Softball: Ohio Northern (11-9 Overall, 5-1 OAC) at Mount Union (13-11 Overall, 1-5 OAC)

Saturday, April 6, 2019, 1 p.m. — 23rd Street Field, Alliance, Ohio

Saturday's Preview: The Ohio Northern softball program returns to the diamond Saturday afternoon for an Ohio Athletic Conference doubleheader at Mount Union ... Game one is slated for a 1 p.m. first pitch at 23rd Street Field in Alliance ... The Polar Bears enter Saturday's contests sporting an 11-9 overall record and a 5-1 mark in the OAC ... ONU has won four straight contests after sweeping doubleheaders against Wilmington and Capital on Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively ... On Wednesday, Northern defeated the Crusaders 9-0 and 11-4 on the road ... Senior pitcher Kaitlin Surdej won both contests in the pitching circle after tossing 10 scoreless frames, giving her 20.1 consecutive scoreless innings ... Meanwhile, junior Gabby Stewart belted two home runs and recorded a team-high four RBIs on a three-for-five hitting performance ... Senior Hailee Loughman and freshman Rachel Hish recorded a team-high four hits each ... Additionally, junior Brady Guest and freshman Rachel Hish contributed three RBI ... Through 20 games, Stewart leads the team and ranks second in the league with a .493 batting average (33-for-67) ... She also tops ONU with 33 hits, 18 runs scored, and a .716 slugging percentage, which ranks fifth in the OAC ... Guest leads the Polar Bears with four home runs and 20 RBI, which rank tied for third and tied for eighth on the conference leaderboards ... She also ranks third on the team and 10th among qualifying players in the OAC with a .441 batting average ... In the circle, Surdej owns a 7-4 record with a 2.71 ERA and 53 strikeouts in 84.0 innings ... She currently ranks third in the league with 53 strikeouts, tied for third with seven wins, and fifth in ERA at 2.71 ... Stewart sits ninth all-time at ONU with a .388 batting average, tied for ninth with 29 career doubles, tied for 10th with 10 home runs, and tied for 22nd with 125 base hits ... Loughman owns 112 career base hits and 14 career home runs, which ties for 29th and seventh all-time, respectively ... Surdej ranks third all-time at ONU in strikeouts (293) and tied for fourth in wins (39) in her career ... The Purple Raiders enter Saturday's contests with a 13-11 overall record and a 1-5 mark in the OAC ... They are coming off an 0-6, 12-0 (F/5) split at Baldwin Wallace on Wednesday ... Sophomore infielders Maggie Dominick and Allie Goldy top the offense with identical .403 batting averages and 17 RBI each ... Dominick also paces the team with three home runs ... In the circle, Alexandra Pasco leads the team with seven victories, a 4.03 ERA, and six complete games in a team-high 57.1 innings worked.

Ohio Northern Batting Leaders

Ohio Northern Pitching Leaders

All-Time Series Notes: The Polar Bears currently own a 50-41-1 all-time series advantage over the Purple Raiders ... Last season, ONU swept the two-game series 10-1 and 8-1.

ONU Head Coach Jackie Price: Price is currently in her third season as the head softball coach at Ohio Northern ... She owns a 68-33 overall record, a winning percentage of .673.