Ohio State Softball Thumps Tourney Host Winthrop, 9-1 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 12, 2004
Box Score| Notes
ROCK HILL, S.C. – The Ohio State softball team exploded for seven runs in the first inning and allowed only four Winthrop hitters to reach base as the Buckeyes took a 9-1 victory in six innings Friday night over the tournament hosts at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C.
Winthrop’s first two hitters reached base, but the Eagles failed to score and Ohio State (9-6) proceeded to bat around in its half of the first inning to take control of the game. The Buckeyes have won six of their last eight games, outscoring their opponents 40-6 in that stretch of games. Winthrop (13-11-1) had won eight consecutive games before falling twice Friday.
Ohio State freshman Megan Schwab (Glendale, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) went 2-for-2 with a double, two RBI and two stolen bases in the first inning alone and ended the game with her second career 4-for-4 performance.
“We got off to a great start,” Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State head coach, said. “Right now it’s hard to make out a lineup card because everybody is hitting the ball well. Our lefties were great tonight and we got in a good rhythm.”
Senior Beth McAbier (Carrollton, Ohio/Carrollton) and junior Karisa Evans (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin) both went 2-for-3 at the plate for the Buckeyes with two RBI.
“We have set some pretty high goals for ourselves this weekend,” McAbier said. “And getting lots of hits is one of those goals. We have hot bats right now and we’re going to go out and work hard every inning. If we stick to our goals we’ll have a successful tournament.” Senior Kristi DeVries (Corona, Calif./Corona) allowed just one hit, that being a 10-foot roller down the third base line, in her four innings of work, striking out four batters to win her third consecutive game. After hitting the first two batters of the game, DeVries settled down to retire 11 of the last 12 batters she faced.
“I could tell that Kristi (DeVries) wasn’t going to let that bother her,” McAbier said. “She is the type of player that steps up and delivers in those situations. Kristi has a lot of different pitches and uses them all during a game.”
Freshman Jamee Juarez (La Puente, Calif./Wilson) worked the fifth inning in relief for Ohio State.
“Every game is a learning opportunity,” Kalafatis said. “We’re trying to execute certain things, move runners around the bases and make things happen defensively, too. Bringing in Jamee (Juarez) in a relief role is an example of that. We want her to be able to do that for us.”
Ohio State will return to action with a pair of games at the Winthrop Invitational Saturday. The Buckeyes will meet North Carolina State at 2 p.m. and will take on Furman at 6 p.m. The winners of the four groups will then be seeded and placed in a bracket for competition Sunday.
###Go Bucks!###
