Sophomore
Addie Nichols was one RBI shy of tying the program's single game record as The College of Wooster softball team exploded for 18 runs in game one versus Otterbein University.
The teams ended up splitting the non-conference doubleheader. Wooster took game one 18-2 in five innings, while Otterbein walked it off in game two, 6-5, to split the day.
In game one, Nichols went 3-for-4 with a home run and six RBI. She broke open the game with a three-run shot in the third to make it 7-0 and had two other run-scoring singles in the game.
Three Scots got their first hits of the season between
Madi Yankauskas,
Lynx Lander and
Ashtyn Merlo. For Merlo, she came off the bench and sent one over the wall as well with a three-run bomb in the fifth to cap off the game's scoring.
Wooster amassed 18 hits and 18 RBI. Nichols,
Tori Conner and
Emma Hetkey all had three-hit performances, while
Julia Jennings and
Jillian Meszaros each had a pair of hits.
Meszaros had her first multi-hit game this season, going 2-for-3 with a double and two runs scored. Meszaros, Merlo, Conner all recorded three RBI.
On the mound, Meszaros picked up her 10th win of the season, throwing just three innings of three-hit softball.
Kaitlyn Hale and
Lynnsey Delio each pitched an inning of relief, as Delio pitched a scoreless fifth to close the game.
The last time Wooster scored 18 or more runs was back in 2021 when they were one run shy of the program record with a 29-1 win over Kenyon College.
In game two, Otterbein scored two in the bottom of the seventh and walked it off thanks to an RBI single to right field from
Alex Ward. The Cardinals had one on base with two out before three consecutive hits gave them the win.
Meszaros was on the mound to take the loss, giving up two runs over 3.1 innings. The starter Conner also went 3.1 innings but gave up four earned runs thanks to a pair of home runs.
Wooster also found the long ball again, this time off the bat of
Cate Barkdoll. Barkdoll homered in the third to score two and to make it a 5-2 game, but that would unfortunately be Wooster's last runs of the game.
Jennings was responsible for Wooster's other three runs with a sacrifice fly in the first and a two-run double in the third.
Conner went 4-for-4 from the leadoff spot and scored twice, while Hetkey went 2-for-2 as Wooster's first four batters accounted for nine of Wooster's 11 hits. Meszaros and Nichols had the other two hits.
Wooster moves to 12-8 on the year, while Otterbein moves to 8-14.
Wooster heads into its North Coast Athletic Conference four-game weekend starting with a trip to Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday.
