The Red Devils wrapped up their 2012 campaign with one of their best wins of the season in the first game of a doubleheader at Albright on Sat., April 28. They won by their largest margin of victory, beating Albright 11-0 in a game that was called after the fifth inning due to the lopsided score. Chelsea Homa ’14 threw a two-hit shutout, improving her record to 9-11, and Dickinson’s offense banged out 12 hits. The Red Devils lost the second game, 4-0, putting their final record at 12-26. Dickinson opened up Albright’s senior day by scoring three runs in the first inning. Katie Swade ’15 led off the game with a base hit before two well-placed bunts by Bruke Mikesell ’13 and Jay Abell ’15. Mikesell reached on a fielder’s choice in which Swade was safe at second, and Albright booted the next one, leading to a Dickinson run and putting runners on first and third with nobody out. Homa, pitching and hitting fourth, doubled in both runs to make it 3-0. It was the first time all season that Homa made her way into the lineup; Dickinson usually uses their DH for the pitcher.

The Red Devils continued to tack on runs as the game progressed. In the second, Mikesell singled in Corinne Aherne ’14 to make it 4-0. Abell came up with the bases loaded and one out in the fourth inning and hit a sacrifice fly to center field for the fifth run, once again setting the stage for Homa, who doubled in two more. A two-out Albright error made it 8-0. Albright made three more errors in the fifth and Dickinson’s offense added three hits in the inning to put the game at 11-0. Abell and Homa both singled in a run in the fifth. Homa finished 3-for-4 with 5 RBI. Melissa Osborn ’13, Swade, Mikesell, and Aherne each went 2-for-3.

Katri Thiele ’15 tossed a good game but left with nothing to show for it in the 4-0 loss. Thiele went 5.1 innings, allowing five hits and zero earned runs, but her defense made two costly first inning errors that led to all of Albright’s scoring. Thiele put up zeroes from that point forward. After an offensive display in the first game, the Red Devil bats mustered only two hits as they faced Albright’s ace. Denise Haines ’13 (3B) and Melissa Osborn (SS) formed a powerful left side of the infield as Haines hit four homeruns and Osborn added two. Haines also led the team with 18 RBI and a .349 batting average. Osborn finished second at .297. Katie Swade ’15, the second-basemen, proved to be a patient and effective leadoff hitter as she led the team with 28 walks and a .422 on-base percentage. Her 28 walks led the Centennial Conference and she also came in fourth in sacrifice bunts (seven). From the circle, Homa posted dominant numbers. She finished with a league-leading 30 appearances (19 starts) and finished second in the Centennial with 172 strikeouts, 156 innings pitched, a 1.88 ERA, and 17 complete games.

Although it was not a successful year for the Red Devils, the future is bright. “We struggled winning the second games in double headers which hurt our playoff push,” said Melissa Osborn. “We have a strong returning team, and with a lot of hard work we could have a good season next spring.” Dickinson finished seventh in the Centennial Conference at 7-9.