Buckeyes Come Back to Top Long Island, 5-4 – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/10/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 10, 2007
Box Score | Notes
Box Score .PDF
CLEARWATER, Fla. – Courtney Pruner’s solo home run in the bottom of the seventh tied the game and the Ohio State softball team won it in the bottom of the eighth when Sam Marder walked with the bases loaded as the Buckeyes beat Long Island, 5-4, Saturday night in bracket play at the USF adidas Invitational at Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater.
The extra-inning win was the second this weekend for Ohio State, which improves to 11-9 overall and advances to play Massachusetts at 9:30 a.m. Sunday in the semifinals of the Silver Flight bracket. Long Island, picked to win the Northeast Conference this spring, falls to 5-11.
“Our kids did a good job of rallying back and Courtney Pruner’s big hit gave us new life,” Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State head coach, said. “Michelle (Reynolds-Parra) came up big with some good base running decisions in the eighth. Our defense was solid and we have made some changes there that have worked out for us, especially to get Pruner’s bat in the lineup. We just have to keep working to get better and get ready for the Big Ten season.”
Trailing 4-3 with one out in what could have been Ohio State’s final at bat, Pruner (So., Akron, Ohio/Ellet) unloaded on a high offering from LIU freshman pitcher Blaire Porter to right field for her second home run of the season to tie the game at 4-4. Senior pitcher Jamee Juarez (La Puente, Calif./Wilson) then got out of the top of the eighth unscathed to set up the Buckeyes’ win.
With the international tie-breaker rule in affect, pinch-runner Michelle Reynolds-Parra (Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor) took second base to begin the inning and made it to third just ahead of the tag when junior Liz Caputo (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) bunted down the third base line. OSU senior Nycole Koyano (Walnut, Calif./Walnut) then reached on a fielder’s choice grounder to Porter, who held the ball to look back Reynolds-Parra at third, loading the bases.
Porter (1-6), who beat Cal State Fullerton earlier this season, couldn’t find the strike zone when Marder (Fr., Calabasas, Calif./Calabasas) stepped to the plate with one out and the bases loaded. Porter walked OSU’s home run and RBI leader on four pitches, the last of which nearly hit her.
OSU freshman Megan Miller (Woodland Hills, Calif./El Camino Real) got the start in the circle, going four innings with two strikeouts, one walk and four runs. Juarez got the win to improve to 3-6, tossing four innings of no-hit relief with four strikeouts and no walks.
The Buckeyes took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on three straight hits, including singles by seniors Christina Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Dobson) and Lauren Daykin (Melbourne, Australia/Manatee C.C., Fla.) and an RBI double down the left field line by Caputo.
Long Island, with wins over Cal State Fullerton and Michigan State this season, answered with three runs off Miller in the top of the third off three hits. Ohio State closed the deficit to one run at 3-2 with a run in the bottom of the third when Pruner doubled off the fence in center, went to third on a wild pitch and scored on a squeeze bunt by Douglas.
The teams traded runs in the fourth inning as LIU’s Renea Beauchman hit a solo homer, while Koyano singled in front of the catcher and scored on an RBI single up the middle by Marder to bring the score to 4-3.
### Go Bucks! ###
