Softball Splits the Day in NCAC Tourney
GRANVILLE, OH – Wittenberg's softball team knocked off No. 1 seed Denison, 7-1, before falling to No. 2 seed DePauw on the opening day of the double-elimination North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Softball Tournament on Thursday, May 8. The Tigers went into tournament play as the No. 4 seed. Hiram is the No. 3.
The four-team tournament, which determines the NCAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Tournament, will continue Friday. Wittenberg will take on Denison, which defeated Hiram in the last game of the day on Thursday, again in an elimination game at 11 a.m. Friday, May 9.
Wittenberg came out strong against Denison, scoring two runs in the second, two in the fourth, and three more in the sixth inning while holding Denison to a lone score that came in the fourth inning on a home run to left field. The Tigers, who scored seven runs on eight hits, were also aided by five Denison errors that led directly to four Witt runs.
Seven different Tigers scored runs in the big win. Hanna Ecker (Heath, OH / Heath) had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. Shannon Flaherty (Burlington, KY / Saint Henry District), Kirsten Wright (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge), and Samantha Zungri (Canal Winchester, OH / Canal Winchester) each picked up an RBI in game one. Witt also had four stolen bases against Denison.
Lilly James (Troy, OH / Troy) picked up the victory with 4.2 innings in the circle. Now 5-1 on the season, James allowed one run on three hits while striking out four batters.
In game two against DePauw, Wittenberg fell short of the win, falling 5-2. The Tigers scored one in the third and another in the seventh, while DePauw put three on the board in the third and one in each of the first and fourth innings to tally the win. Each team had four hits.
Diana Quevedo (La Quinta, CA / La Quinta) was 3-for-3 at the plate with a double, while Rebekah Giel (Amelia, OH / West Clermont) and Gada Bryant (Westville, IL / Bismark Henning) each recorded an RBI. Meghan McCans (Arcanum, OH / Arcanum) had two stolen bases.
Julie Hall (Powell, OH / Bishop Watterson) suffered the loss on the mound and is now 10-4 on the season. She went three innings, giving up four hits and five runs, only two of which were earned.
It was DePauw's second win of the day after defeating Hiram, 4-3, in the first game of the tournament. Wittenberg, now 27-13 overall after going 8-6 in the NCAC regular season, is now 0-3 against DePauw this season. The winner in Friday's game between Wittenberg and Denison will square off against DePauw at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.
Written By: Cindy Holbrook