By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Xenia, OH---The No. 15 Express offense produced 26 hits in a doubleheader sweep of Sinclair Community College on the road today.
Game 1: Owens 12 Sinclair 3 (Six Innings)
Taylor Miller hit her first career home run as everyone who had an at bat produced at least one hit for the Express offense.
Emily Rockman had the team-high in hits as she finished 3-for-4 with two RBIs, while four others had two hits.
Those players included: Melanie Iacoangeli (2-for-4, R, RBI, 2 SB), Alyssa Lassey (2-for-4, 4 R, SB), Jaylee Glad (2-for-3, 2 R, SB) and Miller (2-for-2, R, 3 RBI, BB).
Iacoangeli and Rockman teamed up in the first to give the Express a 1-0 lead. Iaocangeli singled, stole second, was sacrificed to third and scored one out later on an RBI single from Rockman.
In the second, Miller and Iacoangeli had RBI singles to put the Express up 3-0 before Sinclair added two in the bottom half.
After neither team scored in the third, the Express broke the game open with nine runs over the next three innings.
In the fourth, Shank and Rockman had RBI singles, and Olivia Reeder had a two-run double to give the Express a 7-2 lead.
After Express starter Katilyn Turski retired the side in order in the bottom half, the Express added two more in the fifth on a two-run homer from Miller.
Sinclair then added a single run in the bottom half before the Express added three more in the sixth. Katie Butler had an RBI single off the centerfield wall, April DeCant had a pinch hit, RBI double and another run scored on an errant throw via a failed pick off attempt.
Turski allowed a one-out triple in the bottom half, but stranded her with two flyouts to end the game.
Turski allowed nine hits, three runs (one earned) and zero walks while striking out one to pick up her 13th win of the season.
Sinclair's offense was led by Taylor VanWinkle, who was 3-for-3 with a run. Nicol Chesley took the loss after she allowed 11 hits and seven runs (five earned) through four innings. Sierra Breeze pitched the last two innings.
Game 2: Owens 9 Sinclair 6
Iacoangeli, Reeder and Butler led the Express offense, while Turski picked up another complete game win in today's nightcap.
Iacoangeli may have had the biggest game as she finished 3-for-4 with three runs, five stolen bases and one RBI. Reeder finished with a team-high three RBIs, and went 1-for-2 with a run and a stolen base, while Butler was 2-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.
The game was tied at one through two before the Express outscored Sinclair 7-1 in the third and fourth innings to break the game open, although Sinclair a solo home run in the fifth and sixth, as well as two runs in the seventh.
In the first, Iacoangeli singled, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and scored on a suicide squeeze by Reeder. Jennifer Dean had an RBI single in the second for Sinclair to tie it up.
The Express then produced a four-run fourth thanks to some nice hitting and some bad defense from Sinclair. Butler's RBI double was the lone run scoring hit of the inning.
Turski then retired Sinclair's offense in order to set up another big inning for her team's offense. Iacoangeli had an RBI single, and Reeder had a two-run single up the middle to put the Express up 8-2 through three and a half.
Despite the runs from Sinclair in the ensuing innings, Butler had an RBI single in the seventh to help the Express achieve their three run victory.
Turski allowed eight runs, six runs (five earned) and one walk while striking out six to improve to 14-4 this year.
Chesley took the loss, once again, for Sinclair as she allowed 10 hits, nine runs (seven earned) and four walks while going the distance.
Notes
Both games were played at the Athletes In Action complex in Xenia, OH.
The wins helped the Express improve to 18-10 overall and 5-1 in the OCCAC, while Sinclair fell to 12-10 overall and 1-9 in the OCCAC.
Today's wins give the Express a regular season series sweep of Sinclair.
The next action for the Express will be on Sunday with a 1 p.m. road doubleheader in Cleveland against Cuyahoga Community College. Both teams are tied with one loss for first place in the OCCAC standings. The DH was originally supposed to be played tomorrow, but forecasted rain pushed it to Sunday.
Reeder increased her team-high RBI total to 27 today, while Iacoangeli now has 36 stolen bases in 27 games played. Iacoangeli, who also leads the team with 43 hits, is now in the top five in the nation in stolen bases.