OSU Advances to Buzz Finals After 7-0 Whitewash of Georgia Tech – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 24, 2002
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Katie Chain (Jr., North Canton, Ohio/Hoover), the Big Ten pitcher of the week, pitched seven scoreless innings with seven strikeouts and five hits to lead the Ohio State softball team to a 7-0 defeat of host Georgia Tech in the semifinals of the 2002 Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic Sunday at the Al Bishop Softball Complex in Marietta, Ga. Anna Smith (Sr., Walnut, Calif./Diamond Bar) turned in a 3-for-4 day at the plate to help pace the Buckeyes to the win and improve their record to 26-5. Stacy Roth (Sr., Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) and Kristine Himes (Jr., Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) also connected on home runs to provide a spark for the offense while sending the Yellow Jackets to a 27-9 record on the year.
As the visitors on the scoreboard, OSU took to the plate in the first and hung a pair of runs on the board. Smith reached first on a bunt single to third and then stole second. With two outs, Roth brought Smith home with a home run to left to quickly give the Buckeyes a 2-0 advantage. Felicia Coursey led off the GT half of the inning with a single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Katie Donovan. Tara Knudsen singled to move Coursey to third before she was stranded there at the end of the inning. No other Yellow Jacket reached third base the rest of the game and only three other batters advanced as far as second.
OSU struck again in the fourth with one run. Himes singled and advanced to second when JJ Johnson (Fr., LaMirada, Calif./LaMirada) walked. Both runners advanced one base on a Jennifer Link (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif./Sonora) bunt single to third. Smith pushed Himes across the plate when she reached first on an error to bring the score to 3-0.
The Buckeyes scored their remaining runs in the top of the seventh. Smith led off and singled to the pitcher before Wendy Allen (So., Moreno Valley, Calif./Moreno Valley) put down a sacrifice bunt and advanced her to second. After a Roth walk, Chrissy Fowler (Sr., Utica, Ohio/Wright State) reached on an error and came around to third while Smith and Roth came home to score. With the bases empty and two outs, Himes added her home run to right center for good measure and a 7-0 lead. Chain closed the deal with two of her seven strikeouts in the bottom of the inning to send the Buckeyes to the tournament final where they would meet No. 2 seed North Carolina.
The Buckeyes return to action with a 6 p.m. game at Tennessee-Chattanooga Monday.
