GREENCASTLE, IN. – May 14, 2021 – Hiram Terriers softball lost in game two of the NCAC Championship Series at DePauw by a final score of 8-4. With the loss, their season comes to a close after a 24-17 regular season that included an 11-1 NCAC East Division record.
In the top of the first inning,
Abriana Schwartz scored on a wild pitch, giving Hiram the early 1-0 lead. The Terriers added onto their lead when
Giselle Chavez reached on an error in the second frame. With
Hunter Whitton coming into score, the road team took a 2-0 lead.
Jeskari Rodriguez hit an RBI single in the third, scoring
Giselle Bahena.
Leah Valdez then walked with the bases loaded to score
Mariah Sheffield, giving Hiram a 4-0 lead after the top of the third inning.
DePauw would start their comeback in the bottom half of the frame. Kelsey Bernhard hit an RBI double and Paige Price hit an RBI single, cutting the lead to 4-2.
After a scoreless fourth inning between both teams, DePauw took the lead in the fifth inning. Price hit another RBI single, then Becca St. Germain reached on a fielder's choice scoring a run to tie it at four.
Another run scored after a fielding error, followed by Chase Epp driving in two more runs with a two-run double making it 7-4. The Tigers would add one more run in the sixth going on to win the game 8-4 and winning the NCAC Championship Series.
Angel Santellan made the start in the circle for Hiram, pitching 4.1 innings. After coming in as a reliever in game one,
Kaitlyn Hager returned to the circle for Hiram in game two pitching the final 1.2 innings. Santellan took the loss and concludes her freshman season with a record of 7-2.
Four different Tigers pitched for DePauw in game two. Kersten Brayton made the start going 1.2 innings. Annika Garwood saw the most amount of action pitching three innings of scoreless relief.
Rodriguez was the lone Terrier to collect two hits in game two and added an RBI. Schwartz, Bahena and Sheffield all had a run and a hit. Chavez also had an RBI in game two.
The 24 wins on the year are the most since the 2011 season when the team won 29 games. With 11 conference wins, Hiram also tied the most conference wins in program history, also set in 2011.
The NCAC Championship Series berth is the first time the team has made it to the conference tournament since 2011. This is the most regular season wins under Head Coach
Scott Pohlman since Pohlman took over in 2017.
As an offense, the team was top five in program history in numerous categories. The 2021 team will finish in the top five for batting average, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, hits, runs, doubles and home runs.
