CANTON, Ohio - In a continuation of their weekend road swing. The Salem Tigers softball program headed up north today to take on the Malone Pioneers in Canton, Ohio. The Tigers made their mark, but were plagued by a slow offensive day. The Tigers fell in both contest, and each game played out as follows:

Malone 9, Salem 5

In Game 1, the Tigers had their work cut out for them early as the Pioneers were able to score in the first 3 innings to lead 6-0. Salem surged back in the 4th however. Brooke Wise put Salem on the board with an RBI double, and then Bella singled to bring Wise home. Alexis Valverde then brought home 3 runs with a bases clearing double to put Salem within 1 at 6-5. Unfortunately, that is where the well ran dry for the Tigers, and Malone added a late rally to win the contest 9-5. In the pitcher's circle, a platoon of starter Brooke Wise and relievers Franchesca Alvaro and Destiny Coble combined to strike out 7 Pioneer batters in the game.

Malone 1, Salem 0

For Game 2, offense was clearly at a premium for both sides as there were just 5 combined hits from either side in the contest. Unfortunately, the Pioneers found the only run of the entire contest in the first inning. Salem made a valiant effort at knotting things up the rest of the way, but simply could not get any base runners home and fell 1-0. In the pitcher's circle, Kendall Lemley still had a strong day despite being credited for a loss as she allowed just 3 hits and 0 earned runs in the contest. 

Salem will have to regroup quickly after today's setback as they are set to host the Glenville State Pioneers on April 18th at 1 PM at The Bridge Sports Complex for their next pair of contests.