CROWN POINT, Ind. – In their first game of the postseason, the Olivet Nazarene University softball team dropped a tightly-contested opening round matchup to Indiana South Bend Friday afternoon at the Crown Point Sportsplex.

The game went scoreless until the sixth inning, with the Titans producing just enough offense to take down ONU 2-1. The Tigers will now have their backs against the wall in the remainder of the CCAC Tournament.

The Tigers, who entered the postseason as the conference's No. 4 seed, will face St. Francis (Ill.) at 1 p.m. Saturday.

Neither team could get anything going offensively, with both teams combining for just four hits through the first five innings. The Titans finally broke the scoreless tie with a run in the sixth, but the Tigers quickly had the answer in their half of the frame.

Zoe Oshiro roped a leadoff single up the middle and was swiftly moved over to third base on a Faith Mikos sacrifice and a Stephanie Hause groundout. Allie Timm cashed in the run with an RBI single to right field to tie the game 1-1 heading into the final frame.

IUSB, however, jumped right back in front with a run in the seventh. The Tigers seemed poised to repeat the heroics of the sixth inning, with Gwen Bender lifting a leadoff single and getting 60 feet away from tying the game. But two balls in play couldn't get her home, and ONU was dropped to the lower bracket.

Oshiro was the lone Tiger to record multiple hits, going 2-for-4 with one run scored. Olivia Saldana went the distance as the ONU starter, allowing just two earned runs on six hits and twirling one strikeout.

--ONU—

*Contact: Evan Wild, Sports Information Director, ewwild@olivet.edu