Softball beats Muskingum in extra innings, falls to Baldwin Wallace to finish second in the OAC Tournament

ALLIANCE — The Ohio Northern softball team finished second in the 2024 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament, defeating Muskingum and falling to Baldwin Wallace on Sunday.

The No. 4 seeded Polar Bears beat No. 2 Muskingum 7-3 to make it to the finals against No. 3 Baldwin Wallace, where they lost 10-7.

| OAC Tournament site |

The Basics

• Records: Ohio Northern (24-20 overall), Muskingum (28-13 overall), Baldwin Wallace (25-14 overall).
• Venue: Alliance High School Softball Field - Alliance, Ohio.

Game 1 - W, 7-3 (9 innings)

• Ohio Northern scored four runs in the top of the ninth inning to advance them to the OAC finals.
• Muskingum scored first in the bottom of the third inning.
• The Polar Bears responded with home runs in back-to-back innings, a two-run homer by fifth-year senior Sydney Motylinski (Ida, Mich.) in the top of the fourth, and a solo shot by junior Ashley Lenser (Brookville) in the top of the fifth.
• Muskingum scored one run in each the fifth and sixth innings, tying the game at 3 and forcing extra innings.
• The game remained tied until the top of the ninth inning when Lenser tripled down the right field line, scoring junior Callie Rosser (Republic/Monroeville).
• Junior Mariana Alejandro (Gibsonburg) doubled to score Lenser, then scored with senior Kaylie Griffin (Grafton/Elyria Catholic) off a single by sophomore Allie Wilson (Wapakoneta), making the game 7-3.
• Lenser pitched all nine innings, striking out five, to improve to 13-5 on the season.
• ONU out-hit MU 16-10.

Game 2 - L, 7-10

• Baldwin Wallace jumped to a quick 6-0 lead in the first inning and led 10-1 after four innings.
• But the Polar Bears roared back, keeping the game alive with a 2-run double by Wilson in the top of the fifth.
• In the sixth, back-to-back bases loaded RBI walks by Wilson and Motylinski got ONU within 10-5.
• One out later, a 2-run single by freshman Carlie Schroeder (Wapakoneta) scored both Wilson and Motylinski to get Ohio Northern back in business down just 10-7.
• Sophomore Kylie King (London/Alder) led off the top of the seventh with a single, but BW was able to hold off the rally and retire the next three batters to win the game and the OAC Tournament title.
• ONU out-hit BWU 13-11.

Notables

• Ohio Northern entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed and finished second, posting a 2-2 record.
• Lenser, Motylinski and senior Kaylie Griffin (Grafton/Elyria Catholic) all were named to the All-Tournament team.
• Motylinski now has 152 career base hits and 112 career RBIs. She ranks fourth all-time in ONU history with 26 career home runs and is eighth with 112 RBIs.
• Wilson, Alejandro and Griffin led Ohio Northern in batting in 44 games this season with averages of .381, .368 and .357, respectively.
• Lenser finished the season with a 13-5 record, a 2.18 ERA and 106 strikeouts.
• In her career, Lenser is 35-17 with a 1.94 ERA and 240 strikeouts. She ranks 9th all-time at ONU in wins, 6th in ERA, and 6th in strikeouts.
• The Polar Bears finished in fourth place in the OAC Regular Season standings with a 10-8 record.
• Ohio Northern is in its 57th season of softball. The Polar Bears are 996-680-4 all-time, a winning percentage of .593.
• Seventh-year head coach Jackie Price is now 178-112-1 at Ohio Northern for a winning percentage of .612.

Up Next

• Season Complete.