Ohio Northern Advances in NCAA Winner's Bracket with Win over Defiance

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May 8, 2009, Greencastle, Ind. — Top-seed and fourth-ranked Ohio Northern scored three runs in the top of the seventh and advanced in the NCAA Division III Softball Championship first-round winner's bracket with an 8-5 win over fifth-seed Defiance.

The Polar Bears improved to 37-3 with the win and will play second-seed and 15th-ranked DePauw on Saturday morning. Defiance dropped to 29-15 and will play the winner of the Thomas More-Hiram game which was halted later in the evening due to darkness.

With the game tied, 5-5, after six innings Tina Mangola led off the seventh with a single and scored on Danielle Goubeaux's double. Jackie Mangola's single scored Goubeaux and Katie Cretin's base hit plated Mangola.

Ohio Northern jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first as Mandi Fought led off the game with a double, moved to third on Liz  Decima's sacrifice bunt and scored on Tina Mangola's sacrifice fly to right.

Defiance struck back in the bottom of the first as Amanda Auzins led off with an infield single and went to third on Tasha Stucke's single. Marah Robinson drove in both with a double to right.

The Polar Bears regained the lead in the second when Cassie Gaye reached on an error and Jackie Mangola followed with a two-run homer to center.

Auzins led off the Defiance third with a homer to left center before Aarika Davis singled. The game was then delayed for 1:30 due to lightning. After the delay, Stucke walked and Melanie Bushman reached on a bunt single. Robinson drew a bases loaded walk which scored Davis and Kayla Crager singled home Stucke to give the Yellow Jackets a 5-3 lead.

Goubeaux's bases loaded single in the fifth trimmed the lead to 5-4 before Fought's groundout scored Jackie Mangola who reached on an error to lead off the inning.

Ohio Northern totaled 11 hits paced by two each from Fought, Tina Mangola, Goubeaux, Jackie Mangola and Cretin. Jackie Mangola scored three and drove in three in the win. Auzins and Bushman each had two of Defiance's nine hits and Robinson drove in three.

Courtney Cash improved to 26-1 with the win, while Kelly Schnipke dropped to 10-5.