For Immediate Release – 4/29/16 - #336
Despite Great Pitching, WildCats Season Ends in Salem

SALEM, VA – The seventh-seeded Randolph College softball team played two games in the Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) tournament on Friday, but fell in both games in the double elimination tournament.  The WildCats lost 6-3, before dropping the elimination game 6-0.

The 'Cats took on second-seeded Eastern Mennonite University in Game 3 of the ODAC tournament.  Gracyn Allen-Ingle squared off against Lauren Seale to start the game, and the two pitchers did a very good job in the first two innings.  Each pitcher allowed a couple of runners, with Erin Wehrhan, Rebecca Montgomery, and Dianne Davis all singling.  However, no runners crossed the plate, which included an Allen-Ingle strike out to end the first.

The third inning saw the offenses start to get the key hits.  Rachel Hickman started a one-out rally as she singled to right field.  Jessica Nowak followed her with a single through the left side, and Hunter Glavé walked to load the bases.  With two outs, Davis recorded her second single of the day, scoring both Nowak and Hickman.  However, Seale got out of the jam with no more trouble.

EMU answered right away in the bottom half of the inning, as the team scored four runs.  Angelia Miller hit a long drive to right field that knocked in two runners.  Then in the bottom of the fourth inning, Mariah Foltz hit a two-run home run over the left field fence to push the Royals lead to 6-2.

Both sides went down in order in the fifth, as Hannah Winfree came in for Allen-Ingle and pitched well.  The WildCats took a run back in the sixth inning, which started with a Davis walk.  Courtney Lucado pinch-ran for her and Lauren Morris followed it with a single to left field.  Both advanced a base because of a throwing error.  Ki Jenkins then bunted back to the pitcher and Lucado slid under the tag for the third run.  However, Randolph loaded the bases but could not score anymore runs.

Winfree once again set the side down in order in the sixth, but despite a hit by Montgomery, the WildCats could not score in the seventh, as the Royals won 6-3.

With the loss in Game 3, Randolph moved on to Game 6 against third-seeded Randolph-Macon College.  R-MC lost 3-0 in Game 4 to Guilford College in a pitchers' duel, which would reoccur in the game with the WildCats.  Lindsey Chaney and Candace Whittemore were the two to take to the circle and both faired very similarly.

Hickman and Nowak singled in the top of the first, but the 'Cats could not get any further, as Whittemore got out of the jam.  Morris added a single in the second, which was followed by Jenkins and Wehrhan loading the bases, but Whittemore earned a key strike out to keep Randolph off of the board.  Jenkins added another single in the fourth, but Tristan Hartle's hard shot was snagged by Jen Balcom, stopping the rally.  The fifth once again saw Whittemore get out of a jam.  Wehrhan and Hickman ended up on second and third after back-to-back singles and a sac bunt by Nowak.  This time, Montgomery's hard hit grounder up the middle was robbed by Brandi Mulvena to end the inning and keep the score at 0-0.

As good as Whittemore was during that time, Chaney was even better.  She walked a batter in the first and second but allowed nothing more, which included a strike out to end the first.  In the third, she set the side down in order, getting the first two to go down swinging.  In the fourth, Chaney struck out another batter, forcing the Yellow Jackets to strand a runner.  Finally in the bottom of the fifth inning, with two outs and one on, R-MC got its first hit of the hit game.  However, Chaney stranded both, forcing a fly out soon after.

However, Randolph-Macon's offense came alive in the sixth inning.  The Yellow Jackets scored six runs, taking a commanding lead into the seventh inning.  Hickman singled to start the inning, but Randolph could do more and fell.

Jenkins and Morris both finished the day with three hits.

Randolph (21-19 overall) ends the season with the two losses in the tournament.  It marks the end of the careers for Hickman, Nowak, Wehrhan, and Winfree.  The four players had great careers and had big days in their final appearances as WildCats.  Hickman finished with four hits, while Wehrhan had three and Nowak had two.  Winfree pitched three and a third innings, giving up only one hit.

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