Ohio State Softball Tops Jacksonville State, 10-1, In Tourney Semifinal – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/14/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 14, 2004
Box Score| Notes
ROCK HILL, S.C. – Scoring eight runs in the first inning, the Ohio State softball team cruised to a 10-1 mercy rule win vs. Jacksonville State Sunday afternoon in the semifinals of the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. The No. 1 seeded-Buckeyes will play in the tournament championship game Sunday at approximately 2 p.m. against either Texas A&M-Corpus Christi or East Tennessee State.
Ohio State senior Kristi DeVries (Corona, Calif./Corona) struck out a season-high 11 batters and allowed just two hits in winning her fourth consecutive start. She retired the last 11 Jacksonville State hitters of the game in order and at one point struck out eight of nine consecutive batters.
The Buckeyes (12-6) have won their last seven games and nine of their last 11. Jacksonville State (16-3) had been undefeated in the tournament entering the semifinal matchup with Ohio State.
“Jacksonville State had scored a lot of runs in this tournament,” Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State head coach, said. “So I was impressed that we came out and scored so many runs early and shut them down at the same time. Kristi (DeVries) threw really well. We thought she matched up well against them. Offensively, our lineup did a great job of hitting the ball where it was pitched.”
Ohio State freshman Megan Schwab (Glendale, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) led off the bottom of the first inning with a homerun to straight away center field, her second homer of the season, kick starting the Buckeyes’ eight-run inning. Twelve Buckeye batters came to the plate during the frame, with freshman Nycole Koyano (Walnut, Calif./Walnut) going 2-for-2 with two RBI and a stolen base in the first inning alone.
Freshman Jamee Juarez (La Puente, Calif./Wilson), junior Natalie Hales (Canton, Ohio/Eastern Michigan), senior Beth McAbier (Carrollton, Ohio/Carrollton) and junior Meghan Rowlands (Hilliard, Ohio/Bishop Ready) all produced an RBI in the first inning. Junior Karisa Evans (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin) added a single in that inning, as well
Junior Ashley Cutcliff (Zionsville, Ind./University of Florida) led off the second inning with a homerun, her second of the season.
“We felt pretty good and were pumped up to advance to the championship game,” DeVries said. “We were able to score a lot of runs early and then keep them off the base paths. My pitches were moving well and (catcher) Natalie (Hales) knew what to call and it worked.”
Hales and Koyano each finished the day with two hits, while Koyano and Schwab led Ohio State with two RBI each.
###Go Bucks!###
