GREENCASTLE, Ind. - May 8, 2022 – Down to their final three outs, Hiram College softball rallied for five runs in the top of the seventh inning to come from behind and defeat the No. 1-seeded DePauw Tigers, 5-2, and clinch their first North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament Title since 2011. The Terriers bounced back from a 5-3, extra-inning defeat in game one against DePauw, to take game two, 5-2. With the win, the Terriers move to 24-14 on the year and earn their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2011, while the Tigers drop to 34-9 on the year.

For their efforts over the four games, junior Jeskari Rodriguez, sophomore Abriana Schwartz and freshman Darian Kanno and Fayth Kawamura were named to the 2022 NCAC Softball Tournament All-Tournament team, while Giselle Bahena was named the Tournament MVP.
 
GAME ONE: #1 DEPAUW 5, #2 HIRAM 3 (8 INNINGS)
Looking to force the "if-necessary" game, DePauw struck first in the top of the first inning. Grace Smith led off with a walk and moved into scoring position on Chase Epp's groundout. Jade Mejia Wick then laced a double down the left-field line, scoring Smith to give the Tigers a 1-0 lead.
 
Paige Price's infield single then put runners on second and third, and one batter later, Emily Timberman made it 2-0 with an RBI single to center. A walk would load the bases for the Tigers, but Darian Kanno got Kate Geary to ground into a fielder's choice to end the threat and keep DePauw's lead at just two.
 
And with Annika Garwood getting the start for the Tigers, Hiram quickly answered back in the bottom of the frame. Abriana Schwartz led off the inning with a single, and Kylie Perez drew a walk to bring Giselle Bahena to the plate, who promptly launched her second home run of the year, a three-run blast to center field, to give Hiram a 3-2 lead.
 
DePauw though, quickly came back to tie the game in the top of the second. Kelsey Bernhard stroked a double to lead off the frame and moved to third on Smith's sacrifice bunt. After Epp was hit by a pitch, Mejia Wick legged out an infield single, scoring Bernhard from third to even the score at 3-3.
 
The Tigers then looked to take the lead, but Kanno threw Abby Pyburn out at home on a fielder's choice and struck Katie Mathies out swinging to keep the score tied at three.
 
Both starters settled down from there, with a pair of 1-2-3 frames in the bottom of the second and top of the third.
 
In the bottom of the third, Hiram loaded the bases against Garwood, forcing DePauw to make a pitching change and bring in Cami Henry, but Henry got the next two batters via a strikeout and flyout to keep things tied at three.
 
Kanno ran into a little trouble in the fifth and sixth, but the freshman stranded a runner at second in the fifth and left the bases loaded in the sixth to keep the Tigers off the scoreboard.
 
Hiram got a two-out base runner in the bottom of the sixth, but couldn't bring her around to score. But after Kanno pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, the Terriers looked to walk things off in the bottom of the frame.
 
Natalie Mallas led off the inning with a double and took third on Melissa Galindo's sacrifice bunt, putting the championship run 90 feet away from scoring. However, the Tigers turned two on Schwartz's attempted squeeze, sending the game into extra innings.
 
And in the top of the eighth, the Tigers quickly retook the lead on Smith's two-run shot, before Henry shut the door in the bottom of the eighth to finish off the 5-3 victory and force the "if-necessary" game.
 
Kanno (10-6) took the loss for Hiram, allowing five runs, four earned, on 10 hits, striking out three, while Henry (26-6) earned the win for DePauw, pitching a scoreless 5.2 innings of relief.
 
Bahena led Hiram at the plate, going 1-for-3 with a home run, run scored and three RBI.
 
GAME TWO: HIRAM 5, DEPAUW 2
Hiram looked to get going with a two-out single in the top of the first inning by Bahena, but Kersten Brayton, making the start for the Tigers, would get Kanno to ground out to prevent any damage.
 
Meanwhile, Jeskari Rodriguez would cruise through the first four frames, but DePauw's pitchers held the Terriers off the scoreboard as well, stranding eight Terriers through the first six innings.
 
In the top of the second, Hiram loaded the bases, but Brayton escaped the jam with an unassisted double play, while in the top of the fourth, the Terriers put runners on first and second, but Henry came on in relief and got two outs to escape with the game still scoreless.
 
After Hiram left two more on in the fifth, the Tigers took the lead in the bottom of the frame. A walk and a pair of fielder's choices brought Smith to the plate, who hit a two-run homer to give DePauw a 2-0 advantage.
 
Aside from a leadoff walk, Hiram couldn't get much going in the sixth, but Rodriguez kept Hiram within striking distance, working around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning to set the stage for a thrilling rally.
 
With one out in the top of the seventh, Schwartz worked a walk, and the Tigers made a pitching change, bringing on Annika Garwood in relief of Henry.
 
However, the move would quickly backfire, as Perez worked a walk to put runners at first and second for Bahena, who got things started with an RBI double to center.
 
The Tigers then intentionally walked Kanno to load the bases and set up a force out at home, but Angel Santellan tied things up with an RBI single to center. Leah Valdez then drew a hit-by-pitch to give the Terriers their first lead of the game, and Mallas drew a bases-loaded walk to make it 4-2.
 
Up next, Rodriguez helped herself out with a sacrifice fly to left, before the Tigers finally got out of the inning, but not before allowing five runs on just two Hiram hits.
 
Down 5-2, DePauw threatened in the bottom of the seventh, with a leadoff double by Mathies and a walk by Geary.
 
But after a pitching change, Kanno got back-to-back pop-outs from Bernhard and Smith and struck out Goose Moore swinging to finish the job, nail down the save, and give the Terriers their first conference championship since 2011.
 
Rodriguez (10-6) earned the win, allowing two runs on two hits over 6.0 innings pitched, while Kanno notched the save, her second of the year, striking out one.
 
Garwood (2-1) took the loss for DePauw, allowing four runs over 0.2 innings pitched.
 
Bahena led the Terriers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI, while Valdez went 2-for-3 with an RBI.
 
With the win, the Terriers clinch their first NCAC Conference Championship and NCAA Tournament berth since 2011, and their first under Head Coach Scott Pohlman's tenure. The Terriers will find out their regional opponent when the NCAA Tournament selection show airs on Monday, May 9 at 1 p.m. on NCAA.com