News Releases

Owens Express Softball Opens Home Season Against Muskegon Community College, March 15

PERRYSBURG TOWNSHIP, Ohio – Owens Community College women’s softball will open its 2013 home season against Muskegon Community College on Friday, March 15. The first game of the doubleheader will begin at 3:30 p.m.

All home games will be played at the College’s Softball Complex on the Toledo-area Campus. Owens is located on Oregon Road in Perrysburg Township.

The Owens softball program is guided by Head Coach Duane Lanham. His Assistant Coaches are Kevin Snyder, Sara Fleming and Jeff Smith.

Express women’s softball completed the 2012 season with a 41-7 overall record and captured its 11th Ohio Community College Athletic Conference (8-0 record) title in the program’s history. Owens was ranked No. 12 in the final NJCAA Division II women’s softball regular season poll.

Early in the 2012 season, Owens has compiled a 5-5 overall record following games played in South Carolina. The Express is ranked No. 19 in the initial NJCAA Division II women’s softball regular season poll.

“Our team is extremely young, especially the pitching staff,” explained Lanham. “However, we have a great group of veteran and freshmen student-athletes that are committed to putting forth the time and effort needed to get better each and every day. I expect our team to be competitive within the conference and be in the hunt for a regular season title and beyond.”

Owens has eight players returning from last year’s team, including Mareshah Scott of Maumee (Maumee H.S.), Melanie Iacoangeli of Monroe, Mich. (Ida H.S.) and Katie Butler of Maumee (Maumee H.S.).

In 2012, Scott, a sophomore centerfielder, earned First Team All-OCCAC honors and was named the team’s Heart of the Champion recipient. She was second on the team with a .458 batting average and collected 50 runs and 33 stolen bases. Iacoangeli is a sophomore outfielder and second baseman and earned OCCAC Academic All-Conference honors last season. Her postseason honors also included First Team All-OCCAC and First Team All-Region XII selection and the team’s Offensive Player of the Year award. Iacoangeli led the team and finished 11th in the nation in hitting with a .538 batting average. She also scored 49 runs and stole a team-high 66 bases. Last year, Butler, a sophomore first baseman, collected 34 hits and 23 RBIs as well as a .291 batting average.

Returning sophomore student-athletes to the Owens team also include Olivia Reeder of Martin, catcher (Genoa H.S.); Amanda Sinay of Oregon, outfield (Cardinal Stritch H.S.); April DeCant of Delta, second base (Liberty Center H.S.); Alyssa Lassey of Ida, Mich., shortstop (Ida H.S.), and Jaylee Glad of Temperance, Mich., outfield (Ida H.S.).

Express first-year players to the women’s softball program are Kellsie Cousino of Erie, Mich., catcher/utility (Mason H.S.); Jolene Sauter of Blissfield, Mich., pitcher (Blissfield H.S.); Emily Rockman of Holland, first base/catcher (Springfield H.S.); Katilyn Turski of Toledo, pitcher/first base (Cardinal Stritch H.S.); Hannah Shank of Van Buren, second base (North Baltimore H.S.); Sydney Cherry of Ida, Mich., third base (Ida H.S.); Taylor Miller of Toledo, outfield (Mason H.S.); Tyniesha Wilson of Perrysburg, outfield (Perrysburg H.S.), and Molly Gast of Toledo, first base/pitcher (Southview H.S.).

Owens Community College is an accredited two-year, state-assisted institution of higher education that has served Northwest Ohio since 1965. With a commitment to providing small classes, personal attention and unmatched affordability, the College serves the diverse academic needs of credit and non-credit students on the Toledo-area and Findlay-area campuses, as well as at the Arrowhead Park Learning Center in Maumee and the Learning Center at The Source in downtown Toledo. Owens offers associate degrees that transfer to baccalaureate degrees in the Arts and Sciences and over 130 technical program areas in Agriculture, Business, Health Sciences, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Skilled Trades, and Engineering and Transportation Technologies. Owens students also can earn the first two years of a bachelor’s degree with a smooth transfer to any area four-year college or university. For more information, visit www.owens.edu.