Eliot Barrengos, Sports Editor
The College of Wooster women’s softball team will begin conference play for the first time this season on Friday, April 7 in front of their home crowd at Galpin Park. The Scots enter the competition having cut their teeth over the course of 18 games across three states and nearly two months of regular season play. Woostercurrently possesses a .667 winning percentage and has twice as many wins (12) as they have losses (6) at the time of this writing. The Scots look primed for winning softball against the rest of the NCAC Conference. The team has been on a tear as of late, going 8-3 since snapping a three-game losing streak on March 14.
Wooster played Carnegie Mellon University in a road doubleheader on Tuesday, April 4 losing the first set of the twin bill 7-2 and dropping the second game 10-2 before returning home to face off against rival Ohio Wesleyan University to begin conference play in earnest on Friday. Wooster has been powered of late by big contributions from some of their upperclassmen, highlighted by a standout performance from Addie Tagg ’23 last weekend against Capital University when she pitched five scoreless innings of relief to earn the win in game one of a doubleheader, and tagged a game-winning grand slam to left field to clinch the doubleheader sweep for Wooster.
When asked about her approach at the plate, Tagg described it by saying “My plan while batting is to get on base no matter how it happens…Eventually, it just happened that…I connected with the pitch that went over the fence. I wish I could describe what that feeling is like. I would bottle it up if I could.”
Other standouts for the Scots’ softball unit to this point in the season: Rachael Dudziak ’24, who earned NCAC Athlete of the Week honors early on in the season when she tossed just the ninth no-hitter in Wooster softball history on Feb. 11 against Asbury University. Since earning the conference honor, Dudziak has posted 17 and two-thirds innings to the tune of a solid 4.68 ERA. Dudziak described the moment when asked for comment saying “Being named NCAC Athlete of the Week felt extremely exciting and rewarding at the same time! [But]…this is just the beginning. I have a lot more I still want to do!”
Lynnsey Delio ’26 has paired perfectly with Dudziak to create a forceful one-two punch for the Scots. Delio, who has pitched 12 times this season, three times in relief and nine times as the starter, has been nothing short of dominant posting a 2.76 ERA over a team-high 58 and one-third innings. Between Tagg, Dudziak, and Delio, the Scots should boast a strong pitching staff throughout their conference slate.
On the offensive side of the ball Wooster has been led by Stacey Harris ’24, and first-years Emma Hatkey and Julia Jennings, who have all hit north of .400 on the season and been the engine to Wooster’s powerful lineup. Jennings responded when asked for comment on the upcoming Ohio Wesleyan matchup saying “Playing [them on] Friday is a sneak peek of who we will be facing in the conference tournament. We can’t wait to show everyone the work we’ve been putting in all fall leading up to this point and to gain the respect we deserve.”
The Scots will face a tough slate of conference appointments over the next month but between their relentless lineup and a battle-tested pitching staff, Wooster is surely equipped to fight for a conference title. The College of Wooster softball team will play Ohio Wesleyan University on Friday April 7 in a doubleheader at Galpin Park. Come out and support them!
The Wooster Voice 