This week was a long one for the DePauw University softball team, with doubleheaders Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday.
The Tigers earned another NCAC sweep in their games on Wednesday, against Ohio Wesleyan University, winning the first game 5-2 and the second 7-2. The pair of wins moved the Tigers to 17-11 overall, and 8-0 in conference.
"Some of the keys against OWU were getting clutch hits when we needed them, receiving production from different parts of our lineup and a strong pitching performance," junior Taylor Golden said.
DePauw had three runs in the first inning of the first game, as a result of base hits from junior Jennifer Ridge, senior Lauren Krumwiede and sophomore Grace Hendrickson, and a double by sophomore Linsey Button. From that point on, DePauw remained in control of the lead.
Ohio Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the first inning of the second game, but the Tigers were quick to counter in the bottom of the first, scoring sophomore catcher Sammi Bell.
Ohio Wesleyan again took the lead 2-1 top of the third. DePauw evened the score again when Bell's grounder scored freshman outfielder Beth Chelmowski.
The score was 2-2 until the bottom of the sixth, until Bell hit a solo homer. Senior Megan Landahl cleared the once full bases with a double ending the game with a score of 7-2.
"Ohio Wesleyan proved to be an enormous win for us," said head coach Erica Hanrahan said of the game. "They are an excellent team. OWU is very hot right now, as they swept Kenyon and Wittenberg this weekend, putting them in a great position to be in the conference tournament post-season. Therefore, those wins may prove to be crucial for us when all is said and done."
Unfortunately, the Saturday games against Oberlin College did not bode so well for the DePauw Tigers. The Yeowomen handed DePauw their first NCAC losses, sweeping the double header 5-2 in the opener and 6-3 in the nightcap. The losses put the Tigers at 8-2 in conference.
"We did not play to our potential," Ridge said of the games against Oberlin. "We did not execute in key offensive situations and allowed ourselves to be content with only scoring a few runs."
Hanrahan believes the losses against Oberlin could prove to be the difference for the team in the end.
"Only one loss separates our lead from the next three teams: Allegheny, Wittenberg and Denison. We have yet to play Allegheny and Wittenberg so anything is possible," Hanrahan said. "It was definitely our poorest performance of the season, but Oberlin was tough enough and hungry enough to capitalize on it, so a ton of credit is due to them."
On Sunday, the Tigers earned a series split against John Carroll University, by losing game one, 2-1, but winning the nightcap 1-0. With the split DePauw is 18-14 overall.
"In our first game against John Carroll, they made phenomenal defensive plays to stop us from scoring," Golden said.
In game one, John Carroll began the scoring in the second inning, taking advantage of two DePauw errors to score two runs. Down 2-0, DePauw tried to make a comeback in the fifth inning, led off by Bell's home run, but ultimately would strand two runners in scoring position.
The Tigers attempted to rally again in the top of the sixth with bases loaded, but were unable to bring their players home.
"We forced John Carroll to make big plays in key situations and kept putting their team under pressure," Ridge said. "We were definitely back to playing DePauw softball."
DePauw won the nightcap when they scored the only run in the top of the third inning. Krumwiede singled, stole second and Golden's single lead Krumwiede to the playing earning them the one run of the game.
"Back to back doubleheaders are tough with our small roster this year on our pitchers and catchers mostly, but they've stepped up repeatedly so everyone else has followed suit," Hanrahan said.