Softball: No. 22 Ohio State Run-Rules Marist, 8-0, Behind Bodeker’s Eight Strikeouts – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Bodeker strikes out eight, holds Marist to three hits; Haddad blasts first career homer
DeLAND, Fla. In her Ohio State debut, sophomore Lindsay Bodeker pitched an eight-strikeout, three-hit shutout Friday to lead the 22nd-ranked Ohio State softball team to an 8-0 win over Marist Friday at Patricia Wilson Field in the Stetson Lead-Off Classic.
After blanking Detroit 2-0 in their first game Friday, the defending Big Ten champion Buckeyes shut out their first two opponents of the season for the first time among available records, which date back to 1986.
Bodeker, who played at Akron last season, allowed one hit in the first inning and two in the fifth, but retired each of the other 18 batters she faced. The Buckeyes needed Bodeker’s domination while they were temporarily shut down by Marist pitcher Megan Rigos, who allowed only two hits and one run through five innings. In the bottom of the sixth, however, Ohio State exploded for seven runs to end the game early for its first run-rule victory of the season.
“We played two games today that were both tight early on,” Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State head coach, said. “I think our kids might have been trying too hard early, but we were finally able to put it all together in that last inning of the second game. We got two solid pitching performances, but they are still working out the kinks. We just have so many young kids, but they got to experience a lot of good learning opportunities today. I was really pleased with our defense, especially our infield. Brittany Vanderink at second and Whitney Cooper at shortstop were outstanding and our outfield did well, too. Freshmen Dee Dee Hillman in left and Brittany Goodchild in right both made big plays.”
The Buckeyes batted around in the sixth inning, smacking four extra-base hits, including a two-run homer by sophomore Tory Haddad for her first career round-tripper. Sophomores Whitney Cooper and Sam Marder both hit RBI doubles in the frame and freshman Dee Dee Hillman’s RBI double brought home the eighth and game-ending run.
Hillman went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a stolen base to lead Ohio State, while Haddad went 2-for-3.
Other than a single by Haddad in the second inning, Ohio State was retired in order through three innings. The Buckeyes got on the board in the fourth inning when Hillman hit her first double of the game, which oddly enough never left the infield. Her line drive to the left of third base was tipped by the diving shortstop and trickled into foul ground by third base, allowing Hillman to race to second, which prompted a late Marist throw that went past second base, giving Hillman the chance to run to third. She would score two batters later on a single by senior Brittany Vanderink, which would hold up to be Vanderink’s second game-winning hit in as many games this season.
Ohio State went 1-2-3 in the fifth inning and two of the first three Buckeyes in the seventh inning were retired, but seven straight hits and a walk later, a 1-0 lead turned into an 8-0 lead. Hillman singled, stole second and scored on a single by Vanderink, who scored when Haddad hit a towering shot to straight-away centerfield that cleared the 209 sign. Freshman Rachael Shepherd then singled, which chased Rigos in favor of reliever Kristen Merlino, who would not record an out. Merlino was greeted with a double by Cooper, which scored Shepherd, followed by a walk issued to sophomore Rebecca Schultz and an RBI single from sophomore Leah Ledford. Hillman then ended the game with a double to left-center that would have gone for a triple if the game-ending eighth run had not crossed the plate.
Ohio State returns to action at the Stetson Lead-Off Classic Saturday with games. The Buckeyes take on Marist again at 1:30 p.m., followed by a date with host Stetson, who won the Atlantic Sun Conference last year and made its first NCAA tournament appearance, at 6:30 p.m.
Postgame Notes No. 22 Ohio State 8, Marist 0 (6 innings) … Feb. 8, 2008
– Not in the Box Score: Last year as a freshman at Akron, pitcher Lindsay Bodeker beat Ohio State with an eight-strikeout, four-hit performance. Bodeker, who was a high school teammate of two current Buckeyes at Lakota West H.S., made her first appearance in an Ohio State uniform Friday.
– After taking the first flight of her life Thursday with Ohio State from Columbus to Orland, freshman Kady Caughenbaugh scored her first collegiate run Friday in the win over Marist. She pinch-ran for Sam Marder in the sixth inning and scored.
– Dating back to last season, Ohio State has not been shut out in a school-record 38-consecutive games. The previous record was 28-consecutive games.
– Buckeyes at the plate: Ohio State hit four doubles in the game for the first time since May 3, 2006, at home against Oakland. It marked the first time Ohio State hit four doubles in a neutral site game since March 4, 2005 against South Dakota State at the Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga.
– Buckeyes in the circle: In Ohio State’s two games Friday, junior Kim Reeder and sophomore Lindsay Bodeker both struck out eight batters. The last time an OSU pitching staff combined to strike out eight or more batters in consecutive games at a neutral site was Feb. 29 and March 6, 2004 when Jamee Juarez struck out 16 batters in a win over Massachusetts at the NFCA Lead-off Classic in Columbus, Ga., and in Ohio State’s next game Kristi DeVries struck out 10 batters in a perfect game against Wright State at Dayton.
– Buckeyes in the field: Sophomore Sam Marder made her first collegiate start at first base in the win over Marist.
– Ohio State is now 48-26 all-time when ranked among the Top 25 in the nation.
– Weather: Sunny and 68 degrees at first pitch. Wind 2 MPH right to left.
– Friday marked the first meeting in softball between Ohio State and Marist.
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Contact: Tim Stried, stried.3@osu.edu
