Myrtle Beach, SC – Albion College softball witnessed history as senior Ashley Pion etched her name into the record books, becoming the program’s all-time career strikeouts leader. Pion’s dominant performance on Saturday saw her fan seven batters, surpassing a record that stood for 18 years. The milestone also marked Pion joining the exclusive 400 career strikeouts club. Despite Pion’s individual brilliance, Albion suffered two narrow defeats in one-run games.
Game 1: Gettysburg Edges Albion in Extra Innings
A tight pitching duel defined the opening game, where offensive opportunities were scarce. Albion fell to Gettysburg 1-0 in eight innings, decided by a walk-off bunt. Albion had a chance to take the lead in the top of the eighth with the international tiebreaker rule in play, but left the potential go-ahead run stranded at third base.
Gettysburg capitalized in the bottom of the eighth, executing a two-out bunt perfectly to secure the winning run. Despite the loss, Ashley Pion (3-3) delivered a stellar performance on the mound, striking out seven and conceding only three hits. Albion’s offense was limited to just two hits, courtesy of outfielders Jacqueline Jozefczyk and Kenadie Baareman.
Game 2: Martin Luther Comeback Downs Albion
Albion took an early lead in the second game when Megan Maiuri’s RBI single drove in Mya Nummer, putting the Britons ahead 1-0 after three innings. However, Martin Luther mounted a comeback in the top of the seventh, scoring two runs, both driven in with two outs. Albion managed to get the tying run on base in the bottom of the seventh but couldn’t bring them into scoring position, resulting in a 2-1 defeat.
Albion has a week to regroup before heading north to Oberlin for a doubleheader on March 13, commencing at 3:30 p.m.
