Box Score 1 | Box Score 2
NFCA  Division III National Poll

WESTERVILLE, Ohio – The No. 21-ranked Otterbein University softball team clinched the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular-season championship with a pair of wins over Wilmington on Wednesday.

Otterbein won game one, 3-0, and then claimed an 8-2 victory in game two en route to claiming the first regular-season league title in program history. The two wins also set a new program record for wins in a single-season (27).

The Cardinals also claimed another first in program history after appearing in the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Top-25 Rankings, announced by the association this afternoon.  

Game 1

Starting pitcher Rachael Owens was masterful in the circle for the Cards, tossing her fourth-straight complete game after holding the Quakers to three hits and just two walks over seven innings. Owens, the reigning OAC 'Pitcher of the Week', also posted her second-consecutive shutout and seventh of the year.

The Cardinal offense was jump started in the bottom of the third inning when sophomore Bailey McElwain stepped to the plate and hit her seventh home run of the season, this one a two-run shot over the center field fence. She is now tied for the league lead in home runs.

Otterbein pushed across its third run of the game in its half of the sixth inning, as junior Molly Riggs punched a one-out single into left field and then stole second to move into scoring position. She then came around to score two batters later on a pinch-hit single by classmate Courtney Hanna.

Owens closed out the game in the top of the seventh inning, allowing just one Quaker base runner in the frame. McElwain and Riggs recorded two hits apiece in the game, as three different Otterbein players crossed the plate.

Game 2

The Cardinals were first to ink the scoreboard as a pair of hits in the second inning, including a leadoff double by Owens, proved to be the run producer. Freshman Alyson Shaw, who had two hits in the game, drove in the initial Otterbein run on a two-out single that scored Owens.

Otterbein posted another one-run inning in the third, before Wilmington scored its first run of the day in the top of the fifth inning to bring narrow its deficit to 2-1. The Cards then manufactured a five-run fifth inning, reaching base seven times on five hits and an error.

Owens helped increase the team's lead to 8-1 the next inning, plating McElwain who reached on a single and then moved into scoring position with a stolen base. The Quakers forced a light threat in the final inning, compiling three hits and one run, but left two runners on base to end the game.

Starting pitcher Gabby Johnson captured her eighth win of the season after throwing her third complete game in her last four outings. She allowed 11 hits, but just two earned runs, striking out nine batters to give her 24 strikeouts in her last four games in the circle.

The Cardinals return to action on Saturday as they travel to Mount Union for a doubleheader in Alliance, Ohio. First pitch of game one is slated for 1 p.m.