Season Preview: Softball looks to breakthrough for OAC title in 2021
By Tim Glon
ADA — Fifth-year head coach Jackie Price is excited about the upcoming 2021 season.
Her 2020 squad won its last four games and posted a 7-3 record against strong competition during its spring break trip to Clermont, Fla.
After back-to-back second place finishes, Price was encouraged that her Polar Bear squad would break through for the program's first Ohio Athletic Conference title since 2014 last year.
But the COVID-19 pandemic halted the season on March 12.
Unlike most other teams that will never know how 2020 would have played out, Price may get somewhat of an indication as 16 letterwinners, eight starters and her top two pitchers return in 2021.
Fifth-year seniors Gabby Stewart (Union, Ky./St. Henry), Brady Guest (Convoy/Crestview) and Alicia Swierz (Deerfield/Southeast) all return after the NCAA granted all athletes an extra year of eligibility due to the pandemic.
"We have a great group of seniors that all chose to come back for a fifth year," Price said. "They have been great leaders and give us an outstanding chance of being successful. We have a great deal of depth and a good group of incoming freshmen. We are very excited about the 2021 season."
Here is a breakdown of the 2021 Ohio Northern softball team, by position group:
Outfield
Swierz is a three-year starter in a loaded outfield and will likely hold down the center field spot this year.
A career .303 hitter, Swierz is a three-time Academic All-OAC honoree and was named All-Conference as a junior in 2019. She needs only eight hits to become the 40th member of ONU's 100-Hit Club.
Junior Rachel Hish (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) is a two-year starter and earned First Team All-OAC honors after hitting .403 as a freshman. She is also an Academic All-OAC honoree.
Senior Abby Davis (New Palestine, Ind.) started seven games a year ago, playing all three outfield positions, after playing two seasons at the University of Dayton.
Junior Abby Elliott (Loveland/Ursuline) is also a returning All-Conference and Academic All-Conference returner in the outfield and is a .317 hitter in 48 career games and also fills in at catcher when needed.
Junior Amanda Hish (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) and sophomores Ashlie Miller (Clarksville/Clinton-Massie) and Lauren Walls also return as letterwinners capable of playing any of the three positions.
"Our outfield is an extremely talented group," Price said. "We have three returning All-Conference players and a Division I transfer. This group has a great mix of players that are strong on offense and defense. The challenge will be getting all of them on the field."
Catcher
Stewart — a Second Team All-Central Region selection and a First Team All-Conference honoree — is a four-year starter behind the plate.
She is a career .373 hitter in 127 games and hit .393 in 2019 and 2020. She currently ranks 10th on ONU's all-time career hits list with 156 and is seventh with 14 home runs and 112 RBI.
Elliott earned Second Team All-OAC honors in the outfield but also served as Stewart's backup the past two seasons.
Two incoming freshmen also provide depth here.
"With Gabby returning for a fifth year we have one of the nation's top catchers behind the plate," Price said. "We also have depth. This is a strength for us to be sure."
Infield
Guest leads the list of infielders that feature returning starters at three of the four positions.
She is a three-year starter at first base and has played in 100 career games. She is a two-time All-OAC honoree, earning First Team kudos as a sophomore in 2018.
A career .380 hitter, Guest ranks 10th in ONU history with 12 career home runs and is 31st with 109 career base hits.
Junior Lauren Renner (Columbus/Hilliard Bradley) and sophomore Annika Murray (Hilliard/Bradley) return as the starters and shortstop and second base, respectively.
Renner hit .304 in seven games last season after transferring from NCAA Division II Hillsdale (Mich.)
Murray hit .233 but had an impressive .970 fielding percentage at second base while starting all 10 games as a freshman.
The third base position is wide open as junior Hannah Rubel (Swanton/Notre Dame) and sophomores Kaylee Ballou (Upper Arlington) and Sydney Motylinski (Ida, Mich.) all return as letterwinners in the infield.
"The infield is also an area where we have a good mix of talent and experience," Price said. "Brady is the leader and calming influence in the infield. We feel very good about Lauren and Annika up the middle even though they didn't get much of a season last year. Third base is up for grabs, but we feel good about the competition there."
Pitcher
Junior Stacey Walters (Sunbury/Big Walnut) and sophomore Allie Bican (Solon) return as the top two pitchers from a year ago.
Walters was 3-1 with a 3.96 ERA and 11 strikeouts.
Bican was 1-1 with a 2.28 ERA and 23 strikeouts and threw a 10-shutout no-hitter in her fourth career start.
Four incoming freshmen will also battle the duo for playing time in the circle.
"We return two pitchers that were solid last year," Price said. "We are excited for them to continue their development while getting pushed by a solid freshman group."
Schedule
The OAC eliminated non-conference contests for 2021 and adopted a 36-game, double round-robin league schedule.
The teams will play a home-and-home series of doubleheaders each Saturday and Sunday from March 13-May 9 with the OAC Tournament slated for May 14-15.
ONU will start its season May 6-7 with a pair of double-headers against Heidelberg that will not count in the league standings to complete its 40-game slate.