GRANVILLE, Ohio — The Wittenberg softball team got off to a solid start in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday, upsetting host and No. 1-seed Denison in a 3-1 decision. The Tigers won thanks to a strong outing from senior starting pitcher Brooke Boswell (Hamilton, Ohio/Fairfield), backed by some timely hitting.
The Tigers improve to 18-19 overall on the year and advance in the winner's bracket to face second-seeded Ohio Wesleyan, winners of a 6-1 matchup with Hiram in the 10 a.m. game on Friday. The Tigers and Battling Bishops get underway at approximately 2:50 p.m.
Boswell picked up her 15th win and 20th complete game of the season in holding the Big Red to one run on eight hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. She helped herself out of several jams throughout the contest and was able to rely on the batting order to make her performance stand up.
Senior center fielder Cameron Catalfu (Loveland, Ohio/Loveland) went 2-for-4 in the leadoff spot with a home run in the seventh, but senior third baseman Jade Chivington (Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine) led the team with two RBIs on a single and a sacrifice squeeze bunt as part of a 1-for-3 game. Sophomore first baseman Tori Amicon (Galloway, Ohio/Hilliard Darby) also went 2-for-4 and scored a run.
The Tigers went quietly in the first, but with two outs in the bottom half, Boswell allowed Denison to threaten with a single to center followed by a walk to put runners on first and second. On a hard grounder back to the circle, Boswell helped herself out with a quick snag and easy throw to first to retire the Big Red.
After a team cheer of "score first," junior outfielder Jessi Allen (Naperville, Ill./Neuqua Valley) nailed a one-out triple under the left fielder's glove to support the cause. Chivington took the signals and stepped to the plate, delivering a perfect bunt up the first base line. Allen slid home as Chivington was tagged out by the pitcher to complete the squeeze play and accomplish the sacrifice.
Denison put two runners on with no one out in the top of the second to threaten again, but Boswell again helped her own cause with the leather. She snared a line drive and snapped a throw to second, catching the runner off the bag in a big double play that extinguished the scoring opportunity.
In the third inning, one-seed Denison continued to show how they won the regular season conference title by threatening again with a lead-off double and two-out single to put runners on first and third. Big Red third baseman Alex Murray worked Boswell to a full count, but the Tiger ace struck out Murray swinging to again defend the one-run lead.
Wittenberg's offense almost broke the game open when they loaded the bases in the top of the fourth, but Denison struck back with their first double play of the game to end the side.
Both teams were relatively quiet before Amicon led off the sixth with Wittenberg's sixth hit, a double to the left field corner. Amicon moved to third on a sacrifice bunt from Allen, and Chivington brought her home with a hard grounder just past the diving first baseman to plate her second RBI and make it 2-0 Tigers.
The insurance run proved significant as Denison scored in the bottom half of the frame. A single followed by an illegal pitch, a wild pitch and another single put across the Big Red's first run.
It looked like Denison would tie it up later in the same inning with a runner on second and two outs when a single to left field was briefly juggled by Allen. The runner paused at third, then charged for home when Allen had trouble. But the left fielder rocketed a perfect throw to the plate where freshman catcher Brooklyn Cox (Dayton, Ohio/Vandalia Butler) applied the tag to preserve the one-run lead and bring the Wittenberg crowd to life.
Catalfu belted her leadoff home run in the seventh with a drive just over the left field wall to make it 3-1 heading into the final half inning. Boswell and the defense kept Denison at bay to finish out the game and advance.
Written by: John Strawn '07