HIRAM, Ohio – April 27, 2024 – Hiram softball remained undefeated at home with 2-1 and 4-2 victories over Kenyon on Saturday afternoon at Herndon Field, which also presented a special opportunity to honor the team's four graduating seniors, as the team celebrated Larissa Baeza, Viviana Macias, Trinity Meza, Angel Santellan and Abriana Schwartz before picking up another two conference victories to stay in second place in the NCAC.
Only DePauw has a better conference record (10-0) than Hiram (9-1); those two teams will do battle on Sunday, with the regular-season championship at stake.
Game 1
Darian Kanno continued her stellar form in conference play to start the day; the junior right-hander improved to 5-0 with a 1.33 ERA against NCAC opponents with yet another complete game. Her final line had just one run of damage, which came on an RBI double in the fifth inning: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R/ER, 1 BB, 7 K.
The offense did just enough to get the team back in the win column. Kylie Perez drilled an RBI triple to the right-center-field gap and Daynna Mekaru singled in Perez to open a 2-0 lead. Kanno took it from there, as only two opposing runners advanced past second base for the entire game.
Game 2
The second game of the day followed a similar pace, with pitching holding the upper hand. Santellan continued her memorable day with a complete game in the circle, tying Kanno for the team-lead in that department.
Santellan allowed just two runs in the game, both of which came in the first inning on a sacrifice fly and RBI double. The senior retired 12 of the final 13 Owls hitters to finish with a winning line of 7 IP, 5 H, 2 R/ER, 0 BB, 4 K.
Santellan also had all three of Hiram's RBI in the game, which included a two-run single in the first inning and a sacrifice fly in the fifth inning. Schwartz also came around to score on a throwing error in what shape out to be a game-changing, three-run first inning.
What's Next
Hiram will take on DePauw in its most important regular-season games of the year; the doubleheader is set to start at 1 p.m. from Myrtis E. Herndon Field in Hiram, Ohio.
