DEFIANCE, Ohio – The Hanover College softball team suffered two setbacks at Defiance Wednesday evening in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference action.

The Panthers (11-19, 4-10 HCAC) dropped the opener 2-1 before falling in Game Two, 5-0. With the wins, the Yellow Jackets improve to 20-14 overall and 9-5 in league play.

Junior Shelby Edington (New Goshen, Ind.) went 2-3 at the plate in Game One to highlight a seven-hit effort by the Blue and Red. In the circle, sophomore Lily Beurman (Evansville, Ind.) tossed six innings, scattering six hits, allowing two runs (one earned), while fanning seven.

Junior Jennah Ruddick (McCordsville, Ind.) drove in the only run for Hanover with a single up the middle in the top of the second inning. Senior Carlie Roark (Hebron, Ky.) scored on the play after drawing a one-out walk. Beurman allowed just one hit through three innings, as HC took a 1-0 lead into the fourth frame.

Defiance though, scored both of their runs in the fourth to capture a 2-1 advantage. The Yellow Jackets then held HC to just two hits the rest of the way, and neither sophomore Ashley Swearingen (Clarksville, Ind.) nor freshman Kiley Shedron (Cloverdale, Ind.) could get into scoring position.

The Panthers also tallied seven hits in the second game, led by sophomore Rachel Cox (Indianapolis, Ind.) and freshman Abby Wilson (Cincinnati, Ohio), who had two hits apiece. Wilson's first career multi-hit game also featured a double in the fourth inning.

Defiance posted two hits and two walks in the second to capture an early 2-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets then added three runs on back-to-back blasts in the fourth to go in front 5-0.

Hanover will now break from HCAC play with a doubleheader at Indiana University-Southeast. The Panthers and Grenadiers are set for a 2 p.m. start, Friday, April 26.

Contact: Tyler Jester

jestert@hanover.edu