The John Carroll University softball team continued their season-long trend of playing in closely contested games this past week, going 3-1 in their four games which were decided by a combined four runs.
As if the extremely competitive games weren’t enough themselves, JCU had to do it against a pair of rivals: their cross-town and conference nemesis Baldwin-Wallace College and Notre Dame College from just down the street.
Continuing the trend from last season when JCU and B-W had their pair of games decided by three runs, the two teams each won a one-run affair in their doubleheader held on April 10.
JCU dropped the first game 2-1, but used small ball as junior Angela Vistocco went station-to-station and came around to score when classmate Jamie Colley put the ball in play to score the third and final run of the game in the fifth inning.
Senior Samantha Thompson held B-W in check the rest of the afternoon to give her team the split.
Against Notre Dame College, a run in the third and a two-run single by sophomore Olivia Mathews keyed a three-run fifth inning that was a nice cushion for sophomore pitcher Brittany Danilov.
A leadoff homer by sophomore Erin Riccardi gave the Blue Streaks their fifth run on the afternoon, and Notre Dame came up short by only tacking on one run in the seventh.
In the second game, JCU jumped out to a 6-0 lead that was insurmountable for the host Falcons. They scratched and clawed their way back, but Thompson again shut the door in the seventh.
JCU currently sits at 14-12 overall, and 3-3 in the OAC.
