Raven Softball opened its season on Monday after a delay due to the colder weather in the area on Sunday. They earned a pair of walk-off winners as they overcame a 9-run deficit in the opener and then broke a three-inning tie in the nightcap.
Trailing 9-1 headed into their last at-bat of the opener, the Ravens plated home 9 runs to earn a 10-9 win over Doane. After giving up five runs in the fourth, the Ravens plated the winner in the bottom of the seventh of game two to earn a 7-6 win over the Tigers.
The second walk-off was extra special for the program as it gave head coach Paul Hunt his 100th win as a Raven.
Benedictine struck first in game one, scoring a run in the bottom of the third. Madison Zaccardo singled up the middle to score Megan Medhus to put the Ravens in front for the first time on the season. The lead was short-lived as the Tigers scored nine unanswered to take a commanding 9-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh. Medhus played a key role in the seventh-inning rally. She recorded a triple to drive in the first two runs and start the rally. A double from Zaccardo scored Medhus which was followed up by a single from Abby Pressgrove to score Lenea Salinas. A three-run home run off the bat of Clare Heitz cut the Ravens deficit down to one run and set up Medhus four batters later for a double that plated home Halley Rindom and Chloe Strickland for the win.
Kera Willoughby earned her first career win as a Raven in relief of Pressgrove. She surrendered two hits over two-thirds of an inning to earn the win. Pressgrove went the first six and one-third innings, giving up five earned runs off 10 hits with three strikeouts.
While game two ended in another walk-off, the Ravens jumped out to a 4-1 lead in support of game two starting pitcher Jenna Drish. Drish threw three and one-third innings before she was relieved by Alicia Armijo. Armijo earned the win, holding Doane scoreless over the final three and two-thirds innings.
Zaccardo provided the spark offensively in game two, connecting on a two-run home run before Heitz tripled to score Pressgrove.
Benedictine answered a five-run fourth inning with two runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning as Medhus singled to score Kaitlyn Fanning and Natalie Sheffield. The game remained tied at 6-6 until Heitz ended it with a single to right field allowing Ally Pickering to score the game-winning run.
The Ravens continue their season-opening homestand this weekend. They are scheduled to host a doubleheader on Saturday with Briar Cliff University and then a second doubleheader on Sunday with Concordia (Neb.) University.
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