ADA — The Lady Muskies found out what it’s like to wake a sleeping giant.
Muskingum University’s softball team raised plenty of eyebrows on Friday with a 2-1, eight-inning upset of top-seeded Ohio Northern University in the opening game of the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament, but the Lady Polar Bears came back with a vengeance on Saturday, disposing of the Lady Muskies by a 21-6 score in five innings to advance to the championship game.
Muskingum, which lost its second game Friday to John Carroll University in a 15-9 slugfest to fall in to the loser’s bracket, finished the season with a 22-21 record. The Lady Muskies did, however, extend their mark for qualifying for the OAC Tournament every year since it began to 26 seasons.
Ohio Northern couldn’t sustain it, however, as John Carroll — which had entered the tournament as the No. 3 seed — posted a 7-3 victory to finish off a 3-0 weekend and capture the championship later Saturday.
In Saturday’s game, ONU and Muskingum matched three-run first innings, but the Lady Polar Bears exploded for eight runs in the top of the second to take control. Five runs in both the fourth and fifth put the game away as the Lady Muskies were only able to counter with single runs in the second, fourth and fifth.
ONU pounded out 20 hits in the victory, led by the Mangola sisters. Tina Mangola belted two home runs and a double, driving in four runs, and Jackie Mangola contributed a homer, double, two singles and five RBI.
Other hit leaders for the Bears included Kimi Blewett with a home run, double, single and four RBI; Cassie Gaye with a double, two singles and four RBI; Meghan Anten and Cortney Cash with a double and single each; and Mandi Fought with two singles and two RBI.
Muskingum managed 11 hits, with Jendy Weppler collecting a double, two singles and two RBI; Chelsea Kaunert lining two singles; Mary Margaret Boda getting a double and an RBI; and Chloe Moloney adding a double.
Cash (19-2) got the pitching win for ONU, fanning three and not allowing a walk in a complete-game effort. Four Muskingum pitchers — Ashley Price, Carissa Diebler, Sarah Beaver and Valerie Conn — combined for one K and seven walks, with Price (11-9) taking the loss.
In Friday’s win over Ohio Northern, Diebler (7-7) went the distance on the mound, striking out two and walking three. ONU’s Cortney Cash took the loss with two Ks and one free pass.
Trailing 1-0, Muskingum tied the game in the top of the seventh on a solo home run by Price, and then in the eighth, Kaunert opened with a single and after two outs and a walk to Boda, John Glenn High product Kristyn Heagen delivered the go-ahead run with an RBI single to drive in Kaunert.
Heagen and Chloe Moloney each had two singles for the Lady Muskies while Weppler had a double.
Gaye had a double and single for Ohio Northern while Cash and Blewett each had two singles.
Against John Carroll, Muskingum led 5-4 after three innings, but the Lady Blue Streaks tallied seven in the top of the fifth and three in the top of the sixth for a 14-5 advantage. The Lady Muskies got three runs back in the bottom of the sixth and then each side added a run in the seventh for the final margin.
JCU pounded out 19 hits, led by Olivia Mathews with a home run, three singles and three RBI; Julie Marlowe with four singles and two RBI and Erin Riccardi with a home run, two singles and three RBI. Brittany Danilov added three singles and two RBI and Angela Vistocco had two singles.
For Muskingum, a 12-hit offense featured a home run and single by Boda; a double, single and four RBI by Price; a double, single and an RBI each by Kaunert and Aly Mazzei; and an RBI double by Moloney.
Three JCU pitchers teamed up with no strikeouts and eight walks, with Samantha Thompson getting the win. Price too the loss for the Muskies, fanning one and walking one in six innings before yielding to Diebler and Beaver in the seventh.
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