The No. 11 nationally ranked (as of April 23) Saint Xavier University softball team has wrapped up the regular season with a remarkable and record breaking 43-5 mark. SXU finished in first place in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) with a 19-1 overall conference record which also secured the Cougars with one of two automatic bids to the NAIA Softball National Championships which begin on May 13.
Saint Xavier wrapped up a trip to the National Championships after two wins over Judson University (Ill.) on Thursday, April 25. SXU won both games by a combined score of 23-6 as the Cougars continue their offensive surge at the plate.
In the first game against the host Eagles, Saint Xavier scored in all innings except the fifth inning en route to the 13-4 victory in five innings. Junior pitcher Megan Nonnemacher was on the mound for SXU in the game and she rolled to her 21st victory of the season (21-1) following a complete game allowing four earned runs and striking out eight.
There was no shortage of offense in game one with four Cougar players chiming in with two RBI’s each in the forms of freshman pitcher Nicole Nonnemacher, senior third baseman Kate Mollohan, sophomore first baseman Amanda Hainlen and freshman second baseman Kasey Kanaga.
The second game was dominated by the pitching and hitting of Nicole Nonnemacher as she pitched a complete game only giving up two runs while striking out 14 batters. Nonnemacher also had two hits which resulted in four RBI’s.
Mollohan chipped in two RBI’s in the second game as well while Hainlen, Kanaga, junior catcher/first baseman Ariel Hinton and sophomore outfielder Holly Hilden all added one RBI of their own. Nonnemacher broke the game wide open on a grand slam in the fourth inning and also became the first pitcher in Saint Xavier softball history to record 200 strikeouts on a season.
On Saturday, April 27, SXU grabbed two more wins after defeating host Grand View University (Iowa), 4-1 in game one and 6-4 in game two. The Cougars got one run in the second inning on an RBI single to center field by Nicole Nonnemacher.
Three runs in the sixth inning added some insurance for Saint Xavier as sophomore catcher Megan James doubled to right field to plate two more runs and James later scored an unearned run to give the Cougars the 4-0 advantage. Grand View added a run in the bottom half of the sixth, but it was not enough as SXU came away with the 4-1 victory.
The second game was a little more difficult as Grand View came out on the offensive scoring a run in the opening inning and adding three more runs in the second. Saint Xavier was able to match by scoring three runs in the opening frame, adding two more in the third and an insurance run in the fifth.
Hinton and Hilden started the scoring off by both drawing bases loaded walks in the opening inning and a fielder’s choice RBI by senior shortstop Ashley Sullivan capped off the scoring in the inning. Nicole Nonnemacher reached on an error in the third inning which led to two unearned runs for SXU. A sacrifice fly by Nicole Nonnemacher led to the sixth run of the day for the Cougars and the ultimate 6-4 win.
The regular season slate wrapped up with two games against William Penn University (Iowa) on the road in which Saint Xavier fell in the first game 1-0 , but SXU bounced back to win game two 3-0.
The first game featured two solid pitching performances by both teams, but it was one run in the sixth inning that was the difference maker for the host Statesmen. The Cougars had one hit in the game and did not score any runs.
The second game was another tough pitching duel as both teams combined for eight hits with Saint Xavier having three of those, but three runs off of those hits as well. A home run in the second inning by Hilden and two more runs in the fourth when sophomore outfielder Shannon Lauret reached on an error which plated a run for SXU and then Kanaga drove in a run which gave the Cougars the 3-0 lead and the eventual 3-0 victory.
Saint Xavier will await the pairings for the CCAC tournament which takes place from May 2 – May 4. Since SXU won the conference regular season championship, they have earned an automatic bid to the NAIA Softball National Championship Opening Round which kicks off on Monday, May 13.
Greg Pilafas
Deputy Editor in Chief