Apr 23, 2025
Marietta College freshman Camryn Keifer delivers to the plate during the Pioneers’ 6-3 setback on Tuesday afternoon against Denison University in the first game of a doubleheader. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
MARIETTA — Denison University surpassed the 20-win plateau for the first time since 2019 here Tuesday afternoon as the Big Red of head coach Tiffany Ozbun swept Marietta College after doubling up the Pioneers 6-3 in the opener and securing a 13-0 five-inning mercy rule victory.
Freshman right-hander Camryn Kiefer worked 6 2-3 innings with one walk and eight strikeouts as she slipped to 11-6 following the opener.
The Big Red, who snapped a four-game losing skid to MC and extended their winning streak to seven games while improving to 21-10, launched four round-trippers in game one to back winning pitcher Brooke Surbaugh. Surbaugh, who improved to 9-7, got the first 13 outs before Madilyn Moffitt worked the final 2 2-3 frames to collect her second save of the season.
“They’re 9-1 whenever regional rankings come out, I believe next week, and they are going to be up there. They are a tough team,” admitted MC head coach Jenn Castle, whose squad was riding a four-game win streak but dropped to 17-11-1 with a twinbill set for 1 p.m. Saturday at Heidelberg. “We knew they were a tough team coming in. They hit the long ball. That’s their strength.
“Camryn Kiefer threw a heck of a game and I let her know that. She did a great job and defensively we did a great job as well. Game two, man, wheels fell off and we just couldn’t get it going again, but this is a tough team. We’re going to be ready to bounce back on Saturday, some good practices under our belt, we’ll be ready to bounce back.”
Marietta College senior Jordan Cholley strokes an RBI single to right during the Pioneers’ 6-3 setback on Tuesday afternoon against Denison University in the first game of a doubleheader. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Surbaugh’s solo blast to left-center that cleared the scoreboard, her seventh of the campaign, put the Big Red up 1-0 in the second, but the hosts tied it up after Grace Elliott crossed following her double via a Jordan Cholley RBI single to right. Elliott went 3 for 4 and also tripled.
Alex Longstreth took one for the team to lead off the third and All-American catcher Annabelle Calderon followed with a two-run bomb to put the Big Red ahead for good at 3-1. Jacqui Abogado’s solo homer to center, which tied her with Calderon for the team lead in taters at nine, upped the DU advantage to 4-1, but the Pioneers got one back in the fifth when catcher Liz White went deep for the third time this year.
Denison tacked on another run in the sixth thanks to a Natalie Omahen RBI single while freshman Liana Su delivered her first career round-tripper when she went yard in the seventh.
The Pioneers, who had five errors in game two with losing pitcher Candace Walters (1-1) working two frames, got what proved to be their final run of the afternoon when Kenzi Denzer crossed via an Adisson Heath run-scoring single.
Calderon added two more hits in game two, scored thrice and had an RBI double as starter Sydney Silverstein (10-3) allowed five hits with no walks and two punchouts.
Marietta College freshman Kenzi Denzer lays down a sacrifice bunt during the Pioneers’ 6-3 setback on Tuesday afternoon against Denison University in the first game of a doubleheader. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Moffitt slugged her fourth homer of the year, a two-run shot, that was part of a five-run fifth. Emily Orsini and Brianna Gonzalez knocked in three runs each while Leilah Ferrari added two hits, including a double, and joined teammate Indy Workman with a pair of runs scored.
“We did because it was a reschedule and it just got lost in the mix,” admitted coach Ozbun of having some transportation issues, whose squad plays a 1 p.m. Saturday twinbill at Wooster. “We got some great people who helped us out and we used Barons Bus and they were awesome to find drivers. I think our driver came down from Cleveland today to help us out and then coach is always great to work with us and she gave us a 30 minute bump time.
“It was really nice. Marietta is always a really, really tough team to play. They play great softball. They’ve got great hitters, great pitching and that first game was really, really close and I wasn’t
sure which way it was going to go. It was nice to get an early lead in the second game. They’ve had our number the last couple of years.”
Cholley, Taylor Airy, Amelia Timko and Rachel Kazmirski participated in their final home games.
Marietta College sophomore catcher Liz White trots around second base after hitting her third home run of the year during the Pioneers’ 6-3 setback on Tuesday afternoon against Denison University in the first game of a doubleheader. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
“We have eight games left. Our three seniors and we have a graduate student, too, Rachel Kazmirski, those four collectively have given so much to this program.
“I hate that this was their last memory on this field. However, they have so many other memories to be able to pull from and to look to. Again, we just need to bounce back and get these next four doubleheaders.”
Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com
Denison University All-American catcher Annabelle Calderon celebrates after a run-scoring double in the Big Red’s 6-3 victory on Tuesday afternoon against host Marietta College. The senior finished the twinbill 4 for 7 with five runs scored, a stolen base, two doubles, her ninth home run of the season along with three runs-batted-in. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Marietta College senior Rachel Kazmirski puts on the breaks after rounding third during the Pioneers’ 6-3 setback on Tuesday afternoon against Denison University in the first game of a doubleheader. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
Marietta College senior Taylor Airy takes a pitch during the Pioneers’ 6-3 setback on Tuesday afternoon against Denison University in the first game of a doubleheader. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)
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