Tigers Defeat Kenyon, 9-4, Before Dropping Battle With Denison, 6-3, in NCAC Tournament

SPRINGFIELD, OH – After a big 9-4 win out of the gate in its first game of the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Tournament, Wittenberg Softball fell in a tough battle, 6-3, at the hands of Denison on Thursday, May 7, at Betty Doughman Dillahunt Field, to find itself at 1-1 going into day two of action.

The Tigers, now 26-16 on the season, will take on DePauw, at 11 a.m. on Friday, May 8. Four games took place on Thursday with No. 3 Denison defeating No. 2 DePauw, 10-1, in the first. Wittenberg captured the 9-4 victory over No. 4 Kenyon in game two, before dropping game three to Denison. Then, DePauw knocked Kenyon out of the tournament with a 7-5 victory in the final game of the day.

Wittenberg's road to the tournament started with an NCAC win over Oberlin in the final game of the season. The Tigers tied DePauw atop the conference standings, with both teams sporting an 11-3 record, to earn a share of the NCAC crown. The top four teams in the conference advanced to the NCAC Tournament. Wittenberg took the tiebreaker over DePauw to earn the No. 1 seed and score home-field advantage for the tournament. The three-day, double-elimination tournament will determine the NCAC's automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division III Championships.

Wittenberg will now have to win out to earn an NCAA berth.

Consistently finding ways to manufacture runs this season, the Tigers did just that in game one, coming out of the gate with some red-hot bats and putting four on the board in the first, then two more in the second to lead 6-1 after two were in the books. Kenyon chipped away at the lead, scoring one in the first and two more in the third to cut the lead in half. However, Witt stretched the lead to 9-4 in the fourth inning and never looked back. 

Wittenberg scored nine runs on only six hits, with the main difference being the Tigers' aggressive base running. Wittenberg had a total of 10 stolen bases. Kenyon had four runs on 10 hits.

Ava Cyphers (Dayton, OH / Vandalia Butler), and Kirsten Wright (Springfield, OH / Kenton Ridge) had the big hits in the game, each bringing in three runs. Wright and  Meghan McCans (Arcanum, OH / Arcanum), each had two hits, while Gada Bryant (Westville, IL / Bismarck-Henning), and Cyphers had the others. Bryant scored three runs and McCans and Bekah Giel (Amelia, OH / West Clermont) each scored two. Shyann Beddow (Kearns, UT / Kearns)scored the other Tiger run. Cyphers led the team in stolen bases with three, while McCans and Beddow had two each, and Giel, Rowan Goodpasture (Wabash, IN / Southwood), and Bailey Nichols (Tucson, AZ / Sabino) each grabbed another.

Lilly Shaw (Washington Courthouse, OH / Washington), Phoebe Underwood (Seymour, IN / Seymour), and Lilly James (Troy, OH / Troy) took care of business on the mound with Underwood registering the win.

Unfortunately, the tables were turned on the Tigers in game two as Denison consistently found some green, compiling 14 hits that led to their six runs, and holding Wittenberg to just six total hits.

Highlights for the Tigers included Nichols with two hits, and Bryant, Cyphers, Giel, and McCans each landing one apiece. Wright and Kennedy Reed (Lewis Center, OH / Olentangy Orange) drove in runs, while Bryant, Cyphers, and Giel each scored a run. Cyphers landed a triple and both McCans and Nichols stole a base.

Julie Hall (Powell, OH / Bishop Watterson), James, and Shaw spent time on the mound, with James taking the loss.

Since the inception of the NCAC Softball Tournament in the 2001 season, DePauw has earned eight tournament titles. Denison has captured six tourney titles, while Allegheny has collected four, Hiram has three and Wittenberg has two.

Written By: Cindy Holbrook