The Talawanda Brave defeated the Northwest Knights 19-0 at home on April 22, capturing the Southwest Ohio Conference (SWOC) regular season softball title.

Winning a conference title proved especially sweet after Talawanda (18-3, 8-0) finished as SWOC runner up the previous two seasons.

“These girls have worked since last fall all the way through the winter for where they are now, and continue to prove themselves to us time and time again,” assistant coach John Cobb reflected postgame.

Following a pair of losses against Franklin two days earlier, the Brave were able to bounce back with a dominant shutout performance against SWOC rival Northwest. Talawanda struck early and often, scoring seven runs in the first inning.

“Since our last game was not our best against Franklin, it was really nice to see everyone kind of bounce back and come back with a positive attitude and a good outlook on today,” junior Kylie Cobb said.

The Brave continued to rack up runs, including a two-run home run by Kylie Cobb to make it 9-0, followed by a three run double from Grace Richardson.

“Saturday was kind of a rough day for me,” Cobb said. “And so then it felt really good to come back and hit a home run after putting in work yesterday on my off day.”

In addition to Talawanda’s scoring prowess, the team’s defense also stood out. Freshman starting pitcher Quinn Frieden picked up her fifth win of the season, holding the Knights scoreless, while not giving up more than two hits per inning.

Talawanda returns home to host Mt. Notre Dame in a non-conference matchup on April 26.