The Denison softball team set the table for another miraculous run in the North Coast Athletic Conference Tournament with wins over Ohio Wesleyan and Hiram to force a second NCAC Tournament title game. However, a seventh-inning double by Sarah Loyer powered the Terriers to a 3-2 victory and their second tournament crown in three years.

The majority of the second championship game was a pitcher's duel between DU reliever Rebecca Dyer and Hiram workhorse Alyssa Lane. Over four and a half innings, the two scattered two hits, issued three walks and struck out three. In the top of the seventh, Marlene Smith drew a one-out walk and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Kristen Cooney. With two down, Loyer belted a double to right center that scored Smith and put the Terriers up 3-2. Lane went on to retire the side in order to secure the Hiram victory.

The Big Red jumped out to an early lead in their first trip to the plate. With two on and two out, back-to-back wild pitches allowed Lauren Lynn to cross the dish and Karla Dixon to move up to third base. Dixon would eventually score on a two-out infield single by rookie Meghan Edwards.

The Terriers evened the score in the top of the second inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, Danielle Reddinger drew a walk to cut the deficit in half. After giving up the free pass, Dyer struck out Smith looking and got Cooney to fly out to left. With two down, a second base-on-balls issued to Loyer tied the game at 2-2.

Dyer fell to 11-5 after giving up one run on two hits with four strikeouts in six innings of work, while Lane improved to 13-7 following a three-hit, four-strikeout performance over seven innings.

DU forced the second championship game with a 6-3 win over Hiram in the first title contest. Edwards put the Big Red up early with a three-run double to left center in the top of the first. The eventually game-winning run came in the fifth when a Hannah Price sacrifice fly scored Rachel Laughlin.

Hiram scored two runs back in the bottom of the fifth, but Denison quickly got them back in the sixth thanks to a Terrier fielding error and an RBI single by senior Erica Evans. Hiram was able to plate a run in the seventh on a sacrifice fly, but relief pitcher Kelsey Hager struck out Jena Ervin for the final out of the game.

Laughlin (7-1) picked up the victory after giving up two runs on eight hits in five frames. Edwards' three-run double paced the DU offense, while Jessica Robertson added a pair of singles.

In the first game of the day, Denison held on for a 7-5 victory in a back-and-forth battle with rival Ohio Wesleyan University. Trailing 1-0 in the third, the Big Red took their first lead of the game when a fielding error by OWU and an infield hit by Evans resulted in 2-1 DU lead. After both teams scored two tallies in the fifth Denison maintained a 4-3 edge. With two on and one out in the bottom of the sixth, Laughlin blasted a three-run home run over the wall in left field. The long ball was her sixth of the season and just the second of the tournament.

The Battling Bishops were able to trim the deficit to two on a two-run double by Tara VanVranken in the seventh, but Hager retired two of the three batters she faced en route to her first-career save.

Laughlin was 2-for-3 at the dish with three RBIs and two runs scored, while Price also logged a pair of hits. Dyer earned the win after tossing 6.1 innings and surrendering five runs (three earned) on five hits. The first-year hurler also recorded double-digit strikeouts for the second time this season after fanning 10 OWU hitters.

Following the conclusion of the NCAC Championship Tournament, Hager, Edwards and Laughlin were named to the 2011 NCAC All-Tournament team.

Denison closes out the 2011 NCAC Tournament with a 30-9 record.  This marks the fifth 30-win season in program history, and the second under head coach Tiffany Ozbun. Last year, Ozbun led DU to a 30-17 mark.

Saturday also marked the final home game for senior Erica Evans. Evans finished her four-year career as Denison's all-time leader in career hits (187), RBIs (121), runs scored (143) and total bases (306). She was also second in career doubles (45), home runs (24), batting average (.352), slugging percentage (.575) and on-base percentage (.400).