Kristin Eberts / Picture Editor / ke277604@ohiou.edu

Sophomore Candace Saucedo pitches during the Bobcats’ double header against Ohio Valley on April 23. Ohio won both games and finished the season as runner- up in the MAC Tournament.

Ohio surprised just about everybody with its run to the Mid-American Conference Championship, but after some digging in the record books, the run looks even more impressive.

Facing elimination, the Bobcats had to first play No. 2 Central Michigan, a team they lost to twice during the regular season and that has dominated the MAC Tournament in the past. Entering the tournament, the Chippewas were 41-14 in the MAC Tournament with nine tournament championships. To put that into perspective, no other team had won even 10 games, and Western Michigan was the only team to win more than one title with two.

The Bobcats, however, were able to knock off the Chippewas 2-0 and advance to face No. 5 Western Michigan.

Once again, the Bobcats did the improbable. What was astounding wasn’t that they defeated the Broncos, but how they beat the Broncos.

Ohio won 8-0, and the game ended in the fifth inning as per the mercy-rule. With the win, the Bobcats became only the second team to win by the mercy- rule in MAC Tournament history and the first team since Kent State beat Bowling Green, 11-1, in 1998. Because the game ended after the fifth, it was also the shortest game in MAC Tournament history, as the Kent State-Bowling Green game was called after the sixth.

But the Bobcats’ interesting run doesn’t end there.

The Bobcats next had to face No. 3 Bowling Green, a team they beat twice during the regular season but had lost to in the first game of the tournament.

The Bobcats almost earned their second mercy-rule win of the tournament, but a grand slam by Bowling Green’s Allison Vallas in the third prevented that; however,  the Bobcats still prevailed in convincing fashion, 10-4.

It was the second game of the doubleheader that challenged history. After nine scoreless innings, the Bobcats were able to beat the Falcons in the bottom of the 10th, 2-1. That game marked the longest game in tournament history since 1998 when one game lasted 15 innings and another lasted 18.

ALL-MAC BOBCATS
Before the start of the tournament, the MAC honored four Bobcats. Senior Courtney Waters of Eagle River, Ala. was named first-team All-MAC, and senior Michelle Sauter of Chelalis,Wash. was named second-team All-MAC. Freshmen Melissa Bonner and Emily Wethington were both named to the All-MAC Freshman Team.