Freshman Kirsten Lightel leads ONU to 3-0 victory in game 4 of the OAC Tournament
By Ashley Birchmeier
TIFFIN — Ohio Northern defeated John Carroll 3-0 Friday afternoon in Game 4 of the OAC Softball Tournament hosted by Heidleberg University at Frann's Field.
The No. 3-seeded Polar Bears (22-13 overall) will take on No. 2-seeded Capital Saturday at 11 am in a re-match from Friday's first round. John Carroll, the No. 4 seed, concludes its season 22-16 overall.
Freshman pitcher Kirsten Lightel led ONU in the contest, taking a no-hitter into the sixth inning and finishing with a 1-hit shutout.
Junior Amanda Lahti led off the scoring for the Polar Bears with a sac fly in the bottom of the first to give ONU the early 1-0 advantage.
The Polar Bears added two more runs in the bottom of the second as freshman Miranda Huddle and freshman Jenna Hollar both recorded RBI's to make Northern's lead 3-0.
Lightel pitched a no-hitter through 5.2 innings before surrendering a hit to John Carroll junior Taylor Tercek in the bottom of the sixth.
The ONU defense backed up Lightel, as it was able to record a clean game in route to the 3-0 victory.
The Polar Bears will play Capital in an elimination game Saturday morning, with the winner advancing into the championship game Saturday at 1 pm against top-seeded Heidelberg. The ONU-CU win will have to beat the Student Princes twice to claim the title, while one HU victory will give the hosts the title.