran for Garner after she singled through the left side of the Muskie infield to start the second inning.

Muskingum managed to knot the score at two runs apiece in the last half of the fourth frame as it planted three base runners on one hit, a walk and a fielder's choice while pushing across two runs.

Senior Rachael Owens, who started the game in the circle, shut down the Muskies the remainder of the contest though with a trio of shut-out innings, allowing just three hits over that span.

Garner, who stepped up to the plate in the fifth inning with the Cards back in the lead after a run-scoring single from classmate Maddie Flasco, continued her strong outing at the plate by blasting a two-run homer to put the team up 5-2.

The score would remain the same in the end as Owens was helped out with a line-out double play and a pop-up to end the game. Owens improved to 5-2 on the season after allowing just the two runs on seven hits in her fourth complete-game.

Flasco concluded the game with three hits to lead all batters, while Garner followed with a pair of her own. Shaw also recorded a triple in the game, her second of the spring.