Softball Blanked by No. 11 Michigan, 5-0, at Big Ten Tournament – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/10/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 10, 2002
Box Score
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Katie Chain (Jr., North Canton, Ohio/Hoover) pitched 2.1 innings of relief and recorded four strikeouts, including the 500th of her career, but the No. 20 Ohio State softball team fell to No. 11 Michigan, 5-0, in the semifinals of the Big Ten tournament at Alumni Field in Ann Arbor, Mich., Friday. The Buckeyes mustered just three hits and hit a ball out of the infield four times to drop their record to 52-11 on the year while the Wolverines improved to 45-9. OSU now awaits the winner of the final elimination game of the tournament between Illinois and Penn State for a chance to face UM in the championship game Saturday.
“We did not play our best game today,” Linda Kalafatis, OSU head coach and the Big Ten Coach of the Year, said. “We did not take advantage of the opportunities we had and you can’t make many mistakes against Michigan and expect to win. I thought we would hang in there and we didn’t. I thought we were prepared and our kids knew what to expect but we just didn’t execute today.”
The Buckeyes picked up their first hit in the game with Stacy Roth (Sr., Wauseon, Ohio/Wauseon) poking a shot to center with two outs in the inning. OSU also had base runners with Anna Smith (Sr., Walnut, Calif./Diamond Bar) reaching on an error in the first, Kristine Himes (Jr., Bolivar, Ohio/Tuscarawas Valley) also reaching on an error in the second and Kristi DeVries (So., Corona, Calif./Corona) being hit by a pitch in the fourth. Meghan Rowlands (Fr., Hilliard, Ohio/Bishop Ready), hitting in the ninth position, slapped an infield single in the Buckeyes’ program record-tying 1,665 at bat of the season with Jennifer Link (Jr., Yorba Linda, Calif./Sonora) grounding out in the next at bat for the record. OSU’s final hit of the game came in the seventh with Breana Pozzi (So., Petaluma, Calif./Casa Grande) singling to second. The Wolverines had a better day at the plate, recording eight hits and plating five runs. UM started the scoring immediately with lead off hitter Kelsey Kollen doubling to right center, advancing to third on a sacrifice bunt and scoring on a single to the right side by Stefanie Volpe. One batter later, Volpe scored when Monica Schock doubled to right center to make the score 2-0. After a walk, DeVries and the defense retired the next five batters in a row before being tested in the third.
With one out in the third, Volpe walked and moved to second on an error by Link. Both runners moved up on a stolen base and the bases became loaded with Marisa Young singling to short. Volpe would have scored but Pozzi made a diving stab to her right side and nearly threw out Young on the play to save a run. DeVries struck out the next batter and a fly out to center ended the threat.
UM again threatened in the fourth, this time plating three runs. With two outs, Kollen reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to second on a single by Doe. Kollen and Doe scored when Volpe launched her 11th home run down the right field line to end the scoring for the contest. The homer chased DeVries from the game to make way for Chain.
The Buckeyes face the winner of No. 5 Penn State and No. 6 Illinois at noon Saturday for a chance to play in the championship game against UM at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. The winner of the championship game, which will be televised live by Fox Sports Chicago, earns the Big Ten’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament.
