ONU Softball

🚨REMINDER🚨 1 week until our Elite Prospect Camp! BE THERE!!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN FROM ONU SOFTBALL! 🎃👻 On Thursday, we celebrated our annual Halloween party with costumes, Hocus Pocus, pumpkin painting, and a walk over to the haunted house hosted by Delta Sigma Phi & Kappa Alpha Theta! We had a spooktacular time celebrating together! 🧡

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT 🔦 2022 ONU SOFTBALL The 2022 Polar Bears added another championship chapter to the tradition of ONU Softball. They finished 24-11 and 16-2 in the OAC, won both the OAC regular-season and tournament championships and earned the program’s second straight NCAA Tournament appearance. Freshman Ashley Lenser was named OAC Pitcher of the Year and OAC Rookie of the Year after going 12-4 with a conference-best 1.46 ERA. She also earned First Team All-OAC and Second Team All-Region honors. Kaylie Griffin hit .411 with six home runs, 27 RBI and 32 runs scored on her way to First Team All-OAC and Second Team All-Region honors. Senior Lauren Renner hit .320, earned Honorable Mention All-OAC honors and was named to the NCAA Decatur Regional All-Tournament Team. To the players and coaches of the 2022 team, thank you for adding your chapter to the legacy of ONU Softball. #ONUSoftball #SaturdaySpotlight #PolarBearSoftball

🤙 Hang loose, but don’t wait to register! Our Prospect Camp is right around the corner. Come show us that you want to be a Polar Bear 🐻‍❄️ NOV 8 • CAMP 1-3 PM • All-Star Game 3-5 PM Register below! payment.onu.edu/C21185_ustor…

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT 🔦 2018 ONU SOFTBALL The 2018 Polar Bears finished 32-11, went 13-5 in the OAC, won the OAC Tournament Championship and earned ONU’s first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012. They kept going, advancing all the way to the championship game of the NCAA Notre Dame Regional. Kirsten Lightel was named OAC Pitcher of the Year and First Team All-OAC before earning Second Team All-Region and NCAA Regional All-Tournament honors. She led the OAC with a 1.19 ERA and 18 wins entering postseason play and finished her career as one of the most accomplished pitchers in ONU history. Jenna Hollar set the ONU single-season record with 40 stolen bases and finished her career with 123. She earned All-OAC, Second Team All-Region and NCAA Regional All-Tournament honors. Brady Guest earned First Team All-OAC honors after hitting .398 and leading the team with five home runs, while Gabby Stewart earned Second Team All-OAC honors after hitting .395 and leading ONU with 38 RBI. Hailee Loughman earned Second Team All-OAC honors, Kaitlin Surdej was named Honorable Mention All-OAC, and Lightel, Hollar, Miranda Huddle and Stewart were all selected to the OAC All-Tournament Team. Lightel, Hollar and Alicia Swierz were also named to the NCAA Notre Dame Regional All-Tournament Team. To the players and coaches of the 2018 team, thank you for adding your chapter to the tradition of ONU Softball! #ONUSoftball #SaturdaySpotlight #PolarBearSoftball

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT | 2012 ONU SOFTBALL If you wear the orange and black today, this is one of the teams whose shoulders you’re standing on. The 2012 Polar Bears finished 31-14 and 14-3 in the OAC, won their fourth straight OAC regular season championship, captured an NCAA Regional Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division III World Series. But 2012 was bigger than one great season. It capped an incredible four-year run from 2009-12 that saw ONU go 138-41 overall and 61-10 in the OAC, win four straight OAC regular season titles, two NCAA Regional Championships and make two NCAA World Series appearances. Two members of that team, Jackie Mangola Price and Kimi Blewett, were inducted into the ONU Athletics Hall of Fame together in 2023. Jackie was a two-time First Team All-American and two-time OAC Player of the Year and remains ONU’s career leader with 45 home runs and 417 total bases. Kimi was a four-time First Team All-OAC selection, four-time All-Region honoree and All-American. She remains ONU’s career leader in RBIs with 210 and doubles with 50. Head Coach Kim Burke and assistant coach Tina Mangola were also named the NFCA Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year for what this team accomplished. Four straight conference championships. Two trips to the World Series. A standard of winning that helped define an era of ONU Softball. Our job is to honor what they built and keep raising the standard. To the players and coaches of the 2012 team, thank you for showing generations after you what ONU Softball can be! #ONUSoftball #SaturdaySpotlight #PolarBearSoftball

Happy National Coaches Day to our three coaches! We’re so thankful for everything you do for us! 🧡🐻‍❄️

Fall ball looks good on us 🥎

Let’s try this again! 🥎 Our September 12 Elite Prospect Camp has been rescheduled for Sunday, November 8! We’re also adding an optional All-Star Game after camp so you can get live reps and our staff can see you compete! Open to 9th grade & up! • Pitchers start at 12 pm • All campers warm up at 12:45 pm • Camp: 1–3 pm | $100 • All-Star Game: 3–5 pm | additional $30 We’d love to have you on campus! Sign up here: payment.onu.edu/C21185_ustor…

A special thank you to the ONU coaches and administrators who stepped into the box to support our program! We know your schedules are packed, and it means so much to our team that you made time to be part of our night. We’ll let the photos speak for the swings 👀🧡 #ONUSoftball #PolarBears

Friday night looked good on you, Polar Bears 🧡🥎 Thank you to everyone who came out for our Home Run Derby! We loved having our alumni back at the field and seeing so many people show up to support ONU Softball. Whether you picked up a bat or cheered from the stands, you made it a fun night! Already looking forward to the next one 👀 #ONUSoftball #PolarBears

A HUGE shoutout to all of our sponsors for providing prizes for the home run derby tonight! Can’t wait to see you all there!🧡🐻‍❄️ Taco Bell: free taco coupons BayLift gym and Box: Free one-month gym membership, tee shirt and protein powder (female and male winner) ONU gift shop: ONU merch Mezza: Gift basket Other prizes: Polar points Double Lehr cup points

SATURDAY SPOTLIGHT | 2009 ONU SOFTBALL 🥎🔥 Every Saturday this fall, we’re pulling up the teams that built ONU Softball. This week: the 2009 Polar Bears, one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, teams ONU has ever had. 39-6. Started 13-0. Went 16-2 in the OAC. Won the regular-season title and OAC Tournament at home. Then won the NCAA Regional and became the first World Series team in program history. And the way they got there? Two grand slams against DePauw in two days. Freshman Kimi Blewett hit one in a 5-3 win Saturday. Freshman Jackie Mangola hit another in the winner-take-all 4-1 final Sunday. Jackie’s slam accounted for every ONU run! This team hit .372. AS A TEAM. NINE All-OAC selections, six on First Team, and three ONU Hall of Famers. Tina Mangola Martinez | HOF 2021 The only person in ONU history to reach the World Series as a player and coach: 2009 player, 2012 assistant. Kimi Blewett | HOF 2023 Left ONU with career records for RBI (210) and doubles (50), plus four First Team All-OAC honors. Jackie Mangola Price | HOF 2023 Career home run leader (45). Two-time First Team All-American. Two-time OAC Player of the Year. Later coached ONU and became the only person in school history to win both OAC Player and Coach of the Year. And somehow, we’re still not done. Liz Decima hit .475, became ONU’s first OAC Player of the Year and earned First Team All-America. Cortney Cash went 28-4 with a 1.95 ERA. Mandi Fought hit .400. Danielle Goubeaux hit .387 and earned All-Region. Head Coach Annette Shepherd took ONU to its first World Series. To the 2009 team: thank you for putting ONU Softball on the map. #ONUSoftball #SaturdaySpotlight #PolarBearSoftball

POV: just unlocked night mode 🌙🥎 #ONUSoftball #PolarBearSoftball

The Campus Home Run Derby is back Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 PM at Durbin Hileman Softball Stadium! This year we’re changing it up a little. You can hit from the Silver Division, 50 feet up, or take on the full distance in the Gold Division. ONU Baseball will have its own Powerhouse Division. It’s open to students, staff, alumni and the community. $2 for 1 ball
$10 for 10 balls
$25 for a team of 3 You can sign up at the field, or just come out and watch for free! Our softball alumni tailgate will start at 6 PM and is for ONU Softball alumni only. Come hang out, bring some friends and see who can leave the yard 🐻‍❄️🥎

Calling all ONU Softball alumni! Join us Friday, September 25th for our Alumni Tailgate beginning at 6 PM at the softball field. Come reconnect with former teammates, meet our current team and spend the evening with ONU Softball. Our Home Run Derby will begin at 7 PM, and alumni are welcome to participate, watch or continue tailgating throughout the event. Please share this with your former teammates and help us bring as many ONU Softball alumni back together as possible! RSVP: surveymonkey.com/r/65PW7NC