Five Polar Bears named All-OAC in Softball for 2021

By Tim Glon

| All-Ohio Athletic Conference Team (.pdf) |

ADA — Five Ohio Northern student/athletes were named All-Ohio Athletic Conference in softball for 2021 in voting conducted by the league's 10 head coaches.

Junior Stacey Walters (Sunbury/Big Walnut) and sophomore Sydney Motylinski (Ida, Mich.) were Second Team selections and seniors Abby Davis (New Palestine, Ind.) and Alicia Swierz (Deerfield/Southeast) and junior Lauren Renner (Columbus/Hilliard Bradley) were Honorable Mention All-OAC selections.

Walters led the team with a 15-5 record, a 2.83 ERA and 103 strikeouts in 148.2 innings of work as a pitcher this season.

Her 15 wins led the OAC and her 103 strikeouts was second among league pitchers.

She was also an Academic All-OAC honoree in 2020.

In three seasons, she is 20-9 with a 4.10 ERA and ranks 12th all-time in ONU history with 121 career strikeouts.

Motylinski led the team with a .362 batting average, 10 home runs, 34 runs scored, 34 RBI and 47 base hits this season while starting 39 games at third base.

She was second in the OAC with her 10 home runs and her 34 RBI was fourth-best in the league.

Motylinski ranks 12th all-time in ONU history with 11 career home runs in just 44 games.

Davis was second on the team with a .343 batting average, 27 runs scored and 46 base hits and led the team with a .453 on-base percentage as a designated player in 40 games this spring.

In two seasons at ONU after transferring from Dayton, Davis hit .349 with 31 runs scored and 16 RBI.

Swierz is a four-year starter in the outfield and played center field the past three seasons.

She hit .296 with 20 RBI and had four outfield assists this season.

In her five years as a Polar Bear, Swierz ranks 20th with 129 career base hits and is 11th with 50 walks.

Renner was third on the team with a .336 batting average while starting all 43 games at shortstop.

She led the team with 11 doubles and was second with 46 hits this season.

In her two years at Ohio Northern after transferring from Hillsdale (Mich.), Renner has a .331 batting average, 12 doubles, 3 home runs and 24 RBI.

The Polar Bears finished their 2021 season with a 24-18-1 overall record.

Northern was fourth in the OAC Regular Season standings with a 19-16 mark and won the OAC Tournament this year under fourth-year head coach Jackie Price.