Season Preview: Softball returns a wealth of production in 2020
By Bud Denega
ADA — The Ohio Northern softball team welcomes back a lion's share of its team in 2020. Seven of the eight players who logged at least 100 at-bats in 2019 come back along with two of the four pitchers who saw action last season.
"We do have a solid group returning," ONU head coach Jackie Price said. "We started a good amount of freshmen last year, and for them to get that experience, it was really good. So having those kids come back and teaching our younger kids the expectations and what we want from them, I think that will definitely help us this year."
Seniors Gabby Stewart (Union, Ky./St. Henry), Brady Guest (Convoy/Crestview) and Alicia Swierz (Deerfield/Southeast) will be tasked with leading a still relatively young roster. Stewart — a second-team National Fastpitch Coaches Association All-Central Region selection and a first-team All-Ohio Athletic Conference honoree — hit .393 last season in 135 at-bats with four home runs, 10 doubles and a team-high 36 RBIs.
Guest, who was named second-team All-OAC last year, batted .359 in 131 at-bats with a team-best six homers, six doubles and 28 RBIs. Swierz — who earned honorable mention All-OAC recognition in 2019 — logged 122 at-bats, hit .328 with one dinger, three doubles and 15 RBIs.
"We are going to rely a lot on Gabby Stewart, who will be one of our better hitters," Price said. "She has really good leadership on the field, and is one of those solid kids that just gets it done. We will also rely on Brady Guest. She'll do some good things for us. And then Alicia Swierz was a solid player who has been one of the most consistent players over the last three years."
Sophomore Rachel Hish (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) boasts the highest returning batting average. The first-team All-OAC award recipient hit .403 in 199 at-bats with one double and nine RBIs in 2019. Fellow sophomore, and second-team All-OAC representative, Abby Elliot (Loveland/Ursuline) rounds out the returnees who hit north of .300 after she logged a .317 average in 123 at-bats with six doubles and 18 RBIs.
Northern will be tasked with replacing quite a bit of production in the pitching circle. Sophomores Stacey Walters (Sunbury/Big Walnut) and Kaitlyn Hagarty (Akron/Revere) come back, and will be looked upon to throw more innings in 2020.
"We have a solid group of three," Price said. "Stacey Walters, Kaitlyn Hagarty and freshman Allie Bican (Solon), between the three of them, they're going to do a really good job for us. We are definitely young in the pitching circle, but I think they can hold it down and be able to battle with the best of them."
The Polar Bears finished 2019 with a 23-19 overall record, but made hey in Ohio Athletic Conference action, posting a 14-4 record. Northern won two games in the conference tournament before being eliminated by Otterbein in the title game.
"When it came to conference play, our girls showed up and showed out, and that was good to see," Price said. "Overall, we had a really solid year."
Price hopes that conference success translate throughout the entire 2020 slate, which begins Sunday in Florida. The Polar Bears take part in the Spring Games from March 1-6.
Northern has its home opener March 20 against Alma (Mich.) while the rest of the non-conference schedule includes Trine (Ind.), Wittenberg, Anderson (Ind.) and Wooster. The Polar Bears begin OAC play at Marietta March 21, and the OAC tournament will take place May 1-3.
"I think our team expects to win, and I expect them to win," Price said. "We look forward to OAC play and tournament play. Hopefully, a few things go our way this year a little bit more than last year, and we'll be in that postseason world."