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John Carroll University Athletics

home of the Blue Streaks
Odelli crossed the plate
Kaylyn Odelli enjoyed a breakout day at the plate for JCU. 
3
Wittenberg WITS 4-2
7
Winner John Carroll JOHN CAR 3-3
Wittenberg WITS
4-2
3
Final
7
John Carroll JOHN CAR
3-3
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R H E
Wittenberg WITS 0 0 0 0 1 0 2 3 10 2
John Carroll JOHN CAR 0 0 2 0 5 0 X 7 9 1

W: Orendi, Danielle (2-0) L: K. Ravensber (2-2)

Game Recap: Softball | | Joe Ginley '16, SID

Orendi and Odelli Open the Door for a Late Night Win for JCU Softball

LEESBURG, Fla. -- Neither rain nor a late night could ruin John Carroll Softball's day on Thursday.

The gloomy skies over central Florida lifted at last in the afternoon, allowing the Blue Streaks to play one of the two scheduled games, though at a later time than planned.

So, in a very rare 9:15 pm first-pitch – the latest start for a JCU Softball game in the past decade – the Blue Streaks confronted the Wittenberg Tigers. And in a strong showing, the Blue Streaks vanquished their fellow Ohioans, 7-3. 

Danielle Orendi's strong showing on the mound and key hits by Kaylyn Odelli and the JCU lineup paved the route for victory for John Carroll, which moved to 4-2 on the year. 

"We were just excited to play," said Alyssia Carmichael. "The mentality was that we came here to play softball, so we'll play no matter what time they put us out there, be it midnight or 3 am. We've been overcoming adversity between rainouts and delays, so we're used to it at this point." 

Orendi set the tone for the game by starting excellently in the circle. Wittenberg had trouble getting anything going at the plate, as Orendi kept opposing batters guessing. She allowed inning-opening singles in the second and third, but after sacrifice bunts in both frames, she garnered two straight outs each time to roll along. 

John Carroll got on the board in the bottom of the third. Maddie Traub started the frame with a single to left field. Then, Kaylyn Odelli clipped a double down the left field line, sending Traub around to score. After a JCU groundout, Wittenberg committed a 2-out error, allowing Carmichael to reach first and Odelli to cross the plate.

Wittenberg got a couple runners aboard in the fourth, threatening with two on and one out. But Orendi garnered a fielder's choice and got a whiff to end the inning with no damage. After a 1-2-3 JCU side in the fourth, Wittenberg finally got on the board in the top of the fifth. 

Wittenberg's Alexis Christy tabbed a triple to right center with 2 outs to begin the trouble. The Tigers followed up with a double in the next at-bat, allowing the Tigers to scratch Christy across. Thankfully, Orendi escaped the jam with no further damage, as she summoned an inning-ending groundout. 

Ahead just 2-1 now, the Blue Streaks mustered a critical response that would seal the game. Odelli opened the fun with a single to center. Gracie Bressoud and Crista Nativio walked to juice the bases with no outs. Wittenberg looked to get a force out on the plate via a Carmichael grounder, but Odelli was called safe at the plate and JCU's momentum rolled along from there. 

Jesberger scored Bressoud with an RBI single up the middle, Mallory Stonebraker singled to center to plate Nativio, and Jess Lichota knocked in Carmichael with a sacrifice fly. Traub tallied a single and Odelli batted around with another single, getting Jesberger home.

And just like that, the Blue Streaks possessed a 7-1 lead heading into the sixth, with a locked-in Orendi in the circle. 

The Tigers made things slightly interesting in the seventh, with a trio of singles scoring a couple runs. But tonight belonged to Orendi, as the sophomore sealed the deal for the victory. 

"We want to know who we are as a pitching staff because every pitcher is different and unique. She is someone who works to bad contact to use her defense," said Loudin. "She will get some strikeouts, but she control and command the game. That is not a bad hitting team, but she made them look like one. All the credit to her for keeping her head on her shoulders and staying focused to execute like that."

Odelli led JCU's efforts at the plate. The freshman finished the night 3-for-3, with 2 runs and 2 RBI. 

"She is a ball of energy," said Loudin. "She is a human agility ball. She has so much energy, and our goal has been to contain and focus that energy and athleticism. Today, it clicked. She controlled herself at the plate and had great discipline. That's what she's capable of every game."

John Carroll also got 2-hit efforts from Kristen Jesberger (2-for-4), Mallory Stonebraker (2-for-3), and Maddie Traub (2-for-3). JCU tallied 9 hits on the evening. 

With the victory, JCU advances to 4-2 on the year. Tomorrow concludes the trip with games vs. Saint Mary's College (IN) and Johnson & Wales slated for 4 pm and 6:15 pm, respectively. 

"This is a big team win," said Head Coach Nicole Loudin. "The energy they had in the dugout, and what they did with the charts and all the intangibles that will never show up on the stat sheet are huge. They were helping to shift the defense because of what we kept on the charts. They were talking and making things easier on the defense. Everyone contributed to the win today."
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