Titans Blast Buckeyes, 10-2, At Worth Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 1, 2002
Box Score
FULLERTON, Calif. – The Ohio State softball team had its eight-game winning streak snapped Saturday by No. 17 Cal State Fullerton as the host Titans belted out twelve hits and three home runs to secure a 10-2 win over the Buckeyes at the Titan Softball Complex in Fullerton, Calif. Jennifer Link (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif./Sonora) paced the offense with a 3-for-3 day at the plate with one run scored in the six inning contest as the Buckeyes slipped to 10-2 on the year. The Titans improved to 10-9.
CSUF wasted no time getting on the board, tallying one run in the top of the first. Leadoff-hitter Gina Oaks singled to left field, moved to second when Jodie Cox grounded to first and advanced to third on a Katie Chain (Jr., North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) wild pitch. With one out, Monica Lucatero singled to left center to plate Oaks for the 1-0 lead. Link led off the bottom half of the stanza with a single to left but was stranded when the next three OSU batters went down in order. Both teams went three up and three down in the second making way for the Titans’ break out innings.
In the third, Oaks led off with a hit again, this time a double to left. Three pitches later, Cox drove a Chain offering over the right field fence for her third home run of the year and a 3-0 lead. Jenny Topping followed with a single to right and Lucatero and Yasmin Mossadeghi continued the pattern, each slapping singles. Topping came into score the fifth CSUF run with Amy LaRoque hit a sacrifice fly to left. Four Buckeye batters came to the plate in the bottom of the third with Link collecting her second hit when she beat out a slow roller to short. She was stranded and OSU faced a 4-0 deficit heading into the fourth. The fourth was as unkind to the Scarlet and Gray as the previous inning with the hosts tacking on another three runs. With one out, Oaks picked up her third hit and third run scored with a solo shot over the fence in center field. After a Cox fly out and a Topping walk, Lucatero lifted a pitch over the left field fence to put the Titans ahead 7-0. The Buckeyes again could not get anything going with Allen reaching on a walk and Roth on a fielder’s choice.
After CSUF went down in order to open the fifth, Kristine Himes (Jr., Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscawaras Valley) singled but was thrown out as part of a double play to thwart any Buckeye offensive surge. Ahead 7-0, the Titans put the game away with its third three-run inning to open the sixth. Cox walked and Topping singled to put runners on first and second and both advanced one base on a Lucatero ground out. Cox scored on a fielder’s choice to bring the score to 8-0. Amanda Hockett followed with a double down the left field line to plate two more runs and put the Buckeyes down 10-0.
OSU tried to avoid the mercy rule (win by eight after five innings) and got its offense rolling. Link led off with a single up the middle and Anna Smith (Sr., Walnut, Calif./Diamond Bar) reached on a throwing error by the short stop. Both runners advanced one base on the errant throw and Wendy Allen (So., Moreno Valley, Calif./Moreno Valley) loaded the bases when she reached on an infield single. Stacy Roth (Sr., Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) added to her RBI total with a single to left and drove in Link. Chrissy Fowler (Sr., Utica, Ohio/Wright State) followed with a ground out to third that allowed Smith to cross home. The Titans retired the next two batters to end the game with OSU on the lower end of the score.
OSU returns to action at 1 p.m. EST and 3 p.m. EST with games slated against the San Jose State Spartans and the No. 7 California Golden Bears.
