Raleigh, NC - The Oberlin College softball team put forth a valiant effort in its first game of the 2023 season under the direction of new head coach Julie Pratt but the Greensboro College Spartans scored three runs over the final two innings to earn a 4-2 victory. The Yeowomen would drop their second game of the day to Shenandoah 13-5.

In game one, first-year pitcher Hailey Alspach was impressive in her collegiate debut as she struck out five and walked just two while sprinkling eight hits along the way. Alspach, who threw 62 strikes on 106 pitches, had allowed just one run through the front five innings but an error to start off the sixth inning and a clutch opposite-field two-out single down the left field line by Madison Dillner tied the game at 2-2. 

Oberlin went quietly in the top part of the seventh and Greensboro wasted no time earning the walk-off win as the first two hitters would reach on singles before Makyiah Simmons lifted a game-ending double to the gap in right center. 

Both of Oberlin's runs would come in the top part of the first inning thanks to an error by the Spartans' first baseman as she muffed a throw from third, allowing Mia Brito to score after she recorded the team's first hit of the year with a double to right center. Oberlin would scratch across another run, using an intentional first-and-third play where Haley Bartsch got in a run down and stayed alive long enough to allow Loren Carter to race in from third. 

The Yeowomen would load the bases with nobody out in the second on an error and back-to-back singles by Alaina Di Dio and Haley Carlson but unfortunately they did not score, which proved costly in the end as they would never really threaten offensively the rest of the way.

In the nightcap, Oberlin recorded nine hits with first-years Maria Chutko and Kailey Dunham each posting their first multi-hit games of their respective collegiate careers. 

The Hornets used four hits and two hit batters to score five runs in the second to take control of the game. Oberlin would get a single tally back in the home half of the inning as Carlson roped a ground-rule double to center to score Katie Austin. 

Shenandoah would tack on two more runs in the fourth and Oberlin would answer with one as Di Dio poked a two-out single through the right side that plated Austin. 

Unfortunately, Oberlin pitching had no answers in slowing down the Hornets' bats as they added on four more runs on five hits and two errors in the fifth to swell the lead to nine, 11-2, but Oberlin kept fighting to the end and was able to fend off the mercy-rule. 

The Yeowomen would post a pair of runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth as Bartsch delivered an run-producing single to left that sent Chutko home and then senior Kathryn Beeman would follow with an RBI single to left center that allowed the game to continue.

Following a Shenandoah homer in the sixth, Oberlin would get it back on a throwing error by the catcher as Lopez was trying to advance to third on a wild pitch. It would mark the Yeowomen's final run of the game.

After having 25 stolen bases all of last year, Oberlin finished with 12 swipes on the day on 14 chances.

Oberlin goes right back to work tomorrow morning with a 10 a.m. battle against the host school William Peace before concluding the weekend against Ferrum.