Ashland University's softball team's first NCAA Division II playoff appearance in 11 years came to an end on Friday (May 15) in Indianapolis, Ind., as the Eagles defeated Tiffin, 7-3, before losing to Saginaw Valley State, 3-2, at the Midwest split regional tournament.
 
The Eagles' season concludes at 33-19 – with the 10-game improvement in the win column the program's most from one season to the next since 2018-19 (23 wins to 33).
 
Both teams' offenses came out quickly in Friday's first contest, as Tiffin and Ashland each scored twice in the first. In the bottom of the first, senior third baseman Amanda Kolar's RBI groundout was later followed by an RBI single from junior designated player Kate Kujawski.
 
In the bottom of the third, the Eagles broke the early tie thanks to another RBI groundout – this time from senior first baseman Cassidy Shaffer. AU then increased its lead to 4-2 when junior shortstop Sophia Martin collected a run-scoring single in the bottom of the fourth,
 
Then, in the bottom of the fifth, junior right fielder Maren Metikosh launched her second home run of 2026 – lifting Ashland to a 7-2 advantage.
 
The Dragons (34-16) began to rally in the top of the sixth, but redshirt freshman pitcher Olivia Amstutz came in to keep the damage to just one run. Amstutz retired all five batters she faced for her third save of the season.
 
Senior pitcher Delaney Lis (13-8) went the first 5 1/3 innings, giving up seven hits, three runs and a walk.
 
Kujawski was 3-for-3 with an RBI, Martin finished 2-for-4 with a double, run scored and RBI, and Metikosh was 2-for-3 with the homer, two runs scored and three RBIs.
 
The victory was Ashland's first in the NCAA postseason in 11 years and a week – May 8, 2015, 5-4 vs. Truman, also in Indianapolis.
 
Friday's nightcap saw the Eagles keep the Cardinals (39-15) off the board in the bottom of the first after SVSU loaded the bases. Saginaw, however, did score a two-out run in the bottom of the second, then added single runs in the third and fourth for a 3-0 lead.
 
The Eagles scored their runs against the Cardinals in the top of the fifth when both Martin and senior second baseman Danielle Robbins rapped RBI singles – but AU couldn't get any closer.
 
Robbins finished the game 2-for-3 with an RBI. Amstutz (12-4) yielded four hits, three runs and three walks and struck out one in three innings.