Oberlin, Ohio - The Oberlin College softball team showed their strengths in a double feature against John Carroll this afternoon on their One Love dedication day. After dropping game one 10-4 in a hard fight, the Crimson and Gold bats rallied for a game two victory taking down the Blue Streaks 10-2 in 6 innings. 

In game one, John Carroll struck first, totaling seven runs on six hits in the first three innings. The Yeowomen began to return in the bottom of the third starting with a walk from Aoife Shen, followed by a beamer to the right-center gap from first-year Caitlyn Crotty to notch her first career hit. A follow-up RBI double from first-year Anjali Singh scored Shen, just before an immediate knock to center field from senior Haley Carlson scored Crotty and Singh to close the gap to 7-3. 

In the bottom of the fifth, Oberlin tacked on another run as an RBI single from Maya Means scored Singh following her base hit, advancing the score to 7-4. The Blue Streaks responded with three runs in the ensuing innings to extend their advantage.

Down 10-4 in the Crimson and Gold's last chance to score in the bottom of the seventh, a leadoff single from Singh restarted the Obie momentum, followed by a hard-shot double from Connor Fogarty to move to second and third. Despite the strong start, Oberlin was unable to continue the momentum and ultimately fell to the Blue Streaks. 

The Crimson and Gold came back stronger in game two, claiming a 10-2 run rule victory in six innings to go even on the day. 

In the bottom of the first, back-to-back singles from Singh and Carlson brought Fogarty up to the plate with runners on first and second. Fogarty dropped a sacrifice bunt to move her teammates into scoring position. An RBI double from New Yorker Ava Soldo allowed both Singh and Carlson to score and give the Crimson and Gold an early 2-0 lead. 

Continuing the rally, first-year Caroline Sniffen went yard for her first career home run deep over the left-center fence, scoring both Soldo and herself for a 4-0 lead leaving the first inning. 

The Yeowmen gave it all on defense, led by Fogarty with a head-first diving catch to put away the first out of the inning. A quick second and third out ended the one-two-three inning for the Blue Streaks. 

Carlson's double in the next inning brought her into scoring position, followed by another RBI from Soldo to put Oberlin up 5-0. John Carroll snuck in two runs in the top of the fourth, but the Yeowomen responded with a second four-run inning in the bottom of the fifth.

A single laced from Carlson scored Singh after her own base hit, totalling the score to 6-2. A single from Fogarty sent Carlson to third, just before she stole home in a wild run, avoiding the catcher and reaching the plate to go up 7-2. Means reached first on a Blue Streaks error, sending Fogarty to third and then stealing second to set up Soldo for her fourth and fifth RBIs of the game and a 9-2 lead going into the sixth. 

Another one-two-three inning left John Carroll empty handed and gave the Yeowomen the chance to take the game before seven. A walk and stolen base from Shen brought pinch hitter Kailey Dunham to the plate. The senior ripped a single up the middle to score Shen and walk it off against the Blue Streaks, taking the crown in the run-rule 10-2 win. 

"The team is really good at stringing together hits and using each other's momentum to keep scoring," said Soldo. "The music gets us going, and hearing our walkup songs gets us in the zone," added Singh.

"It's fun to play on a team that finds a good medium between wanting to win and also not taking themselves too seriously, like this one." said Sophomore pitcher Cash Stone. Stone threw all six for the Crimson and Gold, letting up just two runs on four hits, two strikeouts, and no walks to claim their fourth win of the season. "It makes me want to do better, and I think that in turn fuels everyone else. It's a very fulfilling cycle of playing the game we love and being reminded why we love it." they added. 

Head Coach Julie Pratt applauds Stone, adding "I love our fight, love our energy, and I'm super proud of Cash for setting the tone in the circle."

The Yeowomen hit the road on Tuesday, April 7 when they take on Bluffton for a non-conference double header. First pitch is set for 3 p.m., with game two following at approximately 5pm.

Keep up with the Crimson and Gold on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and watch every home game on the Oberlin Sports Network online or on Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV.