Baker Fans 14 In No. 18 Softball’s 6-1 Win Over Morehead State – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/15/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 15, 2003
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio– In her first career start, freshman Chelsea Baker (Gahanna, Ohio) pitched a complete game, recording 14 strikeouts and five different Buckeyes had multiple hit games as the No. 18 Ohio State softball team (12-6) defeated Morehead State (2-11-1) in game three of the Buckeye Invitational Saturday at Buckeye Field. Baker (1-1) allowed just one earned run on two hits to earn her first victory of the season. They Buckeyes are now 14-2 all-time against the Eagles.
The Buckeyes racked up 14 hits off Eagle starter Jacque Jackson. Ashley Cutcliff (So., Zionsville, Ind.) went 3-for-3 with an RBI and Baker went 2-for-2 with a run scored. Karisa Evans (So., Franklin, Ohio) was 2-for-3 with a two runs scored and both Annie Dedic (Sr., Yorba Linda, Calif.) and Kristine Himes (Sr., Bolivar, Ohio) went 2-for-4 with three combined RBI’s.
“We were able to get some key hits when we needed them, especially in the first game,” Linda Kalafatis, OSU head coach, said. “We were able to play a lot of players which is good. You like to do that right before the Big Ten season starts to get your young kids some experience.
“It was good to see Chelsea out there throwing with confidence and good control. She had 14 strikeouts which is not a bad first game. It’s good experience for her becuase we’re going to need her throughout the year.”
The Buckeyes started off with one run in the first as Cutcliff singled up the middle to score Evans who led off the inning with a single.
OSU would add two more in the second to make it a 3-0 advantage. Billie Jo Carder (Fr., Celina, Ohio) led off with a walk and stole second to move into scoring position. Jennifer Johnson (So., La Mirada, Calif.) then singled to right field to score Carder. After Evans reached on a fielder’s choice, Dedic doubled to right field two batters later to score Evans from second and give OSU a 3-0 lead after two innings. The Buckeyes added another run in the third when Carder reached on an error by the second baseman to score McAbier from third who singled to short earlier in the inning.
The scoring continued in the fourth as Baker led off with a double to center field. Two batters later, Himes singled to left field to score Baker and give OSU a 5-0 lead. The last OSU run came in the fifth when Dedic delivered a two-out RBI single up the middle to score Carder from second.
The lone Eagle run came in the top of the sixth when Toni Orr doubled to center to score pinch runner Jessie Chin from first.
The Buckeyes will face Morehead State and Oakland again Sunday at 1 and 3 p.m., respectively, at Buckeye Field. Oakland will face Morehead State at 11 a.m.
Buckeye Invitational Day One Scores:
Game 1: Oakland 3, Morehead State 2
Game 2: Ohio State 7, Oakland 1
Game 3: Ohio State 6, Morehead State 1
