FINDLAY, Ohio - Ohio Dominican's softball team found itself in early holes Friday against Ferris State (Mich.) and Northwood (Mich.) at the GLIAC Tournament in Findlay and could not recover as the Panthers were eliminated from the field by the finals of 6-2 and 5-3.

In the opening game of the double-elimination tournament, the fourth-seeded Panthers squared off against fifth-seeded Ferris State on Iriti Field in the Marathon Diamonds Complex. Thanks to several fielding blunders in the top of the second, the Bulldogs jumped on ODU for six runs and remained in control throughout.

The Panthers cut into the deficit with a run in the fourth as senior Caitlin Chaney (Newark, OH) led off with a two-base knock to right and hurried home on a tailing sacrifice fly to the right fielder from sophomore Caitlin Jividen (Wheeling, WV). 

ODU added another score in the bottom of the seventh as Jividen doubled to right and freshman Kelsey Seeds (Westerville, OH) followed with a two-out base hit through the right side. Sophomore Rebekha Lucas (Laurelville, OH) than reached with an infield single to the left side to put runners at first and second, yet a diving stab by the second baseman on line drive up the middle by freshman Kendall Lust (Marion, OH) thwarted the rally and gave the Bulldogs the 6-2 final. 

Later in the afternoon, the Panthers took on eighth-seeded Northwood who fell victim to top-seeded and 20th-ranked Grand Valley State, 5-1. Looking for reprisal of a sweep to ODU earlier in the year, the Timberwolves came out clicking on offense, plating three runs off five hits and an error in their first at-bat. 

A pair of wild pitches in the second frame resulted in ODU's first tally as sophomore Brittany Seavey (Flint, MI), pinch running for senior Kylee Crislip (Louisville, OH), worked her way around the bases to pull the Panthers within 3-1. 

In the third, senior Erin Sutter (Mansfield, OH) drew a lead-off, four-pitch walk, and after stealing second, came home on a single near the leftfield edge by junior Brooke McCartney (Salem, OH). 

Back-to-back-to-back base hits to the outfield grass pushed Northwood's lead back out to three, 5-2, in the fifth. Freshman Rachael Stanzel (Angleton, TX) than helped her own cause with her first collegiate homerun, a lead-off blast just right of the 220 foot placard in centerfield. However, the Panthers could only muster two hits over the final two innings as the Timberwolves advanced with the 5-3 decision. 

ODU concluded its second season at Division II with a 26-28 overall record and a 20-12 mark in GLIAC action, an improvement of 12 and 11 wins, respectively, over last year. 

Contact: Bryan Desch
deschb@ohiodominican.edu