Norah Gillam

The Wittenberg softball team has a two-game lead in the North Coast Athletic Conference with four games remaining. But those four games are no sure thing, despite the fact that the Tigers are playing on their home Betty Dillahunt Field.

Wittenberg brings a 16-8 overall record and 9-1 mark in the NCAC into this week's action after winning five of six games in four days last week. The Tigers swept a pair of traditional NCAC powerhouse Denison on Thursday by scores of 5-1 and 8-0, then split with Ohio Wesleyan at home on Saturday, losing the opener 6-3 and then hanging on for a 2-1 win in the nightcap, and then swept two games at Oberlin on Sunday, 14-2 and 8-1.

The key win among that group was the second game of the Ohio Wesleyan doubleheader. After dropping the opener, the Tigers were in danger of falling into a first-place tie with the Battling Bishops. Junior Norah Gillam (Canfield, Ohio/Canfield) tossed six shutout innings to put the Tigers in position to get the split. In the seventh, Gillam ran into trouble and with two OWU runners on and two outs, the soft line drive was lifted into right-center field.

Junior Jen Meyer (Solon, Ohio/Hathaway Brown) made the play of the season for the Tigers, coming from her spot in centerfield to snare the ball just as it was about to hit the outfield grass. That diving play ended the game and preserved a 2-1 victory.

Gillam got the win in that game, her third of the week and eighth of the season. Named to the NCAC 20th Anniversary All-Decade Team earlier this month, Gillam has a 2.01 earned run average in 12 appearances, including 10 starts. She has nine complete games and two shutouts.

The key to Wittenberg's success this season has been a potent offense. Eight players with at least 15 appearances this season are hitting .300 or better. Leading the way after the Tigers bashed Oberlin for more than 25 hits on Sunday is sophomore Katelyn Beddow (Lexington, Ohio/Ashland), who is hitting .403 in 22 starts this season. Also of note, senior Carmen Montgomery (South Charleston, Ohio/Southeastern) is batting .376 with team-bests of 93 plate appearances, 35 hits, 51 total bases and seven doubles, and freshman Stephanie Zorn (Grapevine, Texas/Colleyville) checks in with a .351 batting average with a team-leading 18 runs scored. Montgomery has not made an error this season and Zorn has just five miscues in 24 starts at shortstop.

The weather has continued to wreak havoc on the Tigers' schedule. Wednesday's game against Kenyon has been moved to Thursday, putting the twice-rescheduled game against Otterbein in jeopardy. Mother Nature has forced numerous postponements, with at least three scheduled dates unlikely to be made up. If the Tigers win at least two games this week, they will clinch a share of the NCAC regular season title and earn the right to host the conference tournament on April 30 and May 1.