FORT MYERS, Fla. — Wittenberg softball achieved a milestone on Monday with a pair of wins over Northland and Clark, improving to 5-1 to start the season for the first time since 2000.

The Tigers continued a strong start with a pair of impressive complete-game pitching performances from sophomore Rachel Ross (Westerville, Ohio/South)and senior Anna Kvartunas (Springfield, Va./Paul VI Catholic).

In a 3-0 win, Ross limited Northland to two hits and struck out nine opposing batters over seven innings to improve to 3-0 on the season. Kvartunas followed with a complete game in an 8-3 victory over Clark to register her first win of the season. She scattered six hits and finished with five strikeouts.

Against Northland, senior Jessica Snyder (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) led off the first with a double, and an error during the at bat of senior Brooklyn Cox (Dayton, Ohio/Vandalia Butler) allowed her to score from second. Cox later came around on a double by senior Tori Amicon (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby). In the third, Amicon scored on a bases-loaded single by Ross to achieve the final margin.

Against Clark, the Tigers scored in the first inning for the fourth straight game. Clark tied things up in the bottom of the inning but Wittenberg responded with two more in the second to make it a 4-2 game. The outcome was in doubt for the next four innings before a four-run Tiger outburst in the seventh made it clear. Clark's one-run rally in the bottom of the frame fell short of changing the final result.

Freshman Carly Cribbs (Rochester, Mich./Rochester) went 3-for-4 with three RBIs against Clark, who also recorded a hit against Northland to finish the day 4-for-7. Snyder, Cox and sophomore Laura Rose (Riverside, Ohio/Stebbins) each drove in a run versus Clark.

John Strawn '07