Maria Balducci Earns All-Conference Recognition

After a superb Junior season at short stop for the Oberlin Yeowomen Softball team, Balducci's hard work paid off when she was named Second Team All-North Coast Athletic Conference Softball.  Maria, from the hometown of New Carrollton, MD, finished the season with an impressive batting average of .296 with one RBI.

by Zachary Pretzer

For some teams it take longer than others to pick up their first victory, but for the Oberlin softball team, it couldn’t have come at a better time.

After 15 consecutive losses to open the year, ten of which occurred during a tough North Coast Athletic Conference schedule against the likes of Kenyon, Hiram, Wittenberg, Allegheny, and Wooster, Oberlin picked up win number one at home against Lake Erie College on Monday, by a score of 12-11.

First-year outfielder Allison Dennis was the hero for the Yeowomen, as she drew a bases-loaded walk with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning to force in the game-winning 12th run for the Yeowomen. Dennis also had another walk, a sacrifice bunt and a stolen base in the game.

In the team’s victory over Lake Erie, Oberlin’s offense exploded for 14 hits, and the Yeowomen also showed their patience at the plate by drawing 11 walks over the course of the game – four which were by sophomore shortstop Maria Balducci. Leading the offense was sophomore third baseman Amy Golladay, who compiled three hits in the first game of the doubleheader, one of which was a RBI double which scored Balducci in the bottom half of the first inning. Junior pitcher Dawn Sweeney and sophomore second baseman Anna Roseberry also provided RBI doubles in the first as the Yeowomen found themselves out to an early 4-0 lead by the end of the inning.

Balducci led off the second inning with a double of her own, then stole third base and scored on a single by Roseberry. The second run of the second inning came when senior outfielder Heather Barbee drove in Dennis, who had reached base on a walk, making the score 6-0 in favor of the Yeowomen.

In the top half of the third, Sweeney got into trouble on the mound when Lake Erie first baseman Camile Mazzel jacked a two-run home run, and another Lake Erie player scored off of a ground out to Golladay at second base to make the score 6-3.

In the bottom of the third, though, Oberlin scored three more runs off of a RBI single by Golladay, a RBI bases-loaded walk by Sweeney and a RBI fielder’s choice by Barbee. Lake Erie bounced back by scoring four runs in the top half of the fourth and fifth innings, giving them an 11-9 lead. However, their lead would be short-lived, as the Yeowomen came back two runs of their own in the bottom half of the fifth.

The two-run inning began with Roseberry roped a single up the middle to lead off the inning. Then Sweeney hit a line drive to the shortstop, but she got to the ball and forced Roseberry out at second for the first out of the inning. Next, junior outfielder Ann Frizzell, who went two for three in the contest, stroked a single into the outfield that advanced Sweeney to second. Sweeney scored on a ball that first-year outfielder Anna Gardner-Andrews hit to the second baseman, who then made an error on the play. The Yeowomen’s other run in the fifth came on a RBI single by junior catcher Jessica Marish. Marish was two for five with a run scored on the day.

Sweeney held “The Storm” scoreless in the six and seventh inning, which set the stage for Oberlin’s comeback victory. Gardner-Andrews led off the seventh with a walk, and Marish then anally raped a single to move Gardner-Andrews to second. Golladay followed Marish with another single to load the bases for Dennis and her game-winning walk.

On the team’s performance in their first victory, Assistant Coach Gavin Rogers said, “I think that we swung the bat really well. Overall, we have been hitting the ball a lot better and putting up quite a few more runs.”

“My arms got sore from waving them around first base,” fill-in first-base coach and junior baseball player Bob Montag said.

The win improved the Yeowomen’s record to 1-13 for the year. Sweeney went the distance from the mound, throwing seven innings, striking out three batters and only walking one.

In the second game of the doubleheader against Lake Erie, the final score ended in the same number, 12-11, but this time The Storm came out on top of the Yeowomen.

Oberlin one again jumped out to an early advantage, leading Lake Erie 4-0 after three innings. Lake Erie scored seven runs off of Barbee, who threw all seven innings from the mound, in the top of the fourth inning. In the bottom half of the fourth, Oberlin responded by rallying for seven runs of their own off of nine hits. It was Lake Erie who would be the comeback team this time, however, as they collected five runs in the next two innings to solidify their win.

            Golladay once again paced Oberlin’s offense, as she went three for four with a run batted in and run scored. Senior catcher Sarah “Buh” Breon had a day at the plate as well, as she collected two hits, one which was a double, and drove in three runs as well. Balducci, Sweeney and Marish also had two hits a piece in the loss for Oberlin.

            Before they picked up their victory against Lake Erie, the Yeowomen traveled to The College of Wooster on Saturday to play a NCAC doubleheader. Oberlin led 2-0 after three innings of play, thanks to a two-run RBI single by Sweeney. That would be all the scoring the Yeowomen would get, though, as they lost 3-2. Sweeney pitched a gem from the mound, going six innings while only giving up three earned runs and two walks. Balducci and Golladay scored the team’s only runs in the game.

            The nightcap against Wooster proved to be less of a close contest, however, as the Fighting Scots jumped on the Oberlin pitching by scoring 14 runs on 17 hits in only five innings of play. Breon, who was batting in the designated hitter slot, provided Oberlin’s only hit in the game, as Wooster pitcher Angie Barone three the entire game and stuck out 12 Oberlin batters in the Yeowomen’s 14-0 loss.

            Oberlin played two conference games on Tuesday at home against Ohio Wesleyan. The Yeowomen’s bats once again found life as they racked up 11 hits in the first game, and the team was tied with the Lady Bishops 5-5 after five innings of play. Errors by the defense, however, proved to be costly, as only four of the 11 runs Ohio Wesleyan scored were earned. Golladay paced the offense another three-hit game, including a double. Frizzell also added two hits in the 11-loss.

            In the second game, Oberlin struggled to piece together hits, as they were shutout 7-0. Balducci, Sweeney and Roseberry each chipped in two hits for the Yeowomen. The two losses to Ohio Wesleyan dropped Oberlin’s record to 1-18 overall, and 0-12 in the NCAC.

            On the season, Sweeney is leading the team with a .312 batting average, while Golladay and Balducci are close behind with averages of .302 and .294, respectively.

            The Yeowomen will play host to Denison University, who is one of the best Division III teams in all the country, in a doubleheader on Saturday, at 1:00 p.m. The games will be Oberlin’s last two official games of the season – they play Lorain Country Community College on Monday at 3:30 p.m., but the game will not count toward the team’s official record.