Miami University
Eastern Illinois
Softball Sweeps Doubleheader Against IUPUI, Eastern Illinois
2/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ROSEMONT, Ill. ÃÆ'Æ'¢ÃÆ'¢'¬" Following a difficult opening day of action at the Total Control Sports Invitational, Miami University's softball team rebounded Saturday afternoon to sweep a doubleheader against IUPUI and Eastern Illinois in the second day of competition at The Dome.
The RedHawks (2-2) received strong starting pitching performances from senior Carly Mortensen and sophomore Shannon Hohman and used a pair of long balls to power their offense in each contest.
Miami 4, IUPUI 2
Following a scoreless top half of the first inning for IUPUI, Miami's offense got going quickly as sophomore shortstop Michaela Schlattman reached on a two-out double. In the next at-bat, sophomore first baseman Johniann Wahl put the RedHawks on the board with a two-run home run, her second of the young season.
In the top of the second, the Jaguars (0-3) countered with a two-out, two-run double that tied the game at 2. Junior centerfielder Kaitlyn Gliha opened the bottom of the second with a walk, but the RedHawks were unable to capitalize and the game remained tied heading into the third.
The Miami offense rebounded in the third as junior designated hitter Megan Wurts led off with a double before advancing to third on a Schlattman single. Wahl continued her outstanding afternoon with a fielder's choice RBI that brought home Wurts to give Miami a 3-2 lead after three innings.
After both teams went down in order in the fourth, they were unable to take advantage of multiple runners on base in the fifth. IUPUI had two runners on when senior Kelsey Fredericks entered the game in relief of Mortensen, but a ground-out to third ended the Jaguars' rally. In the bottom frame, Miami loaded the bases, but a pop-up ended their threat as well.
The RedHawks were finally able to seal the game in the bottom of the sixth as junior third baseman Kat Lee scored on an RBI ground-out by freshman right fielder Haeley Tran. After giving up a single, Fredericks retired the final two IUPUI batters to secure Miami's first victory of the season.
Wahl finished the game with 3 RBIs, while Schlattman led the RedHawks with two hits. Mortensen picked her first victory of the season with three strikeouts in 4.2 innings with Fredericks grabbing her first save of the season.
Miami 6, Eastern Illinois 2
The second matchup of the afternoon began splendidly for the RedHawks as a pair of two-out hits gave them an early 3-0 lead. After advancing to third base on a throwing error, Wurts scored on a fly-out by Schlattman to begin the scoring. Senior designated player Lauren Anderson then brought in Gliha with a double to left field, followed by junior catcher Rylee Whispel singling to right-center to score Anderson.
Following two quiet innings, Miami bolstered its lead with a three-run top of the fourth inning. An EIU throwing error allowed Whispel to reach third, leading to freshman second baseman Hannah Obrey hitting her first career home-run, making the score 5-0 Miami. Two batters later, Wurts drove in Tran from second with a double to right field, extending the score to 6-0. Hohman's strong outing continued with another scoreless frame in the bottom of the fourth.
The bottom of the fifth inning saw Eastern Illinois finally get on the board as a wild pitch from Hohman allowed a runner to score from third. After walking the next batter, Hohman was replaced by Mortensen who escaped a bases-loaded jam with a strikeout. In the sixth inning, Miami was on the receiving end of a wild pitch as junior left fielder Alyssa Hedric and Tran entered scoring position but were unable to be brought home.
Miami's final trip at the plate ended similarly to the previous frame with two runners being left on base following an inning-ending fielder's choice. The first two EIU batters singled to begin the bottom of the seventh, leading to Fredericks making her second relief appearance of the day. Although the Panthers (1-1) knotted another run on a passed ball, Fredericks induced a game-ending grounder that sealed the Miami victory.
Obrey finished the day with a 1-for-3 performance with 2 RBIs coming on her fourth-inning home run. Hohman picked up her first victory of the season with 4.2 innings, giving up three hits and striking out three Panther batters.
Wrapping Up Action
The RedHawks will conclude action at the Total Control Sports Invitational on Sunday as they take on Green Bay at 10 a.m. Live stats will be available on MiamiRedHawks.com and updates can be found on Twitter at @MiamiOH_SB.
