CLERMONT, Fla. - Despite the games starting well over an hour past the scheduled times, the University of Mary Softball team took on Merrimack College and Ohio Dominican University starting off the final week for the Marauder's Florida trip.
 
Riding the pitching wave, the Marauders (9-13) blanked Merrimack (3-3) 3-0 behind a complete game shutout from Nena Dudley, and followed that up with a 5-4 victory over Ohio Dominican (0-12) behind a solid team effort in the circle that was capped off by a save from Dudley.
 
U-Mary got on the board in the bottom of the first on the Warriors despite two quick outs to start the inning. Julissa Perales drew the two-out walk and advanced to second off a single to left field from Taylor Mendez. Dudley sent a groundball single through the left side and Perales ended up scoring, as the throw to the plate was not in time.
 
The Marauders got two more in the inning after Amber Gamboa singled to left field that drove in Dudley and Mendez, putting the score at 3-0.
 
Little did U-Mary know that would be the only runs scored in the game, but it made little difference as Dudley brought her 'A' game.
 
The Marauders were only able to get two more runners on base after that point, but Merrimack ended up leaving eight on base, the same amount of strikeouts that Dudley had in the game.
 
Dudley had seven innings pitched with eight strikeouts, one walk given up, as the complete game shutout improved her record to 7-3 on the year.
 
She was also the only Marauder to record multiple hits in the game as she got two, both singles, with one RBI, one run and one stolen base.
 
Gamboa got two RBI off her single in the first inning, while Mendez, Alana Norman, Francine Villalobos, and Alexandra McDermott all got one hit on the game.
 
The day was far from over, though, as they swapped fields to take on Ohio Dominican in the second game that lasted well past 10 p.m.
 
Norman drew the lead off walk against the Panthers and Kristin Ormsby singled through the left side of the infield to move her up to second. Lex Hubbard pinch ran for Ormsby and both her and Norman ended up scoring on a triple from Mendez to the right field corner.
 
Another great highlight from U-Mary was when Gamboa, who was catching both games, had a pitch get passed her, but settled down long enough to underhand the ball to Erin Keen who was covering home and got the runner out trying to score.
 
That was all the Marauders would get in the first as they held a two-run lead heading into the second inning, Ohio Dominican got one on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second when Brier Sanner reached on a fielders choice with bases loaded that scored Casey Murdoch. Yet even with bases loaded the Marauders made the plays that they needed as they doubled up on the next groundball that Ormsby picked up as she tagged out the runner at second and lobbed the ball over to Villalobos to end the inning.
 
U-Mary got the run back and then some when Perales reached on an error by the third baseman and made it to third off a double to left field from Dudley. Villalobos brought Perales home off a sacrifice fly to centerfield while Dudley advanced to third base. Dudley ended up scoring the very next pitch off a passed ball and the Marauders went into the bottom of the third with a 4-1 lead over the Panthers.
 
Ohio Dominican came right back in the next inning when the lead off batter, Taylor Kline, drew a walk and ended up at third after an throw from Colleen Crutchfield got away from Villalobos covering second off a groundball from Liz Sutter, who ended up at second.
 
Allie Hinton tied the game up off one swing of the bat as a rise ball from MeLanie Rodriguez, who came in to relieve Keen, just hung up long enough for Hinton to turn on and the Marauders faced a 4-4 tie heading into the top of the fourth inning.
 
U-Mary got at least one back in the top half of the fourth when Ormsby laced a double to left field that ended up scoring Alexandra McDermott from second base, putting the score at 5-4.
 
It turned into another pitcher's duel from there as Rodriguez kept the pressure on the Panthers through most of the game.
 
She got into a bit of trouble in the bottom of the seventh, though, when she walked the lead off batter and gave up a single to the next one, putting runners at first and second with nobody out.
 
Head Coach KJ Kelley brought in Dudley to relieve Rodriguez and Dudley paid off big time with two strikeouts and a fly out to left field to end the game, earning the save, giving Rodriguez her first win of the year and handing the Marauders a 5-4 victory over Ohio Dominican.
 
Ormsby's bat finally found it's way to Florida as she got three hits in the game, with one double, one RBI, and a solid defensive effort.
 
Mendez and Dudley both recorded multi-hit games as Mendez got a triple and a single with two RBI and a stolen base; while Dudley got a single, double, RBI, run, and a stolen base.
 
The Marauders will wrap up their Florida trip this week starting tomorrow with games against the University of Southern Indiana and West Liberty University starting at 4 p.m., CDT.
 
#marauders#