ONU TAKES A SPLIT ON DAY ONE OF CCAC SOFTBALL TOURNAMENT
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Saint Xavier | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 1 |
|
Olivet Nazarene | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 2 |
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | R | H | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Trinity Christian | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 3 |
|
Olivet Nazarene | 0 | 7 | 2 | 2 | X | 11 | 8 | 0 |
CROWN POINT, Ind. – Looking to make a fourth-straight appearance at the NAIA National Tournament, the Olivet Nazarene University softball team opened up the CCAC Tournament with a split on day one.
After routing the Trinity Christian Trolls 11-3 in five innings in their opening-round matchup, the Tigers fell 6-3 to Saint Xavier in the first round of the winner's bracket.
The Trolls, who entered the CCAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, jumped out to an early lead with two quick runs in the top of the first. However, the Tigers put up a crooked number in their half of the second inning to take command of the game.
Five Tigers reached base before an out was recorded. Gwen Bender and Kate Landis drew back-to-back bases-loaded walks to even the score, then Faith Mikos gave ONU the lead that they wouldn't relinquish with a 2-RBI single to right center.
Mallory O'Connor extended the lead with a sacrifice fly that brought home Vannah Vaughan before Megan Mann roped a 2-RBI single of her own to make it 7-2 ONU.
The Tigers added a pair of runs in the third and fourth innings to end things early. Kori Fricke picked up her 12th win of the year as the starter, allowing three earned runs and striking out six along the way.
In the first game of the tournament's winner's bracket, ONU squared off against the No. 2 seed Saint Xavier.
The game went scoreless through four innings until the Cougars got on the board first with a pair of runs in the top of the fifth. Kate Landis responded with an RBI single in the Tigers' half of the fifth, but SXU tagged on two more runs in the sixth to put ONU at a 4-1 disadvantage.
Allie Timm cut the lead in half with an RBI groundout, but two more runs from the Cougars in the seventh extended the deficit to 6-2. Faith Mikos continued her strong day with another RBI single, but it wasn't enough as the Tigers fell 6-3.
Fricke was tagged with the loss, pitching all seven innings on four earned runs.
WHAT'S NEXT?
The Tigers will begin their run through the lower bracket with a 12 p.m. matchup against IU-South Bend on Field 10 at the Crown Point Sports Complex in Crown Point, Ind.
--ONU—
*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu