HIRAM, Ohio - April 9, 2024 - Hiram softball, the defending NCAC Tournament champions and Cleveland Regional champions, started its conference season with a pair of wins over Wittenberg on Tuesday evening at Herndon Field. 

The Terriers won Game 1, 10-2, while Game 2 was cut short due to darkness, with the final stats for the game to be finalized on Wednesday morning. A full recap for Game 2 will be provided on Wednesday.

In its long-awaited return to Myrtis E. Herndon Field, Hiram jumped on Wittenberg for four runs in the first inning and another run in the second inning. That immediate offensive outburst was all Darian Kanno needed in the circle, as the reigning NCAC Pitcher of the Year earned her second complete game of the season.

Kanno, whose last appearance at Herndon Field ended in a walk-off home run to send the Terriers to the NCAC Tournament, started the run with an RBI single to plate Abriana Schwartz. Kylie Perez followed her teammate with a two-run triple and a steal of home plate to give the Terriers a 4-0 edge.

After the Tigers scored their first run in the second inning, Hiram answered back with an RBI single off the bat of Fayth Kawamura. The junior shortstop has now hit safely in all but four of her games played this season.

Kanno was in form the rest of the way, limiting her opposition to just one unearned run in the remaining innings and finishing with a final line of 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K.

Hiram secured the win via the eight-run mercy rule, scoring five runs in the home half of the fifth inning to move to 1-0 in conference play. Perez fell a home run short of the cycle, going 3-for-3 with a team-high three RBI. Daynna Mekaru and Viviana Macias also added two RBI singles late in the game to provide some breathing room.

The Terriers will look to stay unbeaten against NCAC opponents when they travel to Delaware, Ohio to face the Ohio Wesleyan University Battling Bishops in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m.