The Malone University softball team wrapped up its 2009 season on Monday afternoon by sweeping both games of an American Mideast Conference doubleheader at Ursuline College.  The Pioneers rallied for a 12-10 victory in the opener before pulling away for a 10-0 win in game two.  With the doubleheader sweep, Malone ended its 2009 campaign with a record of 13-21 overall and 9-11 in the AMC.

The Pioneers entered the bottom of the sixth in game one with a 9-5 lead before Ursuline struck for five runs to grab a 10-9 advantage.  Malone was able to rally back for the 12-10 win, though, as the squad plated three unearned runs in the top of the seventh.  Pitcher Katie Keslar (So., CVCA) entered the game in the bottom of the sixth and tossed 1.2 innings of scoreless relief to pick up her sixth victory of the year (6-8).  The Pioneers tallied 15 hits in the contest as five different batters recorded at least two hits apiece.  First baseman Karre Thompson (So., East Canton H.S.) went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles, two runs scored and three RBI’s.  Second baseman Leslie McCammon (Sr., Wadsworth H.S.) posted three hits in three at-bats with two RBI’s.  Centerfielder Morgan Heacock (Jr., Mt. Gilead H.S.) and catcher Laura Ronk (So., St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) each went 2-for-4 with three runs scored while shortstop Kristen Atzenhoefer (Fr., Central Crossing H.S.) also tallied two hits with two runs scored and two RBI’s.

Malone scored twice in the top of the third and five times in the top of the fourth to take a commanding 7-0 lead in the finale.  The visitors then tacked on three more runs in the top of the seventh to cement the 10-0 win.  Keslar started and went the distance on the mound for the Pioneers, tossing a three-hit shutout.  Keslar struck out seven and walked one over her seven innings pitched to pick up her second victory of the afternoon (7-8).  Malone again posted a double-digit total for hits with 11.  McCammon continued her outstanding day at the plate, going 3-for-4 in game two with a double, two runs scored and three RBI’s. Ronk tallied two hits in four at-bats with three RBI’s.  Third baseman Kelsee Locker (Fr., Strasburg-Franklin H.S.) and leftfielder Elizabeth Sarkissian (So., Twinsburg H.S.) each posted two hits with two runs scored and one RBI while rightfielder Laura Blackburn (Jr., Thomas Worthington H.S.) led off the top of the seventh with her first home run of the season.

At 9-11 in conference play, the Pioneers finished the year in eighth place in the AMC standings, two games behind Walsh University which earned the conference’s fifth and final playoff spot with an 11-9 mark.

The Malone University softball team tallied a 1-1 record on Saturday afternoon in an American Mideast Conference twin bill at Notre Dame (OH) College. The Falcons took the opener 5-0 before the Pioneers claimed a 5-2 triumph in game two, giving Notre Dame just its second conference loss of the season.  With the doubleheader split, Malone moved to 11-21 overall and 7-11 in the AMC while the Falcon’s record now stands at 25-9 overall and 18-2 in the conference.

Notre Dame pitcher Tara Meyer tossed a complete-game four-hit shutout in the opener.  The Falcons scored two runs in the first and one run in the second inning to grab a 3-0 advantage and then put the game away with two more runs in the fourth.  Pitcher Katie Keslar (So., CVCA) started and took the loss (5-8) for the Pioneers after allowing three runs on four hits over 1.2 innings of work.

Malone trailed game two 1-0 after three innings but then tallied five runs over the next three frames to grab a 5-1 lead.  The Falcons plated one run in the bottom of the sixth but were unable to completely close the gap, falling by the three-run deficit.  Pitcher Lauren Hershberger (Fr., Hiland H.S.) went the distance on the mound for the Pioneers, notching her sixth victory (6-5) of the season after limiting Notre Dame to two runs (one earned) on eight hits over seven innings pitched.  Malone tallied nine hits in the contest as catcher Laura Ronk (So., St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.) went 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored and an RBI triple in the top of the fifth.  Shortstop Kristen Atzenhoefer (Fr., Central Crossing H.S.) tallied two hits in four at-bats with one run scored and one RBI.  Centerfielder Morgan Heacock (Jr., Mt. Gilead H.S.) also went 2-for-4 with one run scored and ended the game by throwing out a Falcon base runner at the plate who was trying to score from second.

The Pioneers will wrap-up their 2009 campaign on Monday afternoon with a 3:30 p.m. make-up doubleheader at Ursuline College.

Playoff Picture:  Saturday’s loss in game one eliminated Malone from AMC postseason contention as only five teams will qualify for this year’s conference tournament.

The Malone University softball team lost both games of its American Mideast Conference doubleheader at home to Cedarville University on Thursday afternoon, dropping the opener 6-5 in 10 innings before falling in the nightcap by a final tally of 4-1. Shortstop Kristen Atzenhoefer (Fr., Central Crossing H.S.) ripped three doubles over the course of the two games to break the Pioneers’ single-season record for two-base hits.  In 27 games played so far this year, Atzenhoefer has now cranked an incredible total of 20 doubles to eclipse the previous record of 17 which was set by Carisa Troyer in 1999.  Following the doubleheader sweep, the Pioneers’ record dropped to 10-20 overall and 6-10 AMC while the Yellow Jackets improved to 16-28 overall and 6-14 in the conference.

Cedarville pulled ahead 5-2 in game one after scoring four runs in the top of the fifth inning. Leftfielder Laura Blackburn (Jr., Thomas Worthington H.S.) answered back for the Pioneers in the bottom of the frame, cutting the Yellow Jackets’ advantage to 5-4 with a two-out, two-run double.  Atzenhoefer then sent the contest to extra innings after leading off the bottom of the seventh with a home run.  The game remained deadlocked at 5-5 until the top of the tenth when a pair of Pioneer fielding errors led to an unearned run for the Yellow Jackets. Malone put the tying run on base in the bottom of the frame but the squad was unable to score as Cedarville held on for the 6-5 triumph.  Pitcher Kelsey Hatfield (Fr., Otsego H.S.) suffered the loss (0-1) despite allowing just one unearned on two hits over 5.1 innings of relief.  The Pioneers racked up 16 hits in the contest as Atzenhoefer went 4-for-5 at the plate with two doubles in addition to her game-tying homer in the seventh.  Rightfielder Megan Lane (Fr., Hilliard Darby H.S.) tallied three hits in five at-bats while Blackburn, centerfielder Morgan Heacock (Jr., Mt. Gilead H.S.), catcher Laura Ronk (So., St. Vincent-St. Mary H.S.), and first baseman Ashleigh Ralston (Sr., Wadsworth H.S.) each registered two hits apiece.

Game two was tied 1-1 after five innings but Malone then committed three costly errors over the final two frames, leading to three unearned Cedarville runs.  Although she did not give up an earned run (three unearned) over 6.1 innings of relief, pitcher Jessica Krska (So., Norton H.S.) was saddled with the defeat (0-4).  Krska allowed eight hits while striking out five.  The Pioneers posted five hits in the contest as Ronk went two-for-three with one run scored while Atzenhoefer plated Malone’s lone run with a two-out RBI double in the third.

On Saturday, the Pioneers were held to just four hits in game one as Shawnee State pitcher Lori Harmon tossed a complete-game shutout.  The contest’s lone run came in the top of the fifth inning as the Bears strung together a pair of two-out base hits.  Pitcher Ashleigh Ralston (Sr., Wadsworth H.S.) started and suffered the loss (0-2) for Malone despite allowing just one run on four hits over 5.1 innings pitched.

     In game two with Shawnee State, a two-out, two-run double by Lane in the bottom of the first inning gave the Pioneers an early 2-0 lead.  The Bears brought home two scores in the top of the fourth to knot the game at 2-2 before Malone answered back in the bottom of the inning, taking a 4-2 lead with a two-out RBI double by Locker (Fr., Strasburg-Franklin H.S.) and a two-out RBI triple by centerfielder Morgan Heacock (Jr., Mt. Gilead H.S.).  Shawnee State threatened in the top of the seventh as the first three batters of the inning reached base (fielding error followed by two singles).  Relief pitcher Kelsey Hatfield (Fr., Otsego H.S.) was able to limit the damage, however, preserving the 4-3 Malone win after allowing just one of the runners to score.  Hatfield worked the final three innings of the contest to pick up her first career save.  Keslar started and earned her third victory in three days (5-7) after tossing the first four innings, surrendering two runs on six hits.  Malone posted nine hits in the contest as Ronk went 2-for-3 at the plate with a pair of singles and one run scored.

Against Rio Grande on Friday, the Pioneers jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning of game one thanks to a two-run triple by Thompson and an RBI double by leftfielder Laura Blackburn (Jr., Thomas Worthington H.S.).  Malone’s lead then grew to 4-0 in the bottom of the third as Thompson led off the inning with a home run.  Rio Grande brought home a pair of scores in the top of the fifth to trim the Pioneer advantage to 4-2 but Lane quickly answered back for Malone in the bottom of the inning as she crushed the first home run of her career, a deep three-run drive to centerfield.  Rio posted one run in the top of the seventh but it was not enough to overcome the sizable deficit as the Pioneers went on to record the 7-3 triumph.  Keslar started and picked up the victory (4-7) after allowing just one hit over four shutout innings of work.

     Rio Grande took command of Friday’s second game with its big seven-run outburst in the top of the third inning.  Malone scored four runs in the bottom of the fourth to slash the deficit to 9-5 before the Red Storm put the contest out of reach with three runs in the top of the fifth and two more runs in the top of the seventh.  Pitcher Jessica Krska (So., Norton H.S.) started and took the loss (0-3) after giving up seven runs (five earned) on seven hits over 2.2 innings pitched.  The Pioneers notched nine hits in the game as Ronk went 2-for-4 at the plate with a single and a two-run triple.  Locker also posted two hits in the contest with a double and an RBI single.