In a season of taking the next step, the Northern Kentucky University softball team climbed another rung on the ladder.
The Norse won the Horizon League conference tournament on Saturday for the first time in program history with a 2-1 victory over Oakland. It also gets them into the NCAA tournament for the first time since the Norse entered the Division I ranks in 2013.
After NKU earned their way to the championship game with victories over Youngstown State, Robert Morris and Oakland in the double-elimination format, they set themselves up needing to win just one game in the championship matchup with the defending champ Oakland.
NKU lost the first contest of the day 4-2, the second game setting up a winner take all matchup and a berth into the NCAA tournament.
In the second game, Oakland struck first, scratching a run across in the bottom of the second for a 1-0 lead. Trinity Robertson answered in the top of the fourth to tie things up at 1-1 with an RBI single to score Megan Lenhart.
Then quite possibly the defining moment happened in the game. Oakland loaded up the bases in the bottom half of the fourth with no outs, but Lauryn Hicks struck out the next three batters to end the threat.
Ella LeMonier then lead off the fifth with a triple, Jena Rhoads driving her home with a double to make it 2-1 Norse. The Golden Grizzlies loaded them up again in the fifth, but again came away with nothing.
Madisyn Eads and Alicia Flores closed out the contest after Hicks pitched the first four innings, Eads tossing 1.1 scoreless while Flores got the final five outs of the game, allowing just one hit in the process.
Hicks was named the Conference championship MVP while Sydni Barnes, Flores, Lacer and LeMonier made the All-Tournament team. Hicks pitched 21 innings in the tournament, allowing just 10 hits, four earned runs and striking out 36.
The team now awaits their next destination in the NCAA tournament, finding out Sunday evening at 7 p.m. during the selection show.
NKU was sitting at 9-25 after being swept by Robert Morris on April 8. The team went 14-5 from that point to get where they are today.
