ALLIANCE, Ohio—The Mount Union softball team lost a pair of games to Otterbein, 7-1 and 7-4, in an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader Saturday at 23rd Street Field in Alliance.

The Purple Raiders (10-14, 2-4 OAC) trailed 7-0 heading into the bottom of the 7th, but continued to battle. Sophomore Shelby Carmichael (Dalton/Dalton) singled to start the inning, followed by a Leigh Siedlak (Westerville/Westerville South) walk. Following a groundout by sophomore Katelin Fields (Ravenna/Ravenna) that advanced the runners, sophomore Brittany Papp (Uniontown/Green) walked to load the bases with just one out. Papp was then picked-off by the catcher, but stayed in the rundown long enough to allow Carmichael to score. The batter then struck out to end the Raider rally and game.

Mount Union was limited to just two hits in the first game. Junior Kristen Gromes (Navarre/Fairless) hit her fourth triple of the season to start the bottom of the 4th inning and breakup a perfect game, but was unable to score.

Otterbein, who has won seven of their last eight games, scored in each of the first two innings for an early 3-0 lead. The first two hitters in the Cardinal lineup, Laura Basford and Casey Clarridge, combined to go 5-of-9 with 6 RBI. Basford had two triples and scored twice while Clarridge hit a double and stole a base.

Maggie McMahan (2-3) pitched five scoreless innings for the victors. She had a pair of strikeouts while allowing just one walk and one base hit. Chelsea Burns appeared in two innings of relief work, allowing one earned run on one hit.

Senior Bre Willis (Navarre/Fairless) started and went just three innings for the Raiders. She had three strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on four hits. Junior Rachel McAninch (West Jefferson/West Jefferson) pitched the final four innings and allowed four earned runs while striking out five batters.

After allowing Otterbein to score a run in the top of the 1st inning, the Raiders answered with a run of their own in each of the next two innings to lead 2-1 after two.

Sophomore Marissa Earl (Massillon/Washington) singled in the 1st inning and then stole second base. After advancing to third on a wild pitch, Earl scored on a groundout by Siedlak. Papp homered to lead off the bottom of the 2nd to give Mount Union its first lead of the day.

Rachael Puthoff helped Otterbein reclaim the lead with a two-run double in the 4th inning. She scored on a groundout by Chelsea Burns. The Cardinals scored two more runs in the 5th to take a 6-2 lead.

Again, the Raiders showed there was no quit in them. Freshman Julie Olbrych (Youngstown/Boardman) drew a walk and moved to third on a single by Gromes. A double by Earl scored Olbrych and Gromes, ending the day for Otterbein starting pitcher Kelsey Long. McMahan entered for the Cardinals and got out of the inning without allowing another run.

Otterbein added an insurance run in the top of the 7th. The Raiders threatened in the bottom of the inning, but were unable to produce any runs. Earl struck out to lead off the inning, but back-to-back walks by Carmichael and Siedlak brought the tying run to the plate. Freshman Amy Brown (Uniontown/Lake) flew out to left field for the second out, but Papp singled to load the bases. Representing the winning run, sophomore Brenna Longo (Moon, Pa./Moon) popped out to end the game.

McAninch (4-8) threw a complete game for the Raiders, allowing seven earned runs on nine hits. She also had five strikeouts and walked one batter. Long (7-0) allowed four runs on five hits in four innings of work for Otterbein. McMahan allowed just one hit to go with three strikeouts as she recorded her second save of the season.

The Raiders will host Baldwin-Wallace at 23rd Street Field on Friday. The doubleheader will begin at 1 pm.

 
Otterbein 7, Mount Union 1 (Game 1)
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Otterbein........... 120 103 0 -  7 10  1      (14-5, 3-0 OAC)
Mount Union......... 000 000 1 -  1  2  3      (10-13, 2-3 OAC)
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Pitchers: Otterbein - Maggie McMahan; Chelsea Burns(6) and Erin Carpenter. Mount Union -
Bre Willis; Rachel McAninch(4) and Brittany Papp.
Win-Maggie McMahan(2-3)  Loss-Bre Willis(4-6)  T-2:00  A-57
Weather: Cold, cloudy

Otterbein 7, Mount Union 4 (Game 2)
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Otterbein........... 100 320 1 -  7  9  3      (15-5, 4-0 OAC)
Mount Union......... 110 020 0 -  4  6  2      (10-14, 2-4 OAC)
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Pitchers: Otterbein - Kelsey Long; Maggie McMahan(5) and Erin Carpenter. Mount Union -
Rachel McAninch and Brittany Papp.
Win-Kelsey Long(7-0)  Save-Maggie McMahan(2)  Loss-Rachel McAninch(4-8)  T-2:05  A-57
HR MTU - Brittany Papp (2).
Weather: Cold, cloudy
K. Long faced 3 batters in the 5th.