Ohio Wesleyan 9, Wittenberg 0
Ohio Wesleyan 15, Wittenberg 8

April 16, 2008

Freshman outfielder Tara VanVranken (North Canton/Massillon Jackson) and sophomore lefthander Rachel Seibel (Johnstown/Johnstown-Monroe) led Ohio Wesleyan to a sweep of Wittenberg in a North Coast Athletic Conference doubleheader on Wednesday in Springfield.

In the opener, Seibel was nearly flawless in firing a 1-hit shutout and VanVranken slammed her first collegiate home run.

The nightcap saw VanVranken set a school record by belting 3 doubles and Seibel pitch 2.1 innings of scoreless relief to notch her first save of the season.

The Bishops jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first inning of the opener as sophomore second baseman Emily Bradley (Columbus/Upper Arlington) reached second on an error by Tiger pitcher Brooke Boswell and scored on a VanVranken double. One out later, sophomore first baseman Catrice Mayweather (Lewis Center/Olentangy) delivered an RBI single to score VanVranken.

Ohio Wesleyan added 2 more runs after 2 were out in the second. Sophomore outfielder Krystle Skaziak (Dublin/Scioto) legged out a bunt single and Bradley followed with a single. After Skaziak stole third, sophomore outfielder Amanda Sanders (Lima/Bath) reached on an infield single, with Skaziak scoring on the play. A walk to VanVranken loaded the bases for senior catcher Miranda Simmons (Norwalk), who was hit by a pitch to force home Bradley.

Seibel scored on a single by Skaziak in the third, VanVranken blasted a solo homer in the sixth, and sophomore third baseman Rita Cook (Sidney/Fairlawn) and sophomore shortstop Sarah Cook (Sidney/Fairlawn) each smacked an RBI double during a 3-run Bishop seventh.

Seibel allowed a single to Wittenberg's Sarah Fetters to lead off the first inning, then did not yield another hit during the game. The Tigers managed only 2 other baserunners off Seibel, on an error on the second and a walk in the fifth. Seibel finished with 13 strikeouts, the third-highest single-game total in Bishop history.

Ohio Wesleyan jumped to another early lead in the nightcap, tallying 3 times after 2 were out in the first inning. VanVranken smashed a 2-out double, Simmons was hit by a pitch and both scored on Mayweather's double to left. Mayweather later scored on a wild pitch for a 3-0 Bishop lead.

VanVranken doubled in another run in the second, but Wittenberg closed to within 4-3 in the bottom of the inning, collecting 4 hits and taking advantage of 2 Bishop errors.

The Bishops bounced back with 4 runs in the third, with Bradley's 2-run single highlighting the inning.

The Tigers cut the deficit to 8-6 in the fourth, with Nicole Ottavi's 2-run single to shortstop a key hit, but Bradley doubled in a run in the Bishop fifth to extend the lead to 9-6.

Wittenberg closed the gap once more, with Fetters' 2-run double bringing the Tigers within 9-8 in the fifth, but Seibel came on in relief and got out of the inning.

Ohio Wesleyan put the game out of reach with 2 runs in the sixth, with Mayweather crushing her league-leading sixth home run of the season and Seibel singling home a run; and 4 more in the seventh, with VanVranken collecting another RBI double and Simmons rapping a 2-run single.

VanVranken's 3 doubles breaks the school record of 2 accomplished on many occasions. Mayweather added 2 doubles and Skaziak, Rita Cook and Bradley also doubled as the Bishops set a school record and tied the NCAC single-game record with 8 doubles. Ohio Wesleyan's 26 total bases in the game tied the school record set against Oberlin on April 6, 2004, and the Bishops' 13 runs batted in tied the school record accomplished 3 times before.

Mayweather pitched the first 4.2 innings, striking out 7 and walking 2, to collect the win.

Melisa Shock was the starting and losing pitcher for Wittenberg.

Box Score - Game 1
Box Score - Game 2