March 3, 2008

ROME, Georgia - Snow may have still been on the ground up in Columbus, but the Ohio Dominican softball team didn't mind. The team traveled to Georgia to open their season in the Shorter College Invitational this past weekend. ODU won two of their four games, the second win marking an impressive milestone for Panther Head Coach Marcella Vanlandingham. She won her 400th career game with a 6-0 victory over Union (KY) College on Saturday.

The Panthers' weekend got of to a rather auspicious beginning as host Shorter College smacked ODU in a shortened five inning affair, 11-0. The Hawks pounced on their guests early, taking a 2-0 lead after one inning and tacking on six more in the second frame. SC added three more runs across the next two innings to close out the lopsided win.

ODU bounced back in game two versus the Hawks thanks in large part to a stellar performance from pitcher Shana Etter (Massillon, OH). The freshman earned her first collegiate victory in her first appearance, surrendering three runs on seven hits as the Panthers downed the Hawks, 7-3. ODU scored a quick four runs in the first inning before adding two in the fourth and another in the sixth. Sophomore right fielder Muriel Kelley (Oscala, FL) hit her first career home run, a two-run blast in the fourth inning.

In Saturday's first game, Reinhardt (GA) College jumped on the Panthers early, plating four runs in the first. That proved to be all the Eagles would need as they knocked off ODU, 9-2.

ODU's final game of their Georgian stay saw sophomore Erica Sutter (Mansfield, OH) hurl a seven-hit shutout in a 6-0 win over Union College, her first collegiate complete game shutout victory. Neither team could push across runs during the first two innings before ODU exploded for four in the third inning, thanks in part to Kelley's second home run of the weekend. The Panthers would add another run in the fifth before sophomore Megan Ludrowsky (Clyde, OH) drove a ball into the scoreboard in centerfield for her first career home run, a solo shot in the sixth that closed out the scoring.

"Overall, I was very pleased with our effort this weekend.  It was good to get outside and be tested early by some very good teams," Coach Vanlandingham remarked. "I think we have a much better idea now about this team and where we go from here to get ready for our spring trip.  When you have as many new players to the program and to our starting line-up it is just good to get the first-game jitters out of the way."

Several players turned in excellent individual performances for the Panthers. Freshman Jennifer Baker (Cortland, OH) collected five hits and five RBI's in her ten at-bats. Kelley also went 5-for-10 including a double, two homeruns, three RBI's and four runs scored. Junior Sarah Rante (Canton, OH) garnered four hits including a double, three RBI's and two runs, while classmate Danielle Larson (Bellefontaine, OH) had five hits, a pair of stolen bases and four runs scored.

ODU's win on Saturday gave left Coach Vanlandingham with a career record of 400-256 (.610 winning percentage), all at Ohio Dominican. She is the Panthers' winningest coach and is the second winningest coach in the American Mideast Conference.

"It was certainly exciting to celebrate [the 400th win] with this team.  It is one of those special moments in your coaching profession that you stop and think back to all the players that have sacrificed so dearly and made such a commitment to this program over the past 13 years," said Coach Vanlandingham. "I certainly could not have accomplished something like this without their commitment and hard work.  I would love to be able to personally thank each one of them."

Ohio Dominican will host Muskingum College on Wednesday, March 12^th, before embarking on their annual spring break trip to the Pensacola, Florida, region. The first pitch of the doubleheader with the Muskies is scheduled for 3 p.m. at Panther Field.