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Ohio Northern University

Softball grabs final spot in OAC Tournament with split at Heidelberg on final day of regular season

Softball grabs final spot in OAC Tournament with split at Heidelberg on final day of regular season
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May 4, 2024

TIFFIN — The Ohio Northern softball team clinched the fourth and final spot in next week's Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament with a double header split at Heidelberg in the regular season finale on Saturday.

The host Student Princes won the opener 5-2 and the Polar Bears clinched their spot in the OAC Tournament with a 12-8 victory in the nightcap.

The Basics

  • Records: Ohio Northern (22-18 overall, 10-8 OAC), Heidelberg (14-26 overall, 7-11 OAC).
  • Venue: Frann's Field - Tiffin, Ohio.

Game 1 - L, 2-5

  • Heidelberg scored two runs in the fourth and two more in the sixth to rally from a 2-1 deficit and grab the win in the opener.
  • Juniors Ashley Lenser (Brookville) and Mariana Alejandro (Gibsonburg) each had two hits at the top of the lineup for ONU in the contest.
  • Lenser also allowed three earned runs and struck out five in 6.0 innings in the circle to fall to 11-4 on the season.
  • Each team had seven hits in the game.

Game 2 - W, 12-8

  • Northern jumped to a quick 6-0 lead with three runs in each of the first two frames.
  • Sophomore Allie Wilson (Wapakoneta) keyed the second frame scoring with a 2-run double.
  • Northern made it 8-2 with two runs in the fourth then scored four more in the fifth to go ahead 12-2.
  • The Student Princes sent 11 batters to the plate in a 6-run fifth inning to get within 12-8.
  • Lenser came on in relief in the fifth and worked the final 3.0 innings to earn her fourth career save.
  • Senior Kayla Runyon (Tipp City) pitched the first four innings to get the win and improve to 6-9 in the circle.
  • Alejandro was 4-for-5 with four runs scored, while senior Kaylie Griffin (Grafton/Elyria Catholic) had three hits and three RBI and Wilson had three hits and four RBI for Ohio Northern.
  • ONU out-hit HU 13-12.

Notables

  • Alejandro finished the day 6-for-9 with a double, triple and four runs scored.
  • Fifth-year senior Sydney Motylinski (Ida, Mich.) now has 148 career base hits and 105 career RBIs. She ranks 9th all-time in ONU history with her 105 RBIs.
  • Wilson, Alejandro and junior Callie Rosser (Republic/Monroeville) lead Ohio Northern in batting through 40 games this season with averages of .392, .367 and .365, respectively.
  • ONU is now 65-22-1 all-time against Heidelberg, including a 20-14-1 mark in Tiffin.
  • Ohio Northern has clinched its 11th consecutive winning season.
  • The Polar Bears finished in fourth place in the OAC Regular Season standings with a 10-8 record and will be the No. 4 seed in the 4-team OAC Tournament Thursday-Saturday at Mount Union.
  • Ohio Northern is in its 57th season of softball. The Polar Bears are 994-678-4 all-time, a winning percentage of .593.
  • Seventh-year head coach Jackie Price is now 176-110-1 at Ohio Northern for a winning percentage of .614.

Up Next

  • The Polar Bears will compete in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament at Mount Union Thursday-Saturday.