COLUMBUS, Ohio – It was a great day to be a Panther for the Ohio Dominican softball team. The Panthers rallied from behind in both games, and took a pair from visiting Lake Superior Saturday afternoon.  In game one, ODU rallied from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Lakers 2-1 and came back from an 8-1 hole to win 15-8 in game two.

The Panthers now move to 7-18-1 (3-1 GLIAC) while the Lakers fall to 2-3 (0-2) on the season. It also marked a 3-1 weekend for ODU.

In game one, the Panthers scored first after freshman Kelsey Albanese (Westerville, Ohio) connected with the 3-2 pitch, blasting her second homerun of the season over the left field wall.

The Lakers responded with a run in the top of the fourth inning when Felicia Gingrich doubled to right field, scoring Alyssa Avila.

The Panthers went ahead in the bottom of the fifth inning when freshman Elisabeth Weber (Canton, Ohio) led the inning off with a walk. Sophomore Kelsey Seeds (Westerville, Ohio) reached on a fielder's choice. Seeds was safe at third after a fielder's choice by sophomore Taylor Mason (Belpre, Ohio). Albanese came through again, singling down the left field line, scoring Seeds for the go-ahead run.

Sophomore Rachael Stanzel (Angleton, Texas) went to work, allowing no hits in the remaining two innings. For the game, she gave up just one run on four hits while striking out three batters.

In the nightcap, the Panthers kept their momentum, scoring in the top of the first inning, after junior Caitlin Jividen (Wheeling, W. Va.) singled to right field, scoring sophomore Alex Cribari (Lyndhurst, Ohio).

The Lakers went ahead 2-1 in the bottom of the second inning after Brandi Anderson doubled to right center field, scoring Kirsten Thompson and Avila.

Lake State's bats caught fire in the bottom of the fourth inning, scoring five runs on six hits, to go ahead 8-1.

ODU responded with three runs in the top of the fifth inning after sophomore Brier Sanner (Hartville, Ohio) drew a leadoff walk. After advancing to second on a passed ball and another walk by Seeds, Cribari tripled on a 3-2 pitch to deep right center, scoring Sanner and Seeds. Jividen batted in the third run of the inning after doubling to right field, scoring Cribari.

The momentum shifted in the top of the sixth as the Panthers scored five more runs to take the 9-8 lead. Sanner hit a two-out single through the left side of the infield and Weber followed up with a Walk. Seeds singled up the middle to load the bases for Cribari. Cribari drew the walk, scoring Sanner and loaded the bases once more. Albanese singled through the left side, scoring Weber and Seeds. Jividen followed by reaching first on a fielding error, scoring Cribari, and sophomore Taylor Thomas (Bellville, Ohio) legged out an infield single, scoring Albanese

The Panthers added six more runs in the top of the seventh, and that was all they needed, as Stanzel retired the side in the bottom of the frame to nail down the 15-8 victory.

The Panthers have a four day break before resuming action against Lewis in a nonconference doubleheader on Wednesday, March 27 on Panther Field. The first game is set to start at 2 p.m.

Contact: Sarah Twiggs
twiggss@ohiodominican