Stephenie Little

Maddy Chase

First in a pitcher's duel and then in a high-scoring affair, The College of Wooster softball team lost two closely-contested games during Saturday's North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader with Oberlin College. The Fighting Scots were edged 1-0 in the opener and then by an 11-5 count in the second game.

Freshman pitcher Maddy Chase was outstanding in the lid-lifter, as she struck out a season-high seven batters and allowed just four hits over seven strong innings of work in the circle.

Meanwhile, Wooster's offense managed only two hits against Ohio Wesleyan ace Katie Pieplow, and the Battling Bishops used a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh to notch a heartbreaking 1-0 walk-off victory over the Scots.

It's worth noting, Wooster's two hits came off the bats of Paige Goldberg and Demi Hart, whom rank first and second, respectively, on its all-time hits list.

The Scots got another crack at Pieplow, as she started the second game, too, and the early returns were promising. Wooster scored twice in the first inning to go ahead 2-0, as Carly Schoenstein laced a triple to left field that brought home a run, and later, Stephenie Little plated Schoenstein with a sacrifice fly to deep right.

Oberlin's bats got going shortly after and took a 5-2 lead entering the fourth frame, but Wooster got right back into it. Taylor Raybuck drove home Hart in the fourth and Little notched her second RBI of the game in the fifth with a hard-hit single up the middle of the infield, trimming the Scots' deficit to 5-4.

The Yeowomen did more damage in the bottom of the fifth, adding three runs, and then they tacked on another three-spot in the sixth, pushing its cushion to 11-4. Little continued her assault on the softball, with an RBI-double to center field in the seventh, but it wasn't enough to spark a full-fledged rally.

Wooster will continue its busy end of April with a non-conference doubleheader at Baldwin Wallace University (12-21) tomorrow. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.