Ohio State Edged by Dayton, 6-4 – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/7/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team fell, 6-4, in a close game vs. Dayton Friday night at Buckeye Field. The game lasted three hours and 12 minutes after thunderstorms in the area delayed the game for an hour and 10 minutes in the middle of the fourth inning.
The Buckeyes (13-32) took a 4-3 lead in the bottom of the fifth inning, but the Flyers (22-24) rallied to score three runs in the final two innings to claim the victory. There were three lead changes in the contest as both teams battled in the batter’s box.
Offensively, Ohio State was led at the plate by junior co-captain Alicia Herron, freshman Evelyn Carrillo and sophomore Megan Coletta. Herron was 1-for-3 with a home run, two runs and two RBI, Carrillo was 2-for-4 with an RBI and Coletta was 2-for-3 with an RBI.
The Buckeyes struck first in the bottom of the first when Herron knocked a two-run home run off Isaacson to right center field following a walk to senior Brittany Goodchild. The long ball was her eighth of the season and 34th home run of her career.
In the top of the second, Dayton cut its lead to one run after Brandy Brown sent a solo home run to dead center field to make it 2-1. But OSU starting pitcher Kasie Kelly stayed composed in the circle and claimed three-consecutive outs to retire the side.
Goodchild posted a one-out double that one-hopped the left field wall in the bottom of the third. However, UD starting pitcher Alysha Isaacson got out of the inning when her shortstop made a nice diving snag on a liner to retire freshman Carrillo.
In the fourth, the Flyers rallied with two runs to take their first lead of the game. Power-hitter Lauren Nacke led off the inning with a double to left center followed by a one-out single by Brown to left field. The big hit of the inning came when shortstop Emily Stegeman launched a two-out, two-run double off the right field wall to give Dayton a 3-2 lead. Kelly ended the UD at-bat when she struck out Carlyn Harlow on three pitches.
Following the delay, the Buckeyes headed to the plate in the bottom half and rallied to even the score, 3-3. The Flyers made a pitching change as Sarah Wedel relieved Isaacson in the circle. Saalfeld, a native of Modesto, Calif., posted her first career triple to lead things off. Coletta then connected on a 1-1 pitch for an RBI single to center field to tie the game. The clutch hit for Coletta marked the ’19th RBI (third-most) of the season for the second-year Buckeye.
In the fifth, senior Karisa Medrano relieved Kelly in the circle for the Scarlet and Gray. After a lead-off walk, Medrano settled down and retired the side, which included two strikeouts.
Ohio State regained the lead, 4-3, in the bottom of the fifth when Carrillo punched a one-out RBI single through the right side, scoring Herron from second base. Carrillo leads the team with 32 RBI in 2011.
The back-and-fourth battle continued in the sixth inning when the Flyers posted two runs to take a 5-4 advantage. Dayton tied the contest, 4-4, following a sacrifice fly to right field by Courtney Kutsulis to plate Nacke from third base. With two outs, pinch hitter Kasi Vazquez claimed an RBI single to center as pinch runner Shelby Pohlman scored the go-ahead run. Both runs on the play were unearned.
Dayton added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when right fielder Kathleen Maloof connected on a 3-2 pitch for a solo home run over the left field wall.
Isaacson returned in the circle for the Flyers in the bottom of the seventh and claimed the save to end the game.
Medrano received the loss to fall to 7-18 overall, allowing three runs, four hits, while striking out five batters. Kelly received a no decision after throwing the first four innings with three strikeouts. Wedel earned the victory for Dayton to improve to 7-5 overall.
Ohio State held a 9-8 advantage in hits.
The Buckeyes will now host Michigan State this weekend in a two-game conference series at 6 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday at Buckeye Field. The game Saturday will be streamed live on BTN.com, while Senior Day Sunday will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
