INDIANAPOLIS - It was an emotional day at the Marian College Softball Field as three seniors who have given a lot to the Knights' softball program were honored during an MCC doubleheader against Taylor University.

 

The seniors responded by leading the Knights to a sweep over Taylor, 4-1 and 6-0, to give them a 33-7 overall record and a 14-2 mark in the MCC.

 

Senior righthander Heather Pieper (Greenwood, Indiana/Greenwood) was the story of game one as she won her 17th game of the season and earned her 16th complete game. She threw seven strong innings, allowed one unearned run on four hits, and struck out four to improve to 17-3 on the season.

 

The Knights had no problem helping out Pieper offensively. An RBI-double by sophomore Chelsea Bell (Indianapolis/Franklin Central) and an RBI-single by junior Chelsea Young (Brownsburg, Indiana/Brownsburg) gave Pieper a 2-0 lead after an inning. It could have been more, but the Knight left the bases loaded to end the inning.

 

The Knights gave up an unearned run in the top of the second, but Pieper settled down and allowed three hits the rest of the way.

 

The ladies added some insurance in the bottom of the sixth as senior Samantha Hypes (Plainfield, Indiana/Plainfield) reached on an error that scored two runs and gave Pieper more than enough to pick up the 4-1 win.

 

Bell and Young knocked home the only runs as the Knights were held to just six hits, but made them count.

 

In game two, junior righthander Sandy Corum (North Vernon, Indiana/Jennings County) was the story. She threw her ninth complete game of the season, allowed no runs, scattered four hits, and struck out nine to improve to 12-0 on the campaign.

 

The Knights gave her plenty of support early as they scored five runs in the bottom of the first to take a 5-0 lead. A single by Bell, a walk to Hypes, and another single by Ortwein loaded the bases with one out. Senior Amanda Teagardin (Indianapolis/Southport) hit a two-run double to give the Knights a 2-0 lead.

 

Freshman Brittany Camp (Kokomo, Indiana/Kokomo) followed with an RBI-sacrifice fly and junior Angie Such (Brownsburg, Indiana/Brownsburg) hit an RBI-double to round out the scoring in the first.

 

Corum allowed two hits in the second inning, but a double play negated the hits and ended the inning to quell the rally. The Knights struggled through the middle innings on offense, but Corum kept rolling and struck out the side in the third.

 

The Knights added one more in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI-double by freshman Lauren Ratliff (Plainfield, Indiana/Plainfield) to give Corum the 6-0 lead, and the eventual win.

 

Ortwein went 2-for-3 in game two, while Teagardin drove in two runs and six other Knights added a hit.

 

The Knights' doubleheader scheduled for Thursday against Indiana Tech was cancelled so the Knights will not be in action again until Tuesday when they head to Marion, Indiana, for the Mid-Central College Conference Tournament. More details will be made available as the regular season comes to a close.