Lightel named OAC Pitcher of the Year, Polar Bear coaching staff named Staff of the Year as six earn All-Conference honors
By Caleb Scott
ADA — Senior Kirsten Lightel (Tallmadge) was named the Ohio Athletic Conference Pitcher of the Year and the Northern coaching staff claimed Coaching Staff of the Years honors as the ONU softball team saw six athletes garner All-Conference honors for the 2018 season.
Lightel and sophomore Brady Guest (Convoy/Crestview) were named First Team All-OAC, while junior Hailee Loughman (Brookville) and sophomore Gabby Stewart (Union, Ky./St. Henry) were named Second Team All-OAC and senior Jenna Hollar (Lima/Bath) and junior Kaitlin Surdej (Lancaster/Central) were both named Honorable Mention All-OAC.
Head coach Jackie (Mangola) Price and assistants Tina (Mangola) Price and Les Bowman were named the OAC Staff of the Year. Price becomes the only coach in ONU history to be named both the OAC Player of the Year and OAC Coach of the Year at Ohio Northern. Price was named the OAC Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2010 and 2011.
Lightel earned her second career OAC Pitcher of the Year nod, her third career First Team All-OAC nod and her fourth career All-OAC honor.
The senior is ONU's all-time leader in strikeouts (498), career ERA (1.43), and innings pitched (581.1). Lightel is also the only pitcher in school history to throw 100 strikeouts in each of her four seasons at ONU and will look to become the first pitcher in school history to notch 500 career strikeouts.
Lightel led the OAC this season in ERA (1.19) and wins (18) and was second in the conference with 128 strikeouts. She is two wins shy of tying ONU's all-time wins record and is eight strikeouts short of tying ONU's single season record.
Guest was named First Team All-OAC and earned her first career All-OAC honor.
The sophomore ranked second on the team with a .398 batting average and led the team with five home runs this season. Guest drove home 27 runs this season and appeared in 34 games for ONU this season.
Loughman, now a 2-time All-OAC honoree, earned her first career Second Team All-OAC honor.
The junior infielder ranked second on the team with four home runs and was fourth on the team with 30 RBI.
Stewart earned her first career All-OAC honor after being named Second Team All-OAC this season.
The sophomore had a spectacular season, leading the team and ranking third in the OAC with 38 RBI. She ranked second on the team with 47 hits and was third on the team with a .395 batting average.
Hollar becomes a 3-time All-OAC honoree after being named Honorable Mention All-OAC this season.
The senior became ONU's all-time career steals leader this season and currently leads the OAC with an ONU single season record of 40 stolen bases. Her .445 batting average leads the team and is second in the OAC, while her 61 hits ranked first on the team and third in the OAC this season.
Hollar is only the sixth player in school history to register 200 career hits, joining Price and Martinez on the list. Her .394 career batting average ranks eighth best in school history, while her 145 career runs scored ranks fifth all-time at ONU.
Surdej earned her first All-Conference nod after being named Honorable Mention All-OAC for the Polar Bears.
The junior ranked fourth in the OAC with a 2.63 ERA and is tied for fourth in the conference with 12 victories.
Surdej ranks fourth all-time at ONU with 240 career strikeouts, while her 32 victories now ranks ninth all-time at Northern.
Ohio Northern is currently 30-9 overall and won its first OAC Tournament title since 2018 and will look to continue its winning ways in the 2018 NCAA Tournament.