Here's a recap of ONU weekend sports action.
Football
Ohio Northern built a 35-3 third quarter lead and held off a furious rally to post a 35-22 football victory over Wilmington on chilly Friday night at Dial-Roberson Stadium.
The Polar Bears improve to 3-0 overall and are 3-0 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Quakers fall to 2-2, 2-2.
Senior Brody Hahn (Louisville) ran for a 42-yard touchdown and threw for four more scores as ONU built a 35-3 lead with 5:23 left in the third quarter.
Wilmington scored on three of its next four possessions to pull within 35-22 with 3:45 left in the game.
WC then recovered an onside kick, but the ONU defense for a turnover on downs with 2:28 to go and an interception by senior A.J. Marks (Guysville/Alexander) with 1:36 left iced the game for ONU.
Hahn got Ohio Northern on the board with he scrambled in from 42 yards out with 4:03 left in the first period to make it 7-0.
He then hit senior Chase Rose (Kenton/Upper Scioto Valley) on TD passes of 40 and 16 yards sandwiched around a Quaker field goal and ONU led 21-3 at intermission.
Hahn made it 28-3 when he found freshman Noah Miller (Coldwater) on a 6-yard TD pass with 6:42 left in the third.
An 18-yard pass from Hahn to junior Austin Eick (Rossford) just 1:19 later extended the lead to 35-3.
Northern out-gained Wilmington 406-345 in total offense despite the visitors holding a 95-60 advantage in offensive plays.
Sophomore Nichal Johnson (College Park, Ga./Northgate) had 10 tackles and two sacks and freshman Peyton Wilson (Lima/Shawnee) had 10 tackles to lead an ONU defense that posted seven sacks and 12 TFL in the contest.
The Polar Bears will wrap up their abbreviated 2020-21 regular season with a road game at Heidelberg on Friday in a battle of league unbeatens with the OAC West Division title on the line.
Softball
Sophomore Sydney Motylinski (Ida, Mich.) hit a 2-out, 2-run home run to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh and senior Abby Davis (New Palestine, Ind.) won the game with a bases loaded single in the bottom of the eighth to lead the Ohio Northern softball team to a dramatic split with No. 20-ranked Mount Union at the ONU Softball Field on Saturday.
The Polar Bears (9-8-1 Overall, 8-7 Ohio Athletic Conference) won the nightcap 11-10 after the Purple Raiders (17-3, 14-2) won the opener 14-4.
Trailing 10-8, Northern was down to its final out in the bottom of the seventh when sophomore Annika Murray(Hilliard/Bradley) smacked a 2-out double over the centerfielder's head.
Motylinski followed with her league-leading fifth home run, a blast that flew over the pine trees behind the center field fence, to tie the game at 10-10.
After Mount Union came up empty in the top of the eighth, Northern loaded the bases on a pair of walks sandwiched around a fielding error.
Davis the slapped a sharp single to left center to score junior Hannah Rubel (Swanton/Notre Dame) with the winning run.
Junior Stacey Walters (Sunbury/Big Walnut) earned the complete game victory in the circle to improve to 6-2 on the season.
Mount Union won the first game 14-4 in six innings as the game was called due to the NCAA's 8-run rule.
Baseball
The Ohio Northern baseball team rallied from a 3-0 deficit to post a 7-5 victory in the nightcap to gain a split of a double header at Mount Union on Saturday at Rafeld-Rogers Field.
The Polar Bears (4-11 overall, 3-8 Ohio Athletic Conference) dropped the opener 8-5 to the Purple Raiders (10-4, 8-4).
Junior Tom Pitko (Youngstown/Austintown-Fitch) was solid in 6.2 innings on the hill, striking out eight and not allowing an earned run to improve to 2-2 on the season.
Senior James Fisher (Castalia/Margaretta) was perfect in 2.1 innings of relief to earn his first save of the season. He did not allow a base hit and struck out four.
Seniors Michael Rocco (Davenport, Fla./Zionsville [Ind.]) and Jake Gherardi (Austintown/Austintown-Fitch) each went 3-for-3 to lead the ONU offense.
MtU scored three times in the bottom of the second to grab an early 3-0 lead, but ONU answered with three in the third, two in the fourth and one more in the fifth to go up 6-3.
The visitors got within 6-5 with two runs in the seventh, but Johnson got out of the jam and ONU added an insurance run in the top of the ninth.
In the opener, Mount Union used a 5-run fourth to grab a 7-3 lead.
Northern got two in the top of the ninth and had the tying run at the plate with one out, but the hosts were able to get a double play ball to win the game.
Women’s lacrosse
Sophomore Meredith Miller (Noblesville, Ind.) and freshman Emma Perry (Pickerington/North) each scored two goals to lead the Ohio Northern women's lacrosse team in a 20-8 loss at Mount Union on Saturday at Mount Union Stadium.
The Polar Bears fall to 4-7 overall and are 4-7 in the Ohio Athletic Conference, while the Purple Raiders improve to 9-1, 9-1.
MtU took control quickly, scoring the first seven goals in the first 3:48 of the contest before freshman Noel Orioli(Westerville/North) got ONU on the board.
Mount led 15-3 at halftime.
The Purple Raiders out-shot ONU 38-21 but Ohio Northern held a 16-13 advantage in draw controls.
The Polar Bears will return to action Wednesday with a 7 pm contest at Heidelberg.
