The Alma College softball concluded their weekend road trip on Saturday afternoon with two defeats at the hands of host Ohio Wesleyan University. The Battlin' Bishops defeated the Scots 3-2 in game one and then took the nightcap by a score of 7-3.

With the two defeats, Alma fell to 7-7 on the season, while Ohio Wesleyan improved to 8-6 in the 2014 season.

GAME 1

Sr. LF Allie Jo Nave (Onaway/Onaway) led off the game for the Scots and continued her hot hitting by smacking the ball out of park for a lead-off homerun and a 1-0 Alma lead.

The Scots added another run in the top of the second inning, when Jr. C Cori Witham (North Muskegon/North Muskegon) hit a homerun of her own that gave the visitors a 2-0 advantage.

The Battlin' Bishops were finally able to scratch a run off of Alma Jr. P Samantha Pierce (Clarklake/Michigan Center) when they homered to left field to cut their deficit to 2-1 in the fifth. The score remained that way until the bottom of the seventh inning as neither team could muster much offense.

In the final frame, Ohio Wesleyan got a one-out walk and single off of Pierce and after a groundout advanced both runners, the home team had the tying and winning runs in scoring position. Alma then intentionally walked the next batter to load the bases with two outs.

OWU 1B Cassi Ladina then batted against Pierce and was able to single to center field, scoring both runs and giving the Battlin' Bishops the come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Scots.

Pierce took the loss in the circle despite giving up just five hits and two walks to go with five strikeouts. Witham and Sr. 2B Chanler McCaskey (Morenci/Morenci) each had two hits offensively for Alma in the defeat.

GAME 2

The nightcap had a different tone as it was the Scots who fell behind early and would have to attempt a comeback. However, in the end, they would come up short and lose their second game of the day.

The Battlin' Bishops scored two runs off of Scots starting So. P Addie Loftus (Frankenmuth/Frankenmuth) in the bottom of the second with two singles and a double.

Ohio Wesleyan then put a crooked number on the board in the bottom of the third off of Loftus and Scots relief Fr. P Katherine Hybl (Central Lake/Charlevoix). Two runs were charged to Loftus and three to Hybl as OWU recorded five hits - three doubles and two singles - to take a commanding 7-0 lead.

It was not until the top of the fifth inning that Alma was able to score a couple runs of their own. In that frame, Jr. SS Devan Olah (White Lake/Lakeland) singled and was pinch ran for by Fr. Celeste Boyer (South Lyon/South Lyon East). With one out, McCaskey then homered to left field, cutting the Scots' deficit to 7-2.

After a scoreless sixth inning, Alma came to bat in the seventh needing at least five runs to extend the game. McCaskey reached first on an error with no outs and advanced to third on a single by Fr. CF Kelsey Spencer (Eaton Rapids/Eaton Rapids). However, Spencer was thrown out at second on the play for the first out.

Following a pop-up for the second out, Nave singled to center field, scoring McCaskey to make it a 7-3 ballgame. However, Nave was then thrown out trying to steal second base, ending the game and sealing the Battlin' Bishops' four-run victory.

Loftus took the pitching loss to fall to 0-1 on the season, while Witham pitched the final 3.1 innings, not allowing a run on three hits. Hybl gave up three earned runs and three hits in .1 innings of work for the Scots.

At the plate, the Scots recorded only five hits in the defeat with Olah leading the way with two. Nave, McCaskey and Spencer had the other three.

Tomorrow's doubleheader at Heidelberg has been cancelled due to anticipated cold temperatures. The next scheduled games for Alma is on Wednesday at Anderson University, beginning at 3:30 p.m.