Akron, OH — Today’s MAC softball championship game was over before it even started. Don’t get me wrong, Northern Illinois went into the MAC tournament as one of the lowest ranked teams in the conference and fought incredibly hard over a four-day span. But the Ohio University softball team had an undeniable swag that had “champions” written all over it.
Ohio took control of the game early after a 2-run homerun by Michaela Dorsey put the Bobcats on the board. As for the rest of the game, there was little to no action. Five innings passed that NIU and OU both were held to 0 runs following the Bobcat bomb. However, the Wolfpack showed signs of hope loading the bases in two separate innings only to be shut down by Ohio hurler Danielle Stiene.
Both teams played great softball, and it could’ve been an entirely different outcome if it hadn’t been for an up in the zone pitch to Dorsey. But if I had to guess which team would walk away as champions based on their presence and energy, I would’ve picked OU every time. Whether the noise was coming from the beat of the ball bucket, the cheers from the players or the dancing of OU fans in the stands, this university was on a mission, and no one was about to get in the way of that.
Ohio’s pitching was undeniably effective throughout this tournament, but what stood out the most was the power behind their bats. Almost every Bobcat to walk up to the plate pulled at least one long foul ball over the fence. If that doesn’t make a pitcher nervous, even the slightest bit, then sign that girl to an NPF contract because she deserves to play with the big dogs.
From the moment OU took the field, the stadium was roaring with chants of, “OU-OH YEAH!” The stadium was covered in green and white posters with fans wearing pop-poms for hats. But once I saw grown men in the green and white dancing to the electric slide on a stick horse as the team cheer on in the dugout, that’s when I knew the championship game was over before it even started.
