2001 Game Recaps

May 1, at Seton Hill
The Lady Jackets finished their season at 18-18 overall and 11-13 in the American Mideast Conference following a 12-1 and 9-3 doubleheader sweep at Seton Hill. It's the first time in Cedarville's 17-year fast-pitch softball history that they have finished two consecutive years at .500 or better after posting a 24-15 mark last spring. Ashley Smith was 3-for-4 in the opener while winning pitcher Megan Petersen had two hits and three RBI's. Debbie Krick added two hits and three RBI's and Elissa Morrison had two hits in the game that was halted after five innings due to the eight-run mercy rule. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Cedarville was hitless in the nightcap before breaking loose for five runs in the fifth inning and four more in the sixth. Beth Weaver cracked a three-run homer in her final collegiate at bat and Ashley Smith supplied two hits and two RBI's. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 30, at Saint Vincent
Megan Petersen hurled her eighth shutout of the season and Cedarville went on to sweep host Saint Vincent, 3-0 and 7-3, in an American Mideast Conference doubleheader. The senior righthander fanned seven batters and allowed just three hits in the opener to improve her record to 12-6. Elissa Morrison was 2-for-3 at the plate and drove in all three runs. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Denaye Hilty was the winning pitcher in the nightcap and helped herself with three hits and three RBI's. Ashley Smith had two hits with two RBI's and Beth Weaver added two hits. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 24, TIFFIN
Ashley Smith drilled a leadoff home run and Megan Petersen pitched her seventh shutout of the season in a 1-0 Cedarville victory over Tiffin in the first game of an American Mideast Conference doubleheader during the Lady Jackets' final home date. Smith hit a 3-2 pitch over the right field wall for her third homer of the season and the run stood up. Each team had only two hits in the game. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] The Dragons broke open the second game with four unanswered runs for a 9-4 win. Debbie Krick, Beth Weaver, and Elissa Morrison had two hits apiece while Courtney Green had two RBI's. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 23, at Ohio Dominican
American Mideast Conference leader Ohio Dominican, ranked No. 17 in the NAIA, swept the Lady Jackets by scores of 1-0 in 10 innings and 7-1. The Panthers took advantage of three errors in their final at bat of the opener to plate an unearned run. Losing pitcher Megan Petersen struck out 12 and did not walk a batter. CU had only one hit which was a single from Denaye Hilty in the 9th inning. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] ODC broke open a 1-1 score in the nightcap with a four-run third inning. The Jackets again had problems in the field with four errors leading to five unearned runs. Ashley Smith and Christa Stanford had two hits each. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 21, INDIANA WESLEYAN (NCCAA Midwest Regional)
No. 1 seed Indiana Wesleyan came out of the losers' bracket to sweep host Cedarville, 2-1 and 4-0, to win the NCCAA Midwest Regional championship banner. The Lady Jacket bats went silent as they mustered only four hits in the two games including one in the first contest. The hosts had four walks in the first inning of the opener but could push across only one run. IWU tied the game in the fifth inning and won it with a two-out solo homer in the bottom of the eighth inning. Freshman Annie Stafford had the lone hit and run for CU. Losing pitcher Megan Petersen allowed seven hits and fanned nine batters. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] The Wildcats got all the runs they needed in the title game during a three-run third inning. The Jackets scratched out three hits, but committed six errors in the field. Losing pitcher Denaye Hilty tossed one of her best outings of the season allowing just five hits with five strikeouts. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE] Petersen, Debbie Krick, Elissa Morrison, and Ashley Smith were voted to the all-tournament team.

April 21, SPRING ARBOR (NCCAA Midwest Regional)
The Lady Jackets broke open a tight game with a five-run seventh inning en route to a 6-0 win over Spring Arbor in the winners' bracket final of the NCCAA Midwest Regional. Megan Petersen was 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and two RBI's. She was also the winning pitcher by tossing a four-hitter and striking out 13. Debbie Krick and Elissa Morrison had two hits each while Ashley Smith scored two runs. [BOXSCORE]

April 20, INDIANA WESLEYAN (NCCAA Midwest Regional)
Debbie Krick stroked a two-run double and Megan Petersen struck out 13 batters to lead defending champion Cedarville to a 3-1 victory in eight innings over top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan in the rain-delayed NCCAA Midwest Regional. The Jackets rallied in their final at bat with two outs and nobody on. Annie Stafford and Petersen both singled, moved up on a throwing error, and then both scored on Krick's decisive hit to right center. IWU had a chance to win the game in the bottom of the seventh with a runner at third and one out, but Petersen worked out of the jam. Krick and Ashley Smith, who opened the game with a triple and scored, each had two hits. [BOXSCORE]

April 17, at Mount Vernon Nazarene
Megan Petersen struck out 12 batters and hurled her fifth shutout of the season in a 6-0 American Mideast Conference decision at Mount Vernon Nazarene, but the Cougars outslugged CU, 12-10, to win the nightcap. Sarah Bishop went 3-for-4 in the opener while Denaye Hilty, Debbie Krick, Ashley Smith, and Beth Weaver added two hits each. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Cedarville found themselves in a 12-3 hole through three innings of the nighcap. However, the Jackets rallied with four runs in the seventh inning to close the gap to the 12-10 final and had runners at second and third with one out before being retired. Hilty had three hits while Weaver, Elissa Morrison, and Sarah Tsermengas had two hits apiece. Bishop had three RBI's including a two-run homer in the first inning. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 13, URBANA
Sarah Bishop drilled a historic grand slam home run and Megan Petersen struck out a career-high 19 batters to lead Cedarville to a 6-4 win over Urbana in the first game of an American Mideast Conference doubleheader. The Blue Knights won the second game, 13-5. A 1-1 pitchers' duel broke open in the top of the 10th inning of the opener when Urbana scored three unearned runs. However, the Lady Jackets rallied for the win without having a batter retired. Denaye Hilty was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score one run. Bishop then followed with her game-winning homer which was the first ball ever hit over the fence in the brief two-year history of the CU softball complex. Petersen's strikeout total was two shy of the school record. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Urbana jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the nightcap which was called after five innings due to the eight-run mercy rule. The two teams collected 28 hits combined in the shortened contest and rookie Christa Stanford was 3-for-3 for the Jackets. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 12, NOTRE DAME (Ohio)
Megan Petersen and Julie Burt tossed complete-game victories to lead the Lady Jackets to an 8-0 and 6-2 doubleheader sweep over Notre Dame College in American Mideast Conference action. It was the fourth straight win and second straight shutout for Petersen. She allowed only two singles in the opener while striking out 10. Annie Stafford, Debbie Krick, and Denaye Hilty had two hits each. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Burt picked up her first career victory in the nightcap. She allowed six hits with five strikeouts and a walk. Hilty, Christa Stanford, and Beth Weaver recorded two hits apiece to lead the offense. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 7, POINT PARK
Megan Petersen became the fourth pitcher in Cedarville's softball history to hurl a no-hitter when she blanked American Mideast Conference member Point Park, 9-0, in the first game of an awkward doubleheader sweep. The opener was halted after six innings due to the eight-run mercy rule. Petersen faced two batters over the minimum and struck out a career-high 14. Ashley Smith had two hits and ended the game with an inside-the-park grand slam. Petersen joins Cindy Weibert, who tossed two no-hitters including a perfect game, Julie Erdmann, and Kristi Culp as the only CU pitchers to toss no-hitters. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] The Lady Jackets were awarded a 7-0 forfeit victory in the second contest. CU led 19-0 in the bottom of the third inning when Point Park, who had just nine players in uniform, had a player suffer an injury and they elected not to finish the game with eight players. According to NAIA guidelines, the stats do not count since five innings were not completed. The AMC later ruled these games to be non-conference games since PPC dropped their program for the remainder of the season due to their inability to field a full team.

April 6, GENEVA
Cedarville rallied twice to defeat Geneva 6-5 in 10 innings in the first game of an American Mideast Conference doubleheader, but the Golden Tornadoes won the nightcap, 9-6. The Jackets let a 3-0 lead slip away in the opener and trailed 4-3 heading to the bottom of the seventh inning. However, Ashley Smith tripled and scored on Annie Stafford's double to tie it. Geneva pushed across a run in the 10th, but CU rallied again. Debbie Krick, who was 4-for-4 in the game, started the comeback with a single. Elissa Morrison eventually singled home the tying run and Denaye Hilty scored the game winner on a wild pitch. Megan Petersen squared her record at 4-4 by striking out 12 and allowing just one earned run. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Geneva bolted to a 6-0 lead in the second game and never looked back. The Jackets scored four times in the seventh to make it interesting. Smith and Abby Stafford each had two hits. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 3, RIO GRANDE
The Lady Jackets ended a six-game losing streak by winning the first game of an American Mideast Conference twinbill against Rio Grande. Cedarville won the opener 5-3 despite getting just two singles at the plate. Winning pitcher Megan Petersen took a one-hitter into the sixth inning, but then held on as the Redwomen finished the game with runners at second and third. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Rio won the second contest, 5-2, by coming back from a 2-0 deficit after three innings. Courtney Green recorded her first two collegiate hits for the Jackets. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

April 2, SHAWNEE STATE
Cedarville's losing streak reached six straight after Shawnee State swept an American Mideast Conference doubleheader by scores of 3-2 and 6-0. The Lady Jackets led 2-1 after the first inning of the opener and that was their only offense for the day. Megan Petersen was 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI. She fanned eight batters and walked only one on, but suffered her third straight loss on the mound. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] A five-run third inning carried SSU in the second game. Debbie Krick had Cedarville's only hits with a single and a double. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

March 31, at Walsh
Two-time defending American Mideast Conference champion Walsh shelled the Yellow Jackets 9-1 and 8-0 in a pair of games halted in the sixth inning due to the 8-run mercy rule. Cedarville had singles from six different players in the opener and plated their only run in the first inning. A five-run sixth inning won it for the Cavaliers. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] The Yellow Jackets managed only three hits in the second contest and committed five errors in the field as they suffered their fourth straight loss. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

March 30, at Malone
Cedarville opened their American Mideast Conference schedule by dropping 8-4 and 4-1 decisions at Malone. The Pioneers broke a 1-1 tie in the first game with a six-run third inning. Ashley Smith went 3-for-4 at the plate with two doubles and two runs scored for CU. Annie Stafford doubled and drove in three runs. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] A three-run sixth inning carried Malone to victory in the second contest. Abby Stafford had two hits for the Yellow Jackets. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

March 28, OHIO WESLEYAN
Debbie Krick drove in five runs on the day and Megan Petersen tossed another shutout as the Lady Jackets swept Ohio Wesleyan, 3-0 and 9-1, in their first home games of the season. Krick broke a scoreless tie with a two-run double in the fifth inning in the opener. Petersen, who has not allowed an earned run in three outings this spring, struck out eight batters without a walk in posting her second straight shutout. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] In the nightcap, Krick finished off a five-run fourth inning with a three-run double. Beth Weaver was 3-for-3 with two runs scored while Ashley Smith scored three times and was 2-for-4 including a game-ending three-run inside the park home run. Denaye Hilty was the winning pitcher in the contest that was halted due to the 8-run rule. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

March 22, at Webber
Cedarville picked up their first victory of the season with a 1-0 victory in the first game of a doubleheader at Webber, but the host Warriors took the second contest, 2-1. The Lady Jackets pushed across the winning run in the fifth inning of the opener. Sarah Tsermengas was hit by a pitch and moved to second on a passed ball. Denaye Hilty, who came in to pinch run, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on Annie Stafford's double which was CU's only hit of the game. Megan Petersen was the winning pitcher. She allowed five hits and struck out five. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Webber won the second game with an unearned run in the bottom of the seventh inning. The offense continued to struggle as Debbie Krick had two of Cedarville's three hits including an RBI. Ashley Smith doubled and scored the team's only run. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]

March 21, at Warner Southern
Warner Southern held Cedarville to seven hits on the day and grabbed two victories in the Lady Jackets' season opener by scores of 9-1 and 2-0. CU managed five hits in the first game with doubles coming from Sarah Bishop and Elissa Morrison in a contest halted after five innings due to the 8-run rule. Denaye Hilty started on the mound for the Jackets and was relieved in the fourth by Julie Burt. [GAME 1 BOXSCORE] Both squads had just two hits each in the second game, but the host Royals scored the only run they needed in the second inning. CU starting pitcher Megan Petersen deserved a better fate as she allowed one earned run, struck out seven, and did not walk a batter. Bishop and Annie Stafford had singles for the Jackets. It was the 15th and 16th games of the season for Warner Southern. [GAME 2 BOXSCORE]