Somewhere in Ada, Ohio, the words of legendary broadcaster Al Michaels "Do you believe in miracles?" are ringing in the ears of the John Carroll Blue Streaks softball team.

Seeded third in a four-team playoff field, the unheralded JCU squad knocked off the fourth ranked team in the nation and the regular season Ohio Athletic Conference champion Ohio Northern Polar Bears, 7-3, to capture the program's first OAC title.

In a bizarre OAC policy which guarantees the regular season champion an automatic bid as long as that team reaches the "championship game" in the double elimination format, John Carroll was prevented from earning an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Championship. JCU was also left out of the at-large bids that were handed out Monday.

JCU earned its first league crown by going undefeated in the two-day tournament, knocking off #2 seed Mount Union (5-3) and #4 seed Muskingum (15-9) on Friday before upsetting Ohio Northern Saturday.

John Carroll, which improved to 26-15,  had never finished better than third in its three previous OAC Tournaments, and had won just one postseason game prior to 2010.

Ohio Northern falls to 37-5 overall, with two if its losses taking place in the league playoffs.

Sophomore Michelle Murphy led the way for JCU by going 2-for-3 with two home runs, three RBI and three runs scored. 

JCU led 4-0 after three innings but needed a three-run sixth inning to pull away late. 

Britanny Danilov earned the win and was joined on the all-tournament team by Murphy, Erin Riccardi, Julie Marlowe and Olivia Mathews.