TIFFIN, Ohio—The Heidelberg University softball team will take a brief road trip to Baldwin-Wallace College for an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader Tuesday at the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds in Berea, Ohio. The first game is slated for 3:30 p.m. Following Tuesday’s twinbill, the Berg will return to Tiffin for a six-game homestand.
Live stats for both games will be available here.
Heidelberg (13-13, 3-6 Ohio Athletic Conference) is coming off a doubleheader split yesterday with Marietta College, in which senior right handed pitcher Lexie Pinkelman (Metamora/Evergreen) outlasted the Pioneers’ Alexis O’Hair to win a 6-5 marathon in 11 innings. Pinkelman also homered in the second game, but Marietta scored seven unanswered runs in the sixth and seventh innings to take a 7-5 win.
The ‘Berg offense is led by senior first baseman Bessie Artino (Bellevue) (.411, 32 RBI, 3 HR, 21 R), who leads the OAC in runs batted-in, is eighth in hitting, and 10th in slugging (.622). She also boasts an on-base-plus-slugging percentage of 1.058 and is riding a 10-game hitting streak. Sophomore center fielder Jami Wagner (Alvada/New Riegel) (.398, 6, 0, 28) is tied for fifth in the league in runs and leads the team with 13 stolen bases in 17 attempts and 13 multi-hit games. In addition to her mound duties, Pinkelman (.324, 29, 7, 18) is third in the league in home runs and RBI.
In the circle, junior southpaw Ali Sayre (Sylvania/Northview) and Pinkelman have combined to start 19 of 26 games. Sayre (3.22 ERA, 47 K, 72.2 IP) is 4-7 in 13 appearances (10 starts) and is ninth in the league in innings pitched and strikeouts, respectively. Pinkelman (4.76, 50, 56.2) is 4-4 in 11 appearances (nine starts) and is ninth in the conference in strikeouts. Both are tied for eighth with six complete games and have each hurled a shutout. Freshman righty Christine Foster (Luckey/Eastwood) (4.15, 10, 30.1) is 3-1 in seven appearances (four starts) and has pitched two complete games.
Baldwin-Wallace (16-12, 5-5 OAC) has lost three of its last four games following a doubleheader split yesterday with Wilmington College. Five Yellow Jackets had two hits and four had two RBI as B-W took the first game, 11-3, in six innings, but was edged, 4-3, in the second.
Brittany Lightel (.396, 8, 0, 15) leads the team in on-base percentage (.446), while Tabitha Murray (.387, 16, 1, 17) leads the team in runs and owns team-highs of a .548 slugging percentage and .968 OPS. Lauren Feciuch (.371, 19, 2, 15) leads B-W in RBI and slugs at a .539 clip.
Sarah Baker and Murray anchor the pitching staff. Baker (1.77 ERA, 25, 71.0) is 7-2 in 12 appearances (nine starts) with seven complete games and three shutouts and is second in the OAC in ERA and 10th in innings pitched. Murray (2.77, 60, 65.2) is 5-6 in 15 appearances (10 starts) with six complete games and is tied for seventh in the circuit in strikeouts and is ninth in innings pitched.
Following Tuesday’s doubleheader, the Berg will host three doubleheaders in five days, beginning with a conference tilt Saturday against the University of Mount Union, followed by a non-conference match-up with Alma (Mich.) College on Monday, April 23, and a twinbill against OAC foe Otterbein University.