Otterbein softball is hoping to continue its strong start into the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) as they take on Capital this Saturday, March 29, in its first OAC conference games. The team is eyeing its first winning record since 2022 when they went 23-13 and earned a spot in the OAC tournament.
After going 5-9 through their first 14 games last year, the Cardinals are off to an 8-6 start this season.
“This year our team has more depth in the roster,” sophomore utility Alex Newsome said. “All of our goals are aligned and we understand we are working together to achieve success.”
The Cardinals’ experience will play to their advantage as they take on the conference schedule with 11 of their 26 players being juniors or seniors. Sophomore infielder Ella Pfaffl said the upperclassmen supply a strong combination of experience and leadership.
“Having a larger number of upperclassmen definitely helps us out,” Pfaffl said. “We have amazing leaders who set the tone day in and day out. They know how competitive the conference is and what it takes to succeed in an OAC matchup.”
Perhaps the biggest reason for the Cardinals' success has been their offense. The Cardinals are slugging to .328 team batting average and almost six runs per game, led by leadoff hitter Kennedi Endsley who is hitting .463 and getting on base at a .511 clip.
Endsley, a sophomore outfielder, understands the importance of persistence in the tough OAC schedule.
“The biggest obstacle we can be is ourselves,” Endsley said. “Not letting others' perspectives of us get us down or discourage us will be a main point to see the success we plan for.”
The Cardinals first OAC games against Capital will be a doubleheader this Saturday, March 29 starting at 1 p.m. The team also has a doubleheader against Wittenberg on Wednesday March 26 starting at 3:30 p.m. All games will be at Otterbein.
