OAKLAND CITY, Ind.  — Hannah Boardman, Jasmine Kinzer and Kylie Cooksey each drove in runs as the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College softball team dropped a pair of games to Oakland City (Ind.) on Friday afternoon (March 14). The Mighty Oaks won the opener by the score of 8-2 and came back for a 5-1 victory in the nightcap.

SMWC returns to action inside the River States Conference on Sunday, March 16 with a pair of contests at Brescia (Ky.). First pitch is set for 2 pm (CT). The Pomeroys move to 7-7 on the season with the doubleheader split while Oakland City is 8-6.

GAME ONE: 
The first game saw a strong performance from Oakland City's McDaniel, who earned the win after pitching a complete game, allowing just two runs on six hits, with one strikeout. SMWC's Emily Fitzwater took the loss after allowing four earned runs over 3.1 innings.

Oakland City took control early in the game, with a run in the third inning courtesy of Shipley's single to third that scored Rhodes. The offense continued to roll in the fourth, as the home team added three more runs to go up 4-0. 

SMWC got on the board in the fifth inning when Hannah Boardman singled to first, bringing in Alyse Rollings. However, Oakland City answered with another run in the bottom of the inning, maintaining a 5-1 lead.

The visitors added a second run in the top of the seventh, when Kylie Cooksey grounded out, scoring Caeden Bennett from third. But that was as close as the Pomeroys would get, as Oakland City tacked on three more insurance runs in the sixth, capped by a two-RBI single from Wood, to seal the win at 8-2.

Top Performances:

• SMWC's Jaidyn Fuller led the team at the plate, going 2-for-3 with a pair of singles.
• Boardman and Kyar McVey each contributed with one hit and one run scored.

GAME TWO: 
Oakland City set the tone early in the first inning. Williams launched a three-run homer to left, scoring Shipley and Wissel, to give the home team a 3-0 lead. SMWC responded in the third, as Jasmine Kinzer singled to third, driving in Alyse Rollings, cutting the deficit to 3-1.

But Oakland City answered right back with back-to-back homers in the third. Hibbitt hit a solo shot to left, followed by McCracken, who homered down the left-field line, putting Oakland City up 5-1. Despite solid pitching from St. Mary-of-the-Woods' Alex Overman and Lanna Martinez, the Pomeroys couldn't find any further offense.

Oakland City's Shipley earned the win, pitching six innings and allowing one run on five hits while striking out 11. Sonner closed out the game with a scoreless inning. For SMWC, Overman (1-3) took the loss, surrendering four earned runs in two innings. Martinez relieved Overman and pitched four solid innings, allowing just one earned run on four hits.

The Pomeroys' offense struggled to get going, as they managed just five hits, with Alyse Rollings collecting the lone extra-base hit, a double. Kinzer's RBI was the only run for St. Mary-of-the-Woods.