TIGERS BOW OUT OF CCAC TOURNAMENT IN SEMIFINAL ROUND

CROWN POINT, Ind. – Despite a perfect start to the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) Tournament, the Olivet Nazarene University softball team bowed out of the competition with a 6-0 defeat to St. Francis (Ill.) Saturday afternoon at the Crown Point Sportsplex.

The Tigers failed to get any runs across but stayed in arm's reach for the majority of the contest. The No. 2-seeded Fighting Saints, whom the Tigers bested in the winners' bracket Friday, plated a run in the top of the first to take an early lead. But that was all the offense they pieced together over the first four frames as Olivia Flinn kept them off the scoreboard until the fifth inning.

Thanks to the stellar effort from Flinn, the ONU offense had a chance to even the score in the bottom of the third when Stephanie Hause opened the inning with a leadoff single. Carissa Bombardiere then drew a one-out walk to have runners on first and second with one away. But a pair of lineouts followed to stymie the potential Tiger rally.

St. Francis added another run in the fifth, then put up a crooked four-spot in the seventh to put the game out of reach and eliminate the Tigers from the CCAC Tournament.

Flinn went six innings as the ONU starter, scattering seven hits and striking out a pair. Allie Timm pitched the final frame in relief. Hause led the offense with two hits. Oshiro and Kahiwa Ili were responsible for the two other Tiger hits.

The Purple & Yellow Gold finished the season with a 14-26 overall record.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu