Oberlin’s women softball squad finished its 2007 season by defeating the Challengers of Cuyahoga Community College with a 5-3 non-conference win. The Challengers were 9-3 this season, winning the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference.

Despite the outcome of the team’s season, this victory shows just the kind of heart Oberlin has. Head Coach Adrienne Davis’ words could not have said it better: “This season was great! We improved so much from last year. We played seven fewer games, but had 14 more runs, 15 more hits, and three more home runs than last year. We also had 45 fewer strikeouts and 46 fewer errors.”

The sluggers who stood out in the win were first-years Lauren Luther and Julia Chauvin, along with juniors Spencer McCaffrey and Ashley Gorham. Luther led Oberlin offensively with two doubles and two runs scored, while Chauvin added a triple and double. McCaffrey went 2-4 with a double as teammate Gorham went 1-1 with two sacrifice hits.

Chauvin had an impressive first season as she stepped up big for the Yeowomen. She paced Oberlin this season with 20 hits, 12 RBIs, 10 runs scored, a slugging percentage of .478, and a batting average of .299. Luther also had a strong season, batting an impressive .323, a .371 slugging percentage, along with 20 hits and two doubles.

McCaffrey and first-year Nora Granahan supplied the speed for the Yeowomen, each with five stolen bases. First-year pitcher Sophie Schacht supplied the arm strength for Oberlin, retiring 19 batters on the season.

“Our first-year players really stepped up and showed that they had what it took to play collegiate softball,” said Davis.

“Alie Plotsky, our lone senior, did a great job for us this season at second and short. Her leadership, along with McCaffrey and Gorham’s, really helped further the success of this team, and they really helped the first-year players in every aspect of varsity softball,” said Davis.

Women’s softball ends its season with a 2-26 record in non-conference play, and 0-14 in the NCAC, but the team remains optimistic and looks forward to next season.

“I thought that we had a much better season than our record indicates. Defensively, we were strong and didn’t let errors affect future plays,” said Luther. “As for our offense, we showed what we are capable of in our last game when we put the hits together. Next season, we need to work on being more consistent with our hitting.”