Huntington Sweeps Lady Cougars in MCC Twinbill


	Lady Cougar Softball Recap Huntington Sweeps Lady Cougars in MCC Twinbill written by Dave Parsons, Sports Information Director Game #1 Boxscore \| Game #2 Boxscore MOUNT VERNON, Ohio (4-25-2012) - The Mount Vernon Nazarene University women's fastpitch softball team dropped a pair of Mid-Central College Conference games on Wednesday afternoon as the Lady Cougars fell to Huntington (Ind.) College 8-3 and 7-4 at Cougar Field. The first game got off to a very rocky start for MVNU (10-25, 3-13 MCC) as Huntington (25-15, 12-6 MCC) came out swinging and plated two runs in the top of the first inning and three runs in the top of the second inning. Unfortunately for the Lady Cougars, starting pitcher junior Jill Wildermuth (5-9) took a line drive off the palm of her glove hand off the bat of the first batter in the top of the second inning. Five batters later, senior right-hander Meagan Stott took a line drive off her elbow and also had to come out of the game. MVNU did score a run in the bottom of the first inning thanks to an error by the Lady Foresters' defense. However, the lead for Huntington grew to as much as 8-1 as the Lady Foresters tacked on a run in the top of the fourth inning and two more in the top of the seventh inning. An RBI triple by junior second baseman Brittney Kuhn and an error pulled the Lady Cougars within 8-3, but that was as close as they would get as Huntington prevailed in the first game. Wildermuth took the loss for MVNU as she gave up three hits and three runs in her inning-plus of work. Stott recorded two outs and gave up two hits and two unearned runs, while sophomore right-hander Ashley Riffell tossed the final 5.1 innings and allowed five hits, two walks, and three runs with four strikeouts. Molly Long (15-8) earned the win as she allowed just four hits, three walks, and three runs with 13 strikeouts. Offensively, Kuhn's triple was the only extra base hit for the Lady Cougars, while freshman outfielder Deanna Dill, freshman outfielder Haley Lewis, and senior outfielder Jenn Gulley each added a single. The second game was scoreless until the top of the fourth inning when Huntington pushed across three runs to go in front. The Lady Foresters added two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to extend their lead to 5-0. An error helped MVNU plate a run in the bottom of the fifth inning, but Huntington got the run back in the top of the sixth inning to maintain a 6-1 lead. Another error and a run-scoring ground out by Lewis helped the Lady Cougars score twice in the bottom of the sixth inning to pull within 6-3, but the Lady Foresters again answered with a run in the top of the seventh inning before MVNU closed out the scoring with an RBI triple by sophomore Kara Morrison made it 7-4. Riffell (4-11) took the loss as she allowed six hits and five runs over five innings with three strikeouts. Freshman right-hander Tessa Simmons tossed the final two innings and gave up three hits, one walk, and two runs with one strikeout. Marcie McDougle (7-2) picked up the win for Huntington as she scattered eight hits and four runs (only one earned) over seven innings with two strikeouts. Morrison and senior outfielder MacKenzie Shaw each had two hits apiece to lead the Lady Cougars, while Katie Bowers went 3-for-4 and Brita Kuiper had a home run, a single, and three RBI for the Lady Foresters. MVNU was slated to host Notre Dame College in a non-conference doubleheader on Thursday at 3 p.m., but those games have now been canceled due to the rain that came down on Wednesday night. The Lady Cougars will close out the regular season on Saturday with a 1 p.m. MCC doubleheader at home against Marian (Ind.) University. The three MVNU seniors, Gulley, Stott, and Shaw, will be honored between games as part of the Senior Day festivities.

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