Junior Haley Buchanan stepped into the on-deck circle as she watched senior Emma Minx battle against Trinity University's (21-24) ace pitcher, Colbie Devost. With runners on first and second with just one out, Minx, DePauw's RBI leader, the most consistent offensive threat all season, swung and hit a ground ball to the shortstop who threw to third base for the force out.
With two outs in the bottom of the third inning, the Tigers (26-7-1) down 2-0, Buchanan stepped up to the plate, still hitless in the tournament. Leading the team with nine homeruns on the season, the power hitter was looking for a base hit, but instead, found a pitch she liked.
"I knew it was going over the fence once it came off the bat," said Buchanan. "It was one of those pitches that came right inside and I was able to turn on it."
Buchanan swung at the 1-0 pitch and hit a three-run homerun to deep left center. With one swing of the bat, the Tigers took the lead 3-2 which was the final score as DePauw won their third SCAC title in four years.
"We worked very hard and it's a great reward to be coming out on top like this," Buchanan said.
DePauw entered the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament as the No.1 seed in the East division. As the top seed, the Tigers did not play in the first round and faced Centre College (17-23) in the second round. DePauw was powered to an easy 9-0 win as senior Brianne Weeks hit her first career homerun, a two-run homerun, and sophomore Amy Hallett added a three-run homerun herself.
In the third round, the Tigers faced Trinity. Behind a strong effort by pitcher Emily Bichler, DePauw won the game 4-1 and advanced to the championship game while Trinity was sent to the losers' bracket.
In double-elimination style tournaments like this, defeated teams proceed to the losers' bracket to form the matchup for the championship game.
Coming into that game, Trinity pitcher Colbie Devost had several strong performances in the pitcher's circle in the first two rounds, striking out 19 batters and giving up just two hits and one run. Head coach Bonnie Skrenta spoke after the win over Trinity about the different approach at the plate her offense would have to take with Devost.
"We were trying to be aggressive and jump on Centre and on the flip side we were trying to be patient and smart with Trinity," said Skrenta. "We knew Dovost had that strikeout pitch with the rise ball, and we only struck out once. That was the big stat of the day."
On Saturday night, after losing to DePauw, Trinity faced Southwestern University (29-15) for both teams' fourth game of the day. Playing under the lights at Greencastle High School, Trinity outlast Southwestern by a score of 7-1 as rain came down on the field and players spent upwards of six hours of time on the field.
In a rematch, DePauw again used patience against Devost and looked for pitches they could hit. The Tigers got just enough offense on the homerun by Buchanan which tied DePauw's single-season homerun record of 10 set by Amy Hallett last year.
"That was huge, they saw us yesterday and I know their coach went home and analyzed us to death," said Minx of Buchanan's homerun. Minx said the three runs in the midst of a tough pitching game by Devost gave Bichler and the defense a boost of confidence.
With the 3-2 lead and momentum in their favor, Bichler retired the final nine Trinity batters and was named to the all-tournament team with her 3-0 record and 1.11 ERA.
Also taking home all-tournament honors were: Minx, who had four RBIs and a batting average of .444, junior Jen Kosinski, who scored four runs and had a BA of .500 and Weeks, who was the tournament leader in BA at .625.
Aside from winning the SCAC title in DePauw's final season in the conference, they are now guaranteed a chance to play for the DIV. III softball championship title.
"The biggest factor is that we now have an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament so we don't have to wait around," Minx said. "This is my third SCAC championship out of my four years and I think it just marks an accomplishment of hard work and a successful program."
But the regular season is not over yet for the Tigers. Saturday, Washington University in St. Louis (27-8-1) will come to DePauw's softball field, Tigers Field, for the final two games of the schedule.
Not only will the Tigers be celebrating senior day for their three seniors, but they will also be holding a fundraiser, "Strike out Cancer," for Relay for Life.