Oberlin, Ohio - The Oberlin College softball team broke the single season win record with an 8-5 victory against Kenyon to claim their 15th win of the year. Last set in 2012 when they team won 14 games. After winning game one against the Owls, the Yeowomen ultimately fell 6-4 after a seven-inning battle in game two. 

"This is why I came to Oberlin to change the program, it has now changed!" said Head Coach Julie Pratt. "We have an offense that can get the job done and I am super proud to coach these kids and excited to watch a strong finish for this historic 2026 season." 

In addition to the historic day for the team, pitcher Hailey Alspach and outfielder Anjali Singh broke a pair of single-season records.

Alspach notched her 100th strikeout of the season, making her just the second Obie to ever throw triple digits in a year. With 103 on the year, she now sits two strikeouts away from Melanie Budney's '14 record of 105 set in 2011. The conference-leading hurler also claimed a single-season record ten wins, and now holds 21 career victories.

With three runs on the day, Singh now holds the single-season runs record at 36 overall. This surpasses Emma Downing's '19 record of 33 set in 2017 and 2019. The rookie's run total sits second in the conference behind Kenyon's Keala Montgomery with 38.

Kenyon took the early lead in game one and placed Oberlin at a 3-0 deficit by the second inning. The Yeowomen were unshaken as they responded with a six-run bottom of the second, started by back-to-back-to-back singles from Connor Fogarty, Ava Soldo, and Maya Means, the last of which notched the first RBI of the game to score Fogarty. 

Pinch Runner Caitlyn Crotty overtook Means at first base and claimed second on a stolen bag. Set up in second and third, first-year infielder Caroline Sniffen launched a double deep to the left-center gap to score Soldo and advance Crotty to third and come back 3-2. Senior pitcher Alspach plated Crotty on the following hit to tie the game 3-3.

After stealing second and third, Alspach stood in scoring position to score on first-year Aoife Shen's next single and take the lead 4-3. A double from the leadoff Singh scored Shen, and Haley Carlson followed up with another double to score Singh from second and extend the lead to 6-3.

The Owls added one run in the third and another in the fifth, but the Crimson and Gold's padded lead was all they needed to continue through, tacking on more runs and claiming the historic win. They added two more for insurance in the bottom of the fourth with RBIs from Singh and Fogarty.

The Yeowomen totaled ten hits and nine stolen bases for their record-breaking win this afternoon. In the circle, Alspach let up just four earned runs and two walks while adding seven strikeouts to her own record-setting season. 

In game two, Oberlin fell behind early as the Owls totaled six runs through the top of the fourth while the Yeowomen were unable to score. Beginning a comeback, the Yeowomen added one run on an RBI single from Fogarty to score Carlson following her double to move to 6-1. The Crimson and Gold added a second run off an RBI single from Sniffen to score Fogarty.

Still down 6-2 in the bottom of the seventh, Oberlin faced a must-score situation. With the top of the order at bat, Singh led it off with a single and swiftly stole second. She switched spots with Carlson on her double to score and close the gap 6-3. Carlson then stole third to score on Fogarty's sacrifice fly to deep right and set the score at 6-4. Hannah O'Connor walked and overtook second, but Soldo came up empty at the plate to end the game and fall 6-4 to the Owls. 

The Yeowomen moved to 15-13 on the season and 4-6 in conference to secure the fourth spot in the North Coast Athletic Conference. The Crimson and Gold are back on Saturday, April 25 at  Denison for a double-header. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.

Keep up with the Crimson and Gold on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok, and watch every home game on the Oberlin Sports Network online or on Roku, Apple TV, or Amazon Fire TV.