WMVO Good Times Great Oldies
GAMBIER, Ohio — The third time was the charm when it came to scheduling the non-conference matchup between the Kenyon College and Earlham College softball teams after rain twice delayed the first-ever meeting between the two ballclubs. After the long wait, the Owls did not have to wait long for a game-one win as the home team clinched an expedited 8-0 win in five innings due to run rule. Game two was a different and longer story, with the visiting Quakers securing a split of the twin bill with a 10-4 victory.
Kenyon moved to 15-21 this season after its final non-conference contest, while Earlham is 12-22 in their inaugural season. The doubleheader marked Kenyon’s penultimate outing as the Owls will wrap up their 2024 campaign against Ohio Wesleyan University on Saturday, May 4. First pitch of the North Coast Athletic Conference bout is scheduled for 3 p.m.
The game-one scoring started when Kenyon pushed across a pair of two-out unearned runs in the bottom of the first. Keala Montgomery had one of her three hits in the inning, notching an RBI before coming around to score. The first-year continued her stellar season at the plate, notching a knock in all three of her game-one plate appearances, including a triple, while driving in two runs and coming around to score twice.
Montgomery’s three hits and two runs were game-highs, but Amanda Harris batted in the most runs. Harris’s three RBIs were a career-high, and her two hits tied her career mark. Two of her RBIs came on one swing in Kenyon’s big fifth inning, setting up the Owls for an abbreviated outing. After Harris put Kenyon up 7-0, Arianna Jalomo hit a game-winning, walk-off RBI single that scored Maddie Friday from third and clinched the 8-0 win by enacting the run rule.
Kylie Hamm had a hand in the shutout win, spinning five shutout innings in the circle. The first-year registered all five of her strikeouts in the first three innings, and she improved to a 10-10 record after a scoreless complete game that saw her allow just two hits and issue two walks.
Unfortunately for the Owls, game two was a different story, but the underlying stats are more encouraging than the 10-4 deficit on the scoreboard. Just two of Earlham’s 10 runs were earned, and the Quakers benefitted from a six-run third inning that stood as the final margin between the teams.
The six-spot came after Kenyon had scored three runs in the bottom of the second. Friday picked up an RBI single on a sacrifice bunt, and two Owls came around to score unearned runs on what should have been an inning-ending play turned error. However, the Quakers scored nine unanswered runs before a Jalomo RBI in the sixth, earning the split against Kenyon.
Jalomo continued her strong day by tying a season-high with three hits in game two, going 4-for-8 with two RBIs and a run across the twin bill. Lindsay George joined Jalomo as the Owls to have multiple hits, going 2-for-2 at the plate. The two hits marked a career-high for the sophomore.
