MEADVILLE, Pa. – At a wintry Robertson Athletic Complex, the Gators clicked on all cylinders to defeat Oberlin 9-1 in the opener of the teams' twinbill, before using a furious seventh-inning rally in the nightcap to force extra innings. The game was then declared a 9-9 tie after being halted during the eighth inning due to the combination of darkness and a heavy snow squall.
The Gators now own an overall mark of 11-10-1, and 7-4-1 in the North Coast Athletic Conference, while Oberlin moves to 4-24-2/3-12-1.
In game one, the Gators struck for a pair of unearned runs in the bottom of the first.
Belle Mazurik led off with a walk, before an
Alexis Ryan bunt was misplayed, allowing Mazurik to move to third. Two batters later, the Yeowomen committed their second error of the frame on a grounder from
Sadie Stuart, scoring both Mazurik and Ryan to make the score 2-0.
The Yeowomen answered with a single run in the top of the second, when Katie Pieplow who led off by being hit with a pitch, eventually scored on a passed ball to cut the Gator lead in half.
The Gators then used a big bottom of the fourth inning to essentially put the game away, sending eight batters to the plate and scoring five runs.
Jessica Zavolta and Mazurik each doubled in the frame, while Ryan smacked a two-run triple.
Caitlin Nealer added an RBI single, while the Gators also scored a pair of runs on an Oberlin error to go in front 7-1.
Allegheny closed out the win in the bottom of the sixth.
Taylor Massart led off with a double, and was promptly plated when
Hannah Blinn singled through the right side. Zavolta and Ryan then walked, with the former scoring on a Nealer grounder to make it 9-1 and end the abbreviated game.
The Gators' seven hits in the opener were tallied by seven different players, while seven different players all scored at least one run, while Ryan and Mazurik crossed the plate twice.
Nealer earned the complete game in the circle, allowing one unearned run and scattering just two hits while striking out eight in six innings.
In game two, the Gators again got on the board in the bottom of the first. With one out, Ryan singled to center, and was promptly driven home by a Nealer double off the top of the fence in center field.
Allegheny made it 2-0 in the second inning, taking advantage of a pair of errors to plate an unearned run on a Zavolta ground out.
The Gators held on to the two-run lead until the top of the fourth, when Peoplow homered to lead off a frame in which the Yeowomen would send 11 batters to the plate to score seven runs and take the 7-2 lead.
Allegheny chipped away with a single run in the bottom of the fifth, when Nealer drew a two-out walk, moved to third on a Stuart double, and scored on a Landowski single to make it 7-3.
The Yeowomen went back to work, and looked to put the game away with two runs in the top of the sixth inning, using a Sandra Kibble home run, followed by back-to-back doubles, to make it 9-3.
After leaving the bases loaded following a trio of singles in the bottom of the sixth, the Gators put together their most furious rally of the season during a steady snow squall during their final at bats of the game.
With one out,
Allie Landowski walked, before Massart singled and
Abrianna Sadler walked to load the bases.
Jaricka Simmerman's grounder to second was misplayed, scoring Landowski. Zavolta promptly doubled to right, bringing home both Massart and Sadler to make the score 9-6.
Mazurik walked, and then Ryan reached on a fielder's choice to plate Zavolta to cut the deficit to two. With two outs, Nealer then racked her third double of the game with a shot to the fence in right center to send home Ryan and Mazurik and tie the game at 9-all.
With increasing darkness and rapidly decreasing field conditions and visibility due to the heavy snow, the game was then declared a tie after being halted following the top of the eighth.
The Gators and Yeowomen each tallied 12 hits in the draw, led by Nealer, who went 3-for-4 with three doubles and three RBIs, while adding a walk. Zavolta finished 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Massart also had two hits in four at bats, while scoring a run.
Miranda Arison started and worked 4 1/3 innings and allowed three runs on six hits with one strikeout, while
Allison Cabo threw 2.2 innings and surrendered six runs (four earned) with four strikeouts.
The Gators will now face a quick turnaround, as they return to action on Thursday with a 4 p.m. doubleheader at Hiram College, marking the final road contests of the regular season. Allegheny will close out the regular slate with weekend home doubleheaders against Kenyon (Sat.), and Case Western Reserve (Sun.).
