Granville, OH- After a split-ticket on day one of the NCAC Tournament, the Denison softball team came into Friday facing off against Wittenberg for a spot in the conference championship game. In the opening round, the matchup was all Wittenberg, but in Friday's matchup, Denison was able to pull away early and advance to the championship game with a 9-1 victory. In the championship series, Denison needed to defeat DePauw in back-to-back games, but in a thrilling 10-inning battle, it was DePauw who came out on top with a 6–5 victory.

Game 1 (Denison 9, Wittenberg 1) 5 Innings.

After dropping the opening game to Wittenberg on Thursday, the rematch was all Denison. The Tigers scored their lone run in the opening inning, however, the Big Red responded back with nine unanswered runs in the first and second innings.

Jacqui Abogado picked up the first RBI for the Big Red, scored Annabelle Calderon with a double into right center. Leilah Ferrari next scored Madilyn Moffitt with a sac fly into left field. Bri Gonzalez scored Alex Longstreth with an infield base hit. Indy Workman, Emily Orsini, and Bri Gonzales crossed home plate after capitalizing on errors. 

The following inning, Leilah Ferrari launched a triple down the left field line, scoring Abogado to grow the lead to 8-1. Emily Orsini tacked on the final run of the game with a single into left field, scoring Ferrari from third.

In the box, Workman was a perfect 2-2 while Abogado was 2-3. Abogado led the way with a triple and a double. Workman collected a double and Ferrari added the additional triple.

In the circle, Sydney Silverstein went the distance throwing 5.0 innings and holding the Tigers to just one run.
 

Championship Series Game 1 (Denison 5, DePauw 6) 10 Innings

After storming through the losing bracket, Denison faced the challenge of sweeping DePauw yet again to be crowned the NCAC Tournament champions and earn the auto-bid to the NCAA tournament. The Tigers were able to strike first in the fourth inning following a bases loaded single to take a 1-0 lead.

The two forces traded defensive blows, each posting zero after zero on the scoreboard at Big Red Field. However, in the top of the seventh inning, Emily Orsini, Alex Longstreth, and Carley Melton loaded the bases with two outs, giving life to the stagnant offense. Down to the final out, Indy Workman stepped into the box needing to score one to keep the Big Red season alive. She then doubled down the right field line, Scoring Longstreth and Orsini and moving Melton to third base. Annabelle Calderon tacked on one more in the following at bat, but the Tigers were able to pick off two runners to end the inning.

In the bottom of the seventh, down 3-1, the Tigers were able to claw back and knot up the score at three all, sending the game into extra innings. Both teams were able to hold each other scoreless in the eighth and ninth innings. 

In the final frame, senior Annabelle Calderon cleared the right field fence for a go-ahead two run shot to take the lead. The Tigers quickly tacked on a run in response before clearing the bags for a walk off victory.