DC Wins Third Straight, Sweeps Hiram

Stephanie Lieto gave DC its first hit of the game in the bottom of the second, hitting double to left field to open up the inning. She moved to third on a sac bunt by Johnston, before scoring on Kayla Crager’s double to left field to give Defiance a 1-0 lead.

The Jackets added an insurance run in the fourth as Marah Robinson scored on a fielder’s choice by Aarika Davis, putting DC up 2-0. Defiance would tack on three more runs in the sixth as Robinson led off the bottom half of the inning with a solo shot to right center. Crager, who went 3-for-3 in the game, drove in Lieto, before Katie Bowman scored on a Kara Hughes’ groundout.

Johnston (4-3) picked her up first complete game shutout of the season to win her second straight game, allowing only five Terriers to reach base in the contest.

The Jackets grabbed a 3-1 advantage after the first inning of the second game. Mallory Faling got things going for DC, drawing a walk to put a runner on with one out. She advanced to second on a passed ball and later scored on a single by Robinson. Lieto and Crager would also earn free passes to load the bases for Davis, who delivered with a two-out double to plate Robinson and Crager.

Robinson led off the bottom of third with her second solo shot of the day, crushing the ball to straight away to center to push the Defiance lead to 4-1.

The Terriers scored two runs in the fifth to close the gap, but Robinson and Defiance would pull away once again. Robinson led off the inning for DC with a single to center, while later scoring on a wild pitch to put the Jackets up 5-3.

Defiance blew open the game in the sixth, scoring five runs in the inning to take a 10-3 advantage. Laurel Palk opened up the inning with a walk, while Faling singled to left to put runners on the corners with one out. Robinson was intentionally walked to load the bases, setting up Lieto who drove in Palk and Faling with a single. Crager drove in Robinson with a single up the middle, before Davis’ double plated Lieto and Crager to round out the scoring for the inning. Hiram would add another run in the top of the seventh, but was unable to do anymore damage as DC won the second game 10-4.

Robin Diers pitched four innings to pick up her first win of the season, giving up one run on three hits. Kelly Schnipke pitched three innings in relief to earn the save, giving up three runs on six hits and striking out one batter.

Robinson finished the day 4-for-6 with two homeruns, three RBI’s and six runs. Crager was also 4-for-6, driving in three runs in the doubleheader. Davis drove in five runs on the day, while Lieto finished with four runs and two RBI’s.

Defiance (6-7) will return to action on Wednesday, April 2, when it travels to Heidelberg College for a doubleheader. The opening game of the doubleheader is slated to start at 3:00 p.m.