Softball topples St Benedict (Minn.), falls to Neumann (Pa.) during opening day of Spring Games
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Benedict (Minn.) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 5 |
| Ohio Northern | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | X | 5 | 7 | 1 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Northern | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 12 | 2 |
| Neumann (Pa.) | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 6 | 1 |
Team Stats
St. Benedict (Minn.)
Neumann (Pa.)
By Alex Hudson
CLERMONT, Fla.—The Ohio Northern softball team opened the season Sunday participating in The Spring Games. ONU finished going 1-1 on the day, defeating St. Benedict (Minn.) 5-3 before falling to Neumann (Pa.) 7-6.
Northern was led by sophomore Stacey Walters' (Sunbury/Big Walnut) strong pitching performance. She pitched a complete game giving up seven hits, one earned run and two strikeouts.
Offensively, ONU totaled seven hits, led by seniors Brady Guest (Convoy/Crestview) and Gabby Stewart (Union, Ky./St. Henry). Guest had two hits and one RBI and Stewart added two hits of her own.
Senior Alicia Swierz (Deerfield/Southeast) and sophomores Abby Elliott (Loveland/Ursuline) and Lauren Renner (Columbus/Hilliard Bradley) joined Guest in knocking one run apiece.
The Polar Bears got off to a hot start plating two runs in the bottom of the first inning with Elliott drawing a bases-loaded walk.
The Bennies scored a pair of unearned runs to knot the game at 2-2 in the top of the second, but ONU responded with a big fourth frame. Swierz and Guest each had an RBI single while Renner also registered an RBI to give Northern a 5-2 advantage.
Northern collected 12 hits in the contest against Neumann (Pa.), led by Swierz's three hits. Junior Abby Davis (New Palestine, Ind./New Palestine) and Renner each notched two hits.
ONU started off quickly in the first frame, as Stewart smacked a two-run home run, which gave the Polar Bears a 2-0 lead.
The Knights tied the game at the end of the first inning, but Northern retook the lead in the fourth inning when Guest hit an RBI groundout to make the score 3-2.
After Neumann put together a big fourth inning of their own to take a 5-3 advantage, ONU knotted the game in the fifth frame as Elliott tripled in a run and sophomore Rachel Hish (Gainesville, Va./Patriot) singled in another to make the score 5-5.
The Polar Bears then evened the score 6-6 in the sixth inning when freshman Sydney Motylinski (Ida, Mich./ Ida) had an RBI groundout. But ultimately, Northern couldn't hold off the Knights.
ONU continues play at the Spring Games Monday at 10 a.m. against Eastern (Pa.).