ALLIANCE, Ohio -- Back in the Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament for the first time since 2021, the No. 4 seed Heidelberg University Softball team quickly dispatched of No. 5 seed Wilmington College, 9-1, in five innings. The Student Princes advance to the OAC Semifinals on Friday where they'll face No. 2 seed Muskingum University.
The win was Heidelberg's first-ever mercy-rule victory in postseason play.
Heidelberg (27-14) sprinted out to an early lead.
Alexis Burton drew a bases-loaded walk to force in
Adyson Bowe. Up next,
Leah Arnett pulled a single through the right side to plate
Ellie Tressler and pinch runner
Morgan Franklin.
Up 3-1 in the third,
Cara Meyer led off with a double and moved to third on a hard single by Tressler. Arnett delivered a one-out triple to left field, then scored on a sacrifice fly by
Abbie Marshall. HU led, 6-1.
After a 1-2-3 inning turned in by
Haley Gockstetter, The Berg went back to work. With two outs and the bases empty, Bowe walked and Meyer singled. Tressler wore a pitch to load the bases. A hard hit ball to third caromed off a glove, which allowed Bowe to score. Up stepped Arnett, and -- once again -- the speedy sophomore came through. She singled up the middle, plating pinch-runner
Alyse Swartz and Tressler.
All the while,
Haley Gockstetter (W, 18-4) was superb in the circle. She limited the Quakers to one run on five hits, fanning four.
BEYOND THE BOX SCORE: Arnett finished with a program postseason record six RBI, going 3-for-3 … Meyer's double was her 21st of the season, tying her atop the program's single season record book. She joins Marissa Smego, who had 21 two-baggers in 2016 … Meyer also is three hits shy of tying the single-season hits record of 71. That record is also held by Smego, who set it in 2015 -- then commemorated the 2015 OAC Championship by getting a shocking tattoo … Heidelberg's previous largest margin of victory in the OAC tournament was a 9-3 win in the deciding game of the 2015 tourney.
UP NEXT: With No. 6 Capital upsetting No. 3 Baldwin Wallace, Heidelberg will square off with the Muskies in Friday's second game. That game, which will follow Capital and No. 1 seed Mount Union at 1 p.m. , is loosely slated for a 2:30 p.m. start.
