Softball: 22nd-Ranked Buckeyes Thump Marist, 7-1 – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Buckeyes score six runs with two outs in third inning; Miller tosses four-hitter
DeLAND, Fla. A seven-run third inning and a four-hit pitching performance by sophomore Megan Miller propelled the 22nd-ranked Ohio State softball team to a 7-1 win over Marist Saturday at Patricia Wilson Field in the Stetson Lead-Off Classic.
After shutting out Marist and Detroit Friday, the Buckeyes are now 3-0 and have allowed only one run from their first three opponents. Ohio State has won its first three games of the season for the second time since 1986, joining the 2006 Buckeyes.
Miller, making her fourth career start in the circle, struck out one and walked five.
Sophomore Leah Ledford had her career-best game at the plate, going 3-for-3 with a home run, two singles and two runs batted in.
Ledford blasted her first career homer to lead off the bottom of the third inning and the Buckeyes would add six more runs later in the frame, all with two outs. Freshman Brittany Goodchild hit an opposite-field double, took third on a wild pitch and scored on an infield single by senior Brittany Vanderink, who stole second and scored on a single by sophomore Sam Marder. Sophomore Whitney Cooper, freshman Rachael Shepherd and Ledford all added RBI singles.
Cooper and Goodchild both notched the first two-hit game of their careers. Cooper had two singles, while Goodchild singled and doubled.
Next up, the Buckeyes take on host Stetson at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Postgame Notes No. 22 Ohio State 7, Marist 1 … Feb. 9, 2008
– Not in the Box Score: Ohio State has committed only one error in its first three games and scores seven runs in one inning twice.
– Ohio State is now 49-26 all-time when ranked in the Top 25.
– The Buckeyes are now 3-0 for the second time since 1986, joining the 2006 squad that won its first three games in Las Cruces, N.M.
– Buckeyes at the Plate: Friday, sophomore Leah Ledford had her first collegiate hit. Saturday, she knocked her first collegiate home run.
– Buckeyes in the Circle: Sophomore Megan Miller made her fourth career start Saturday and notched her second complete game.
– Ohio State has not been shut out in a school-record 39-consecutive games. The previous school record was 28 games.
– Weather: Partly cloudy and 71 degrees at first pitch. Wind 2-10 MPH right to left.
– Ohio State is now 2-0 all-time against Marist.
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