Northwestern softball hopes to clear up ‘unfinished business’

The Northwestern softball program has been pining for a state tournament berth since its last trip under legendary coach Nancy Dutton in 2000, and the team came tantalizingly close a year ago.

The Warriors were making their third-straight Division III regional appearance and were one inning away from a trip to Columbus when play was halted by lightning — not exactly ideal timing.

After a tense 30-minute delay, they squandered a scoring chance in the top of the seventh, then gave up three runs, including a walk-off homer, in a 4-2 regional-final loss to Johnstown-Monroe.

“A little pressure was added, knowing we were so close,” coach Missy Johnson said of the half-hour wait. “We kind of took ourselves out mentally and made some mistakes we don’t normally make.

“We have a little bit of unfinished business from last year. That’s in the back of our minds.”

The Warriors have all the pieces for a fifth consecutive Central Buckeye Conference crown and a more satisfying conclusion in the tournament.

They return perhaps the area’s top pitcher in junior Jenna Robbins and seven starting position players. And senior outfielder Maddie Currant, who took a year off from softball in 2016, is back after hitting .500 and leading the team with 39 RBIs as a sophomore.

“We’re a family. We look out for each other on and off the field,” said Johnson, who succeeded Dutton and is in her 17th season. “Having that success the previous four years, they’ve got that confidence in their game that we can accomplish anything thrown at us with a little bit of hard work.”

Robbins, the daughter of former Kenton Ridge pitching great Jodi Noffke, went 20-4 last year with a 1.32 ERA and 229 strikeouts in 164 1/3 innings.

The Division-I recruit also will be the clean-up hitter after batting .441 with a team-high six home runs last season.

Sophomore Miranda Gillman filled in on Robbins’ off days and went 5-1 with a 0.21 ERA in 33 1/3 innings. She also hit .349 as a third baseman.

“Jenna has multiple pitches she can go to, and Miranda is the same way,” Johnson said. “They mix up their speeds to keep the batters guessing. Miranda has improved, and so has Jenna.”

Senior second baseman Abby Zerkle (.337 average in 2016) and senior outfielder Rachel Martin (.388) are four-year starters, and there isn’t an easy out elsewhere in the lineup with junior shortstop Jamie Rutherford (.466), junior catcher Macie Crew (.388), sophomore first baseman Bry White (.313) and sophomore outfielder McKayla Howard (.326).

The Warriors have gone 25-5, 24-5, 27-3 and 20-9 the last four years and will have a potent combination of skill and experience.

“Having that many returning players will help,” Johnson said. “If we’re in a situation where we’re down, I don’t think they’ll press as you would with younger players. I think the veteran players will pull through.”

Secret weapon: Junior Ashlee Barger's primary role last year was being a courtesy runner for Robbins. She did that well with a team-high 12 steals, and she'll get more playing time this year as an outfielder.

Strong competition: Johnson has toughened up the schedule to prepare for the tourney. There are double-headers with D-I schools Wayne and Northmont. The Warriors also will play in an event hosted by Milton-Union where they'll meet D-II power River Valley.

Good gloves: The Warriors have plenty of offense, but they also could win at a high rate playing small-ball because of their pitching and defense.

“This is probably the most defensively sound team I’ve had in all my years of coaching,” Johnson said.

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