ADA, Ohio - On Tuesday, April 12th your Mount St. Joseph University Lions traveled to Ohio Northern to take on the Polar Bears in a non-conference matchup. The Lions took game one 9-4 but fell to the Polar Bears in game two with the same scoreline. Although the Lions fell in game two, Freshman
Courtney Keller tied the Mount St. Joseph Home Run record with still at least 14 games remaining.
GAME ONE: MSJ - 9 ONU - 4
To begin game one the Lions went down quietly before surrendering the games first run in the bottom half of the first.
Casey Kemp would bounce back in the 2nd registering a scoreless inning to get the Lions back to the plate. In the 3rd, The Mount would fire back.
Ali Lang got the inning started with a bunt single but the next two batters would be retired. But, with two outs
Courtney Keller would single through the left side and advance to 2nd on an error leaving the Lions with runners on 2nd and 3rd with a pair of outs.
Casey Kemp would help herself out with a double to center field scoring both runs, giving the Lions a 2-1 lead.
The Polar Bears were held in check again in the bottom of the 3rd setting up another opportunity for the Lions. In the top of the 4th
Elizabeth Ivers got the inning started with a double to center field followed by
Emily McDonald coming in to run for the Lions catcher. This immediately paid off as McDonald stole third giving the Lions a chance to extend their lead. With 1 out,
Casey Bramble came up clutch for the Lions doubling to left field and extending the Lions lead to 3-1. In the bottom of the 4th, Kemp again retired the side getting the Lions back to the plate.
In the top of the 5th the Lions would strike again.
Courtney Keller got things started with a 1-out single followed by Kemp reaching on an error and a single from
Maddie Kennedy left runners on 1st and 2nd. Eilizabeth Ivers singled to center field loading the bases for the Lions with 2 outs.
Kaci Finchum would then draw a walk scoring 1 run, building the Lions lead to 4-1. In the bottom of the 5th, the Polar Bears would fight back, scoring a run of their own to make the score 4-2.
In the top half of the 6th is when the Lions would bust the game open. Lang led off the inning with a single followed by a sacrifice from
Kelsi Stevenson.
Macy Cornelius would follow with a single to center field driving in Lang to boost the Lions lead to 5-2. After advancing on the throw, Cornelius would come around to score on a RBI single from
Casey Kemp building the lead again to 6-2. Following the single,
Maddie Kennedy would put an exclamation point on the inning hammering a home run to right field, scoring a pair to give the Lions a 8-2 lead. After a clean half inning from Kemp, the Lions would again add in the 7th.
Casey Bramble got things rolling in the last frame with a 1-out single to left center, followed by a stolen base and a wild pitch to put her on 3rd base.
Kelsi Stevenson then singled through the left side adding to the Lions advantage to make the score 9-2. The Polar Bears would score a pair in the 7th but could not cut into the Lions lead enough. After 7 innings, the Lions were victorious 9-4.
GAME TWO: MSJ - 4 ONU - 9
In game two the Lions would start off hot. After a 2-out single from
Macy Cornelius,
Courtney Keller would tie MSJ history. Keller crushed a ball to deep center field surpassing the wall for a 2-run home run, tying the single-season record for home runs. Keller's knock gave the Lions an early 2-0 lead over the Polar Bears.
Courtney Keller took the circle in game two and recorded a clean 1st inning for the Lions. But, in the bottom of the 2nd, the Polar Bears woke their bats up scoring 5 runs in the innings, taking a 5-2 lead.
The Lions were unable to answer until the top half of the 4th. With two outs, the Lions would go back-to-back.
Elizabeth Ivers homered to right field followed by
Kaci Finchum homering to left center cutting the Polar Bears lead to 5-4. After a clean bottom half the Lions could not add in the 5th giving the Polar Bears another shot. The Polar Bears bounced back scoring 4 runs in the 5th, giving them a 9-4 lead. The Lions were unable to answer after the back-to-back shots from Ivers and Finchum falling to Ohio Northern in game two 9-4.
The long ball was crucial for the Lions in the pair of contests.
Maddie Kennedy,
Courtney Keller,
Elizabeth Ivers and
Kaci Finchum all went deep for The Mount on the day.
Courtney Keller is also on the brink of MSJ history as she is just one big swing away from breaking the single-season record for home runs which currently sits at 9 in one season.
UP NEXT: Your Mount St. Joseph Lions are back in action on Saturday, April 15th as the Lions travel to Terre Haute, Ind. to take on the Fightin' Engineers of Rose-Hulman. Game times are scheduled to begin at 1pm & 3pm.
