After a somewhat disappointing 2005 campaign in which the Tigers missed the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) touranment for the first time in school history, the 2006 Tigers righted the ship.

The team finished the season with a 21-18 mark, including an 8-6 finish in the NCAC, which was good for fourth place in the conference. By finishing fourth, the Tigers earned the right to play in the postseason tournament. Wittenberg had to play Denison, the host and number one team, in the first round and lost a close game 4-1 with all four Denison runs being scored in the bottom of the first. The Tigers then played Kenyon and lost an even closer game by the final score of 1-0 as Kenyon scored their lone run in the bottom of the seventh inning to knock the Tigers out of the tournament and end their season.

Despite the losses in the conference tournament, the Tigers showed improvement over the previous two years. The 21 victories was a 10-win improvement from 2005. One of the more impressive facts about the turnaround that the 2006 Tigers had was that the team did not have any seniors. Instead, the team relied heavily on its four juniors and four sophomores to lead the way.

Junior Stephanie Zorn (Grapevine, Texas/Colleyville) led the way for the Tigers all season and earned first-team all NCAC honors for a second consecutive year.

Zorn, who started all 39 games for the Tigers, led the team with a .374 batting average, 25 runs batted in, 55 total bases and 12 walks. On the season, she collected 43 hits, including seven doubles, one triple and one home run.

Zorn was not the only player to receive postseason honors, however. Sophomore Sarah Fetters (Maumee, Ohio/Maumee) earned second-team All-NCAC honors for the second time in her career. Fetters finished the season second on the team with a .350 batting average and 20 runs scored. She only struck out seven times on the season and led the team in sacrifice bunts with six. Three Tigers made their first appearances on all-conference teams as junior Nicole Ottavi (Columbus, Ohio/Whetstone) and sophomore Rachael Hatcher (West Carrollton, Ohio/West Carrollton) were also named to the second-team. Ottavi finished third on the team in batting with a .338 average as she collected 25 hits, including three doubles. Ottavi also has a .405 on-base percentage, good for second on the team.

Without the pitching arm of Hatcher, the Tigers would not have finished their season with 21 victories. She was the leading pitcher on the season as she collected 14 wins in 22 starts. Opponents only hit .246 off her and her earned run average was a minute 1.99. Her strikeout to walk ratio was also very impressive as she struck out 86 batters on the season and only walked 27. Hatcher also proved her durability as she started 22 games and pitched complete games in 21 of those starts.

Finally, junior Lucy Huelsman (Wellington, Ohio/Wellington) also earned postseason honors for the first time in her career as she was named honorable mention All-NCAC. Huelsman finished fourth on the team in batting with a .323 average and first on the team in runs scored with 22. Huelsman also had a .348 on-base percentage and 46 total bases, both good for fourth on the team.

Youth Movement: As the Tigers could potentially return every player from the 2006 team, the future is clearly now as the players look toward a promising 2007 season. Seven starters are slated to return to the lineup, and all six freshmen appeared during the season and three recorded play in at least 25 games. Beyond the noteworthy season turned in by Hatcher, freshmen Erin Meredith (Noblesville, Ind./Noblesville) and Julie Ziegler (Sandusky, Ohio/Perkins) played integral parts in the success the 2006 Tigers enjoyed. Meredith started 31 games for the Tigers and recorded 17 hits, seven runs batted in and four walks. Ziegler finished the season with three runs and six runs batted in. Her highlight of the year was recording the game-winning two-run hit in a Wittenberg victory over Wilmington College. Freshmen Amanda Glacken (Harrison, Ohio/Harrison), Alisha Degenhart (Bellbrook, Ohio/Bellbrook) and Alyssa Schmidt (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Kenston) all played well throughout the season and will be counted on in 2007.

The freshmen were not the only ones contributing to the youth movement in the 2006 season as the sophomore class also contributed heavily. Beyond the already chronicled productive seasons turned in by Fetters and Ottavi, Amy Myser (Columbus, Ohio/Upper Arlington) and Taryn Hensel (Marion, Ohio/Ridegdale) also played key roles for the Tigers. Myser finished with a .240 batting average after starting 34 games for the Red and White. She also recorded 14 runs batted in and six doubles. Hensel was one of the biggest power sources for the Tigers as she led the team in home runs with three. She also finished with 16 runs batted in and 13 runs scored.

As the Tigers look toward the 2007 season, the future looks bright as talent returns and they recorded their most successful season in two years.

Becky Hall (Urbana '97) took over the Wittenberg softball program in 1999. Since then, she has earned two NCAC Coach of the Year awards and has led the Tigers to two NCAC regular season titles, one NCAC tournament crown and two NCAA Division III Tournament appearances. Hall finished the 2006 season with a career record of 162-148-1 as the Tigers' head coach.

Sarah Fetters

Rachael Hatcher