ALLIANCE, Ohio— Mount Union's softball team swept John Carroll in Ohio Athletic Conference play on Wednesday afternoon, winning game one 4-0 and taking game two 7-3.
The Purple Raiders (20-10, 9-3 OAC) would strike first in game one when junior Abbie Gayner (Akron / Revere) hit a sacrifice RBI that scored junior Faith Reicosky (North Canton / Hoover) in the bottom of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Mount Union would add to their lead in the following inning when junior Sydney Mercer (Salem / West Branch) hit an RBI single to bring in sophomore Kyndall Hahn (Garrettsville / James Garfield). Then, senior Adri George hit a sacrifice fly to score Mercer and stretch the lead to three runs.
The Raiders would add a fourth run in the bottom half of the sixth when freshman Allison Jones (Berlin Center / Western Reserve) scored after an error by the shortstop.
The Blue Streaks (11-17, 3-10 OAC) wouldn't have an answer in the seventh inning as the Raiders would go on to take game one 4-0.
Junior Kendyll Cahill (Groveport / Groveport Madison) got the start in the circle in game one for Mount Union and threw a complete game shutout, allowing just one hit and striking out nine.
The Raiders would once again strike first in game two when Mercer scored on a throwing error by the catcher, and then Reicosky hit a triple down the right field line and scored on another throwing error by John Carroll to take a 2-0 lead in the third inning.
Mount Union would then explode in the fifth inning, scoring five runs. Mercer got things started with a sacrifice fly to score Hahn, then Reicosky hit an RBI single that brought in Jones, with the final three runs coming off a Cahill three-run home run to left field to extend the lead to seven runs.
The Blue Streaks would answer with a pair of runs of their own in the top half of the sixth, with RBIs coming from Alyssa McPeek and Izzy Coode to trim the lead to 7-2. John Carroll would once again cut into the lead in the seventh inning when Melissa Smith hit an RBI single, but that's all they would be able to get as the Raiders would go on to take game two 7-3.
Cahill would once again get the start in the circle in game two and gave up two runs on five hits and struck out two in five innings of work. Junior Chloe Bird (Norton) would come in to pitch the final two innings in relief and gave up just a single run on four hits and also struck out two.
The Raiders are home again next when they host Ohio Northern on Saturday, April 26, for Senior Day, with game one beginning at 1 p.m. and game two following at 3 p.m. in Alliance.
