BEREA, Ohio - April 26, 2022 – Hiram College softball wrapped up their non-conference slate with a doubleheader split against the Baldwin Wallace University Yellow Jackets on Tuesday at BW Softball Field, taking game one, 8-0, in a run-rule shortened five-innings, before rallying but falling short in game two by the final score of 6-3. With the split, Hiram moves to 18-12 on the year, while the Yellow Jackets stand at 13-21.
 
GAME ONE: HIRAM 8, BALDWIN WALLACE 0 (5 INNINGS)
Though both sides picked up a hit, neither the Terriers nor the Yellow Jackets were able to score over the first two frames till Hiram got things going in the top of the third.
 
Giselle Chavez led off the third with a single and stole second and Leah Valdez followed with a walk. Melissa Galindo then reached on a fielder's choice before a batter later, Giselle Bahena got Hiram on the scoreboard with a three-run blast to left, her first of the year, to give the Terriers a 3-0 lead.
 
Darian Kanno then worked a 1-2-3 bottom of the third, and the Terriers got right back to it in the top of the fourth.
 
Abriana Schwartz reached on an error to lead off the inning and took third on Natalie Mallas' bunt single. A fielder's choice erased Schwartz at home, but Valdez then reached on another Yellow Jacket error, scoring Mallas from second to give the Terriers a 4-0.
 
Valdez then stole second and Galindo drew a hit-by-pitch to load the bases for Kylie Perez, whose sacrifice fly to right brought Chavez home to extend Hiram's lead to 5-0. Bahena then added another two RBI to her tally with a two-run single, scoring both Galindo and Valdez to make it 7-0.
 
Baldwin Wallace then looked to answer in the bottom of the fourth, with a single and a walk putting two on with two out, but Kanno struck out Meredith Deutsch swinging to end the threat and bring the Terriers back up to the plate.
 
In the top of the fifth, Hiram added another run on Valdez's sacrifice fly with the bases loaded, scoring Schwartz from third, before Kanno closed things out in the bottom of the frame, stranding a pair to finish off the 8-0, five-inning, run-rule shortened victory.
 
Kanno (7-4) earned the win, striking out seven and allowing just three hits while shutting out the Yellow Jackets over 5.0 innings pitched.
 
Sara Frederickson (0-1) took the loss for Baldwin Wallace, allowing seven runs, four earned, on six hits over 4.0 innings pitched.
 
Fresh off her National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Division III National Player of the Week honors, Bahena led the Terriers at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a home run, run scored and five RBI.
 
Chavez and Mallas each added two hits as well, with Chavez going 2-for-3 with a run scored, and Mallas going 2-for-2 with a walk and run scored.
 
GAME TWO: BALDWIN WALLACE 6, HIRAM 3
The Yellow Jackets would score first and play game two from in front, scratching out three runs in the bottom of the first.
 
Emily Mau led off the bottom of the first inning and quickly stole second. Kenzie Morsillo then reached on an infield single to short, before Jeskari Rodriguez got Ashley Matousek to fly out to center for the first out of the inning.
 
However, a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases for Frederickson, whose sacrifice fly brought home Mau to give Baldwin Wallace a 1-0 lead. And after a double steal, Amanda Crisler made it 3-0 with a two-run double to left, giving the Yellow Jackets a 3-0 lead after one.
 
Baldwin Wallace would then add to their lead in the bottom of the second, as Mau launched a solo home run to left-center, extending the home side's lead to 4-0.
 
Rodriguez settled down and pitched a scoreless third and fourth, leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the fourth, but the Terriers couldn't get much going at the plate against Marisa Hall, scratching out just one hit over the first five frames.
 
Baldwin Wallace then added to their lead in the bottom of the fifth, pushing across two more runs against Trinity Meza.
 
A walk and a single put runners at first and third with just one out for Crisler, who brought home Alicia Saxton with a groundout to first to make it 5-0. Ana LaGuardia then made it 6-0, legging out an infield single to bring Frederick home and extend the Yellow Jackets' lead.
 
Hiram finally got going in the top of the sixth, with Valdez's one-out double starting things off. Valdez took third on a wild pitch before scoring the Terriers' first run of the game on Mallas' triple to right-center. Perez then brought Mallas home with a groundout to second, cutting BW's lead to 6-2.
 
Meza pitched a scoreless sixth, working around a leadoff single by Mau to keep the Yellow Jackets' lead at just four, as Hiram looked to rally in the top of the seventh.
 
Kanno led off the frame with a single and quickly came around to score on Angel Santellan's RBI double, cutting Baldwin Wallace's lead to 6-3. Hall got the next two batters via a pop out and fly out, but she then issued a pair of walks to Viviana Macias and Valdez to load the bases, and bring the go-ahead run to the plate.
 
Mallas then reached on a fielder's choice, but Baeza, who pinch ran for Santellan, was thrown out at home, ending the Terriers' rally as the Yellow Jackets eked out a 6-3 victory.
 
Rodriguez (7-6) took the loss for Hiram, allowing four runs on six hits over 4.0 innings pitched. Meza pitched two innings of relief for the Terriers, allowing two runs on three hits.
 
For Baldwin Wallace, Hall (3-3) earned the win, allowing three runs on five hits over 7.0 innings pitched.
 
Offensively, Mallas, Santellan and Valdez each recorded extra-base hits, with Mallas going 1-for-2 with a triple, run scored and RBI, Santellan going 1-for-3 with a double and RBI, and Valdez going 1-for-2 with a walk and run scored.
 
Hiram next heads to Meadville, Pa. for their final road contests of the regular season, taking on the Allegheny College Gators in a conference doubleheader on Saturday, April 30 beginning at 1:00 p.m.