The Muskingum University softball team will open up OAC Tournament play hosting Baldwin Wallace in the semifinals on Thursday, May 13 at Donna J. Newberry Field.
The Basics
• The OAC Tournament features a six-team bracket, with the Quarterfinal round starting on Tuesday, March 11.
• The semifinals take place on Thursday, May 13, at 4:00 p.m.
• Muskingum earned the second seed after ending the regular season with a 26-9 conference record.
• Baldwin Wallace earned the three-seed after registering a 19-15 conference record.
The Series
• The tournament contest will mark the third meeting of the season between Muskingum and Baldwin Wallace. These two teams opened their 2021 spring season, splitting the four-game series with each other to begin conference play. Baldwin Wallace won the first doubleheaders in Berea, 1-0 and 3-1, while the Muskies went on to sweep the Yellow Jackets the next day in New Concord, winning game one, 9-8, and game two, 7-6.
Muskingum – Inside the Numbers
• Senior Karsyn Shaffer leads the Muskies with a .404 batting average and a team-high 55 hits. She has10 stolen bases and notched six doubles and two triples in the regular season.
• Junior Haley Hawk finished the regular season with a .396 batting average and tallied 40 hits. She hit two home runs, eight doubles and logged a team-high 27 RBIs.
• Senior Shaena Mayer has a .358 batting average and has a team-high 17 stolen bases. She has 43 hits, with two doubles and two triples, and tallied eight RBIs.
• In the circle, junior Hannah Smith carries an 11-3 record and has a 2.32 ERA. She has pitched a total of 96.2 innings, notching 58 strikeouts. She was also awarded OAC Softball Pitcher of the Week twice for her outstanding performances against then 21st-ranked Mount Union and Marietta.
• Senior Hannah Duff carries a record of 12-6, with an ERA of 2.81. She leads the Muskie pitchers in innings pitched with 109.2 and has fired 70 strikeouts.
• The Muskies finished the regular season with a team batting average of .311 and a fielding average of .957.
• The Muskies tallied 332 hits, 52 doubles, seven triples, and nine home runs.
• The Muskie pitching staff has an ERA of 3.00.
Baldwin Wallace – Inside the Numbers
• Freshman Bridie Bricker leads the Yellow Jacket offense with a batting average of .364. She finished the regular season with 44 hits, nine doubles, a team-high 38 RBIs, and belted a team-high of 11 home runs.
• Freshman Emily Mau carries a batting average of .358 and with 44 hits for the Yellow Jackets. She leads the team with 14 stolen bases.
• Junior Ashley Matousek has a batting average of .352, adding 43 hits to help guide the Yellow Jacket offense. She has a team-high of doubles, six home runs, and has notched 33 RBIs.
• On the mound, junior Nikki Camarati carries a 14-6 record with an ERA of 2.16. She has pitched a total of 137 innings and leads the OAC in strikeouts with 223.
• Junior Hannah Welling has a 7-6 record and carries a 3.49 ERA. She has pitched a total of 82.1 innings and has tallied 47 strikeouts.
• The Yellow Jackets finished the regular season with a .295 batting average and a fielding average of .947.
• The Yellow Jackets tallied a total of 300 hits, 66 doubles, 20 home runs.
• The Yellow Jacket pitching staff has a 2.87 ERA.
How to Watch
• Fans can follow all the live action at fightingmuskies.com and through the OAC TV app. The first pitch is slated for 4:00 p.m.
OAC Tournament
• The winner of the game will advance to the OAC Championship series scheduled for Saturday, May 15, and will play the winner of 18th-ranked Mount Union vs. the Ohio Northern/Capital contest winner in a best of three series.
