Softball clinches berth to OAC Tournament

The Muskingum softball team secured a berth to the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament following its split with Ohio Northern on Sunday afternoon. The Polar Bears won the opener 1-0, while the Muskies took Game 2, 3-2.

Notables:

Muskingum sits in the two-seed position for the upcoming Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament. They trail three games behind one-seed Mount Union. The tournament begins on Tuesday, May 11, as the 3,4,5 and 6 seeds play one single-elimination game. The winner of those games advances to Thursday, May 13, to play against the one and two-seed in single-elimination play. The winners advance to a best of three series on Saturday. If the teams split the doubleheader on Saturday, a single game would be played Sunday. The Championship Series will be played at the top seeds home field.

 The Basics

• Records: Muskingum (25-11, 24-8), Ohio Northern (16-16-1, 15-15)
• Location: Donna J. Newberry Field – New Concord, Ohio
• Attendance: 150

Inside the Numbers – Game 1

• Junior Hannah Smith took the loss after allowing one run on seven hits.
• Junior Haley Hawk led the Muskie offense with two hits, which included a double.
• The senior duo of Shaena Mayer and Karsyn Shaffer both added a hit to the contest.
• The Polar Bears had a combined seven hits in the contest.
• Stacey Walters grabbed the win in the circle for the Polar Bears, allowing no runs off four hits.

The Difference – Game 1

• The Polar Bears used a Muskingum fielding error to plate their only run of the 1-0 contest in the first inning.
• The Muskies left two baserunners stranded in the seventh and could not capitalize on the game-tying opportunity.

Inside the Numbers – Game 2

• Senior Hannah Duff collected her 10th win of the season, allowing two runs off five hits.
• Junior Katie Osburn paced the Muskie offense with two hits.
• Sophomore Claire Warschauer and Shaffer added a hit and collected an RBI for the Muskies.
• Freshman Mattie Ruehrmund added a double to the contest.
• The Polar Bears finished the contest with five hits.
• Allie Bican dealt the loss for the Polar Bears allowing three runs off six hits.

The Difference – Game 2

• The Muskies plated the first run of the game in the bottom of the third off a Shaffer RBI single, making it 1-0.
• The Polar Bears answered right back with a home run tying the game, 1-1.
• The Muskies used a two-run fourth to take their final lead of the game, making it 3-1.
• The Polar Bears scored their final run of the game in the sixth inning off a Swierz RBI single, making the final 3-2.

Up Next

• The Muskies conclude their regular season as they travel to University Heights to take on John Carroll in doubleheader action on Saturday, May 8. Game 1 is set for 1:00 p.m. and Game 2 is set for 3:00 p.m. at Braken Field.