INDIANAPOLIS – The contenders are starting to emerge in the standings as Great Midwest Softball Players of the Week were introduced on Monday morning by the league. 
 
Ohio Dominican’s remarkable turnaround continues. The Panthers have won nine straight, including 11 of their last 12, while building up to first-place positioning in the Great Midwest.
 
ODU is now a perfect 8-0 in league play, turning their fortunes around after a rough start to the spring with a 2-10 record. 
 
Trevecca Nazarene and Kentucky Wesleyan are second and third while Tiffin is fourth among teams with a conference record of over .500. 
 
Player of the Week
Kelly Mix
Ohio Dominican
Senior
3B/C
Baltimore, OH (Liberty Union HS)
 
Mix smacked six extra-base hits and drove in 13 while starting behind the dish defensively for the streaking Panthers. 
 
The senior batted .524 while going 11-for-21 at the plate and also scored eight runs, walked three times and stole three bases. She legged out three doubles and belted three home runs as ODU went unbeaten against Cedarville, Findlay, Hillsdale and Tiffin. 
 
She provided two-run double in the fifth inning to help break open a 2-2 tie against Findlay in game one. In game two, she went yard in her only official plate appearance, a two-run shot in the first inning.
 
Mix homered and drove in three to start the Hillsdale doubleheader and was a perfect 2-for-2 with another double and two walks drawn to finish the sweep. 
 
Her final game of the week was another impressive line as Mix was 3-for-4 with two RBI and two runs scored. 
 
Mix had three multi-hit games including both games vs. Hillsdale and game two against Tiffin. 
 
Mix is close to the .400 line for the season (.395) in 26 games played. She has 23 RBI and 30 hits with 11 extra-base hits. 
 
Pitcher of the Week
Sydney Long
Ohio Dominican
Pitcher
Freshman
Ashland, OH (Hillsdale HS)
 
Long factored into all five of her appearances over the past week, going 4-0 with a save and a 1.93 ERA in the circle. 
 
She was dominant with a no-hitter against Cedarville before punching out eight Findlay hitters in another effort where she went the distance on Tuesday. The Panthers provided plenty of run support, outscoring their opponents 28-13, in those games. 

Against the Yellow Jackets, the league's preseason favorite and ranked 19th in the NFCA Poll just a week ago, she recorded two strikeouts  and faced six batters over the minimum. She induced 15 ground ball outs and retired three more hitters on fly balls. 
 
She tossed a scoreless inning to get the save and preserve a 7-6 win for ODU to wrap up the Hillsdale series and threw a two-hitter against Tiffin to end the week with 101 pitches used. 
 
Long pitched 25.1 innings and struck out 20 while giving up just 12 hits. 
 
Long improved to 7-3 overall in 18 appearances (with 10 starts). She has a 2.82 ERA and has logged 72 innings. She also has 60 strikeouts and is holding opposing hitters to a .217 batting average.