The softball team won five of six games last week, sweeping two games from the Tiffin University Dragons and Thomas More University Saints and splitting a pair of games against the Cedarville University Yellow Jackets.

Yesterday, the Chargers played a doubleheader against the Dragons, winning 6-2 and 3-0. 

On Saturday, the Chargers split with the Yellow Jackets, losing 2-0 in the first game and winning 8-3 in the second game. Sunday, they defeated the Saints 3-1 and 10-1. 

Coach Kyle Gross said the Chargers performed well over the weekend despite facing a tough Yellow Jacket defense. According to Gross, Cedarville’s pitching made the first game difficult for the Chargers. 

“Cedarville’s number one pitcher is really good,” Gross said. “We’ve split with them all five years I’ve been here. We have beat that pitcher one other time, but she’s just a tough pitcher and you know you’re not going to score a lot of runs.” 

However, on Sunday the Chargers dominated the Saints. Junior Hannah Hoverman contributed to the team’s intensity and determination.

“We turned up the intensity in the second game,” Hoverman said. “We knew we had to walk away from the weekend with a positive side of having three out of four wins. We had to dig in and really get after it in the offense, and we did.”

Gross agreed, adding that the weather played a significant factor in the first game but did not interfere much in the second game.

“In the first game we had some big hits that were really knocked on by the wind,” Gross said. “It was a windy day and the second game the wind didn’t play as much of a factor. However, we still felt we were in control in the first game.”

All three teams over the weekend participated in the Go 4 The Goal initiative, which seeks to bring awareness and support to pediatric cancer research. The players from the three teams wore gold laces to bring awareness, and $4 out of every $5 spent on the laces was donated to the charity, according to Gross.

“The crowd at the games was huge, it was good recognition for the cancer research,” Gross said.

Yesterday the Chargers won both games against the Dragons. Sophomore Taylor Lewis said she believes the team performed well together in these games and made the proper adjustments when necessary. 

“Our pitchers threw really well and we had a solid defense to back them up,” Lewis said. “We also adjusted to Tiffin’s pitching and had strong at-bats.”

This coming weekend, the Chargers will hit the road to play the Ashland University Eagles on Saturday at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and the Ohio Dominican University Panthers at 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.. 

Gross said this is an important weekend for the Chargers because they are set to play the Panthers. Currently, the Chargers and the Panthers are closely ranked in conference and regional play. 

“Ohio Dominican is pretty much our rival,” Gross said. “It’s going to come down to two big games on Sunday. Right now we’re right behind them in the conference standings and regional rankings, so it’s going to be a huge weekend for us to see who comes out on top.”

Lewis agreed with Gross and said the team is focusing on their mental preparation for each game. 

“Ohio Dominican University is a really big game, but we have been focusing on taking it one game at a time,” Lewis said. “We’ve been working on our mentality during at-bats and staying sharp on the field.”