Buckeyes Score Seven Unanswered Runs to Top Purdue, 7-5 – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/27/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 27, 2007
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Purdue led 5-0 after two innings, but the Ohio State softball team scored seven unanswered runs to top the Boilermakers, 7-5, Friday night at Buckeye Field. Coupled with a Michigan loss at home to Minnesota, Ohio State (28-15, 9-2 Big Ten) retakes sole possession of first place in the Big Ten and improves to 9-0 at Buckeye Field this season, where Ohio State was playing its first Big Ten game since April 1.
Purdue (28-30-1, 6-8 Big Ten) scored three runs in the first inning and two more in the second, but senior Jamee Juarez (La Puente, Calif./Wilson) threw 3.1 innings of two-hit relief to earn the win as the Buckeyes scored four runs in the third and three in the sixth. It marked the third time in the last two seasons that Ohio State trailed 5-0 in a Big Ten game, but came back to win.
“Hats off to Purdue,” Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State head coach, said. “They came out aggressive and attacked us, but we have a veteran team and we kept chipping away and playing our game. We’ve been on the road and we’re finally at home where the girls wanted to protect their home. Jamee is hot right now. It was a one run game and we thought it was a good time to bring her in.”
Juarez (14-8), who won her Ohio State record 68th career game last Sunday at Iowa, struck out seven to earn her third win in relief this season.
Senior Megan Schwab (Glendale, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) hit RBI doubles in both the third and fifth innings. Her double in the third inning capped a string of four consecutive run-producing at bats for the Buckeyes. Two Boilermaker errors in the third helped lead to all four OSU runs being unearned against Purdue starter Brooke Baker (21-16) being unearned. In the third, senior Christina Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Dobson) led off with a single down the left-field line and scored on a sacrifice fly by senior Nycole Koyano (Walnut, Calif./Walnut) and senior Lauren Daykin (Melbourne, Australia/Manatee C.C., Fla.) reached on an error and scored on an infield single by junior Brittany Vanderink (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood). Freshman Sam Marder (Calabasas, Calif./Calabasas) doubled to left-center to drive in Ohio State’s third run of the inning and then Schwab’s double scored pinch-runner Michelle Reynolds-Parra (So., Columbus, Ohio/Eastmoor).
The Buckeyes went 1-2-3 in the fourth inning, but in the fifth got three more RBIs in consecutive at bats to take the lead for good. Vanderink reached on a fielder’s choice and went to second on a single up the middle by Marder. Vanderink scored on Schwab’s second double of the game, Marder then scored on a single to center by sophomore Courtney Pruner (Akron, Ohio/Ellet) and Schwab scored on a suicide squeeze by Juarez.
“One of the plusses of our team is speed,” Kalafatis said. “Purdue is aggressive on the bases and our team was prepared for that. I thought the key play today was the suicide squeeze by Jamee. She is a clutch player who was needed at that time. The team executed.”
The RBI squeeze bunt by Juarez put the Buckeyes put the Buckeyes up 7-5 after five innings and she then struck out four of the last six Purdue batters of the game to close it out.
OSU starter Kim Reeder (So., Salinas, Calif./Notre Dame H.S.) went 3.2 innings, striking out one and allowing five runs, four of which were earned. For only the second time this season, Reeder gave up two home runs in an outing.
Ohio State and Purdue will meet again at noon Saturday.
### GO BUCKS! ###
