Softball sets sites on OAC Championship run

Under the direction of first-year Head Coach Laina Connor, the Muskingum softball team will rely on experience from its upperclassmen combined with contributions from its younger talent to make an Ohio Athletic Conference Championship run this season. The Muskies are set to open their 2023 campaign at The Spring Games in Jan Phyl Village, Florida, on Sunday, March 5, against Concordia Chicago, with the first pitch set at 9:00 a.m.

OAC Preseason Poll: The Muskies were picked to finish second in the OAC Softball Preseason Coaches Poll. The Muskies received a total of 72 points in the poll, which included one first-place vote.

The Coaches: Muskingum will be led by first-year Head Coach Laina Connor'16, who returns to her alma mater after serving three seasons as the head coach at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. While at Juniata, Connor produced a competitive culture for the team to thrive. Additionally, under Connor's guidance, the team set several top-ten program records, multiple student-athletes earned all-conference accolades, and two Eagles were named National Strength and Conditioning All-Americans. Connor (Walker) was a four-year member and team captain for the Muskingum softball team during her collegiate career. She helped lead the Muskies to their 19th Ohio Athletic Conference Championship and NCAA Regional final in 2014.

Kylee Marcum enters her first year as an assistant coach for the Muskies. Before arriving in New Concord, Marcum served as the assistant coach for the New Albany High School softball program in 2021. Under Marcum's guidance, she led the Eagles to a 13-win season and had student-athletes earn All-State, All-Metro, and Ohio Capital Conference honors. Furthermore, Marcum played four years at the Ohio State University Newark Campus. Her outstanding performance in the circle for the Titans earned her Ohio Regional Campus Conference player of the Year in 2012 and 2014, where she amassed 200 strikeouts and recorded a 0.77 ERA.

Hannah Dobrinick enters her first year as an assistant coach for Muskingum. Dobrinick, a four-year letter and three-year starter for the Otterbein University softball team, helped the Cardinals secure the program's second OAC Championship and a spot in the NCAA Regional tournament in 2019. She etched her name in the all-time Cardinal record book claiming the sixth-best slugging percentage (.684), and is third in career home runs (14).

The Muskies

Muskingum returns six All-OAC honorees from last year's OAC Tournament team combined with a solid core of returners and first-year class.

Leading the charge this season for Muskingum will be senior first baseman Haley Hawk, senior shortstop Claire Guilliams, junior center fielder Kalie Eshelman, senior third baseman Sarah Piteo, senior catcher Carlee Lamacz, senior pitcher Hannah Smith and junior pitcher Madelyn Thomas.

Hawk appeared in all 43 games for the Muskies last season and registered a team-best .402 batting average and 53 hits. She also notched 11 doubles, two home runs, and finished tied for second on the team with 29 RBIs. Hawk registered a .466 on-base percentage and .530 slugging percentage. Her efforts earned her First Team All-OAC and 2nd Team All-Region honors.

Guilliams earned career-highs in hits (32), doubles (12), runs scored (24), home runs (2) and RBIs (18). Defensively, the Muskie shortstop appeared in all 43 games and notched 78 putouts and recorded a fielding percentage of .948 which earned her Second-Team All-OAC honors.

Eshelman earned her first All-OAC accolade after finishing with a career-best 2022 season. She finished with a .327 batting average, 33 hits, seven doubles, one triple, one home run, and 21 RBIs, while also tallying 12 stolen bases.

The 2022 campaign saw Piteo post career-highs last season in hits (34), RBIs (29), doubles (8), home runs (3), batting average (.343), and slugging percentage (.515).

Lamacz finished last season hitting .242, while also tallying 23 hits. She registered a career-high four doubles, two home runs, and a career-best 15 RBIs as well. Behind the plate, the Muskie catcher appeared in 41 games, notched a team second 226 putouts, and recorded a .981 fielding percentage.

Smith collected her third All-OAC accolade posting a team-best and conference-best 16 wins in the circle. Smith also led the team and ranked second in the OAC firing a career-high 116 strikeouts.

Thomas garnered her first All-OAC honor after she led the team and finished third in the conference with a career-low 2.19 ERA. She ranked fourth in the OAC and second on the Muskie pitching staff with 12 wins and tossed a career-high 104 strikeouts. Thomas also earned OAC Pitcher of the Week honors after her outstanding showing at The Spring Games last season. 

The Schedule

The Muskies look to play a competitive non-conference schedule to prepare for OAC action this upcoming season.

Muskingum opens their 2023 campaign with a trip to Florida for a 10-game set in The Spring Games in Winter Haven and Jan Phyl Village. Muskingum will play two games each day on March 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10. 

The remainder of Muskingum's schedule consists of doubleheaders. Other non-conference doubleheaders include matchups at Ohio Wesleyan, Wittenberg, 2nd-ranked Trine, and DePauw. The Muskies will host non-conference doubleheaders against Denison and Wooster.

Muskingum will open OAC play at home with a doubleheader against John Carroll on April 1.

The Muskies will also host OAC doubleheaders against Capital, Baldwin Wallace, and Heidelberg.

The team will travel for OAC doubleheaders against Wilmington, Ohio Northern, Marietta, Otterbein, and Mount Union.

The OAC Tournament is slated for May 11-13 and is reserved for the top four teams in the OAC following the regular season.                                                                                                            

Broadcasts: All home games will be played at Donna J. Newberry Field and will feature an HD video stream accessible through the OAC TV app and on fightingmuskies.com.