May 8, 2011
Final Stats
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Ohio University softball team clinched the 2011 Mid-American Conference (MAC) East Division Title on Sunday after a 7-0 win over Toledo at Scott Park. The win gives the Bobcats the second overall seed in the upcoming conference tournament, which is set to take place at Firestone Stadium in Akron, Ohio from May 11-14.
Senior pitcher Emily Wethington (New Palestine, Ind.) pitched a one-hit shutout to earn her 18th win of the season. From the end of the first through the sixth innings, Wethington retired 14 batters in a row. She struck out six batters and walked two. During the two-game set with the Rockets, Wethington did not allow a run and surrendered just three hits.
Offensively, junior Alexis Joseph (Alvin, Texas) and senior Melissa Bonner (Kings Mills, Ohio) each had two hits and two RBIs in the game, while junior Jillian Van Wagnen scored two runs and stole three bases in the game. As a team, Ohio (23-21, 12-8 MAC) pounded out 11 hits and eight of the nine starters tallied a hit.
The Bobcats totaled six runs on five hits in the fifth inning to gain a 6-0 advantage on Toledo (8-43, 3-18 MAC).The first six batters reached base. Freshman Raven King (Alpine, Utah) started the frame with a leadoff home run to left field. During the frame, Joseph knocked a two-RBI single up the middle, while Bonner, Wethington and sophomore Lauren Gellerman (San Diego, Calif.) each tallied an RBI in the inning.
Van Wagnen tacked on an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI single by Bonner. Van Wagnen stole second and third base during the inning to get herself in position to score during Bonner's plate appearance.
With the win, the Bobcats tallied 12 conference wins this season, which ties the output from 2009 and 2004. It also marks the sixth straight season that Ohio will compete in the MAC Tournament. The Bobcats have qualified each year since 2006. Ohio has won one MAC Tournament Championship in 1995.
Ohio will play its first round game in the MAC Tournament on Wednesday, May 11 at 5 p.m. The Bobcats will take on the seventh-seeded team in the eight-team field.
