Buckeyes Sweep Doubleheader Against Buffalo – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/4/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 4, 2012
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COLUMBUS, Ohio– The Ohio State softball team swept Buffalo in a doubleheader Wednesday at Buckeye Field to improve to 23-11 overall in 2012. The Buckeyes defeated the Bulls, 5-0, in game one before winning, 8-5, in game two.
Offensively in the doubleheader, freshman Taylor Watkins posted four hits with a double, senior captain Alicia Herron went 2-for-4 with a double and three RBI, Danielle LeBeau notched two doubles, while sophomore Evelyn Carrillo and freshman Maddy McIntyre each had a home run vs. the Bulls.
With the four singles, Watkins extended her season-high hit streak to 15-consecutive games, while Herron has now reached base safely in 29-consecutive contests.
Game One: Buffalo 0, Ohio State 5
In game one, Ohio State scored four runs in the second and one run in the fifth – all with two outs against Buffalo.
Senior pitcher Mikayla Endicott improved to 14-7 overall after throwing six shutout innings with six strikeouts, while allowing just two hits. After the Bulls posted a hit in the top of the first, Endicott went on to claim outs on 13 of the final 14 batter she faced in her six innings of work.
The Buckeyes began the game with a four-run second inning on four hits against starting pitcher Tori Speckman.
Watkins began the momentum on a two-run double to right center to score sophomore Melania Saalfeld and senior Katie Simonton.
The Buckeyes then plated two more runs following a triple to right field by Spears and an infield single by Herron. Spears posted her first triple of the season after the sun was a factor for the UB right fielder, allowing it to drop for the hit. Herron then sent a spinning groundball past Speckman for an infield single to score Spears.
In the fifth, Coletta added to the team’s lead when she drove a two-out line drive over the head of the Bulls’ center fielder to score Herron from first base to make it 5-0 in favor of the Buckeyes.
Freshman Olivia O’Reilly relieved Endicott in the final inning for her sixth appearance of the season. She allowed no hits with one strikeout.
Overall, Ohio State outhit the Bulls, 5-2, in game one.
Game Two: Buffalo 8, Ohio State 5
After the Bulls took an early 2-0 lead, Ohio State posted a five-run third inning thanks to a pair of home runs by two OSU underclassmen. Carrillo tied the game, 2-2, with her fourth home run of the season on a 1-0 pitch that sailed over the right center wall.
Following a hit-by-pitch and a walk, McIntyre launched a three-run blast over the left field wall to make it 5-2 against relief pitcher Holly Johnson. The home run was the first of her career and she now has eight RBI in 2012.
Buffalo scored the first run of the game on an RBI single by Caitlin Dekker, who sent a line drive up the middle to plate Karly Nevez. However, the rally ended when freshman right fielder Caitlin Conrad fired in a throw to home plate after a single to get the UB baserunner in a run down for the third out.
The Bulls extended their lead in the top of the third with a second run following an RBI single by Alexis Curtiss.
After the five run inning for the Scarlet and Gray, Buffalo cut the OSU lead to two runs on an RBI single by Tori Pettine in the top of the fourth. In the top of the fifth, Nichols got out of a jam with runners on second and third when she got Jessica Griffin to ground out to LeBeau.
Ohio State made it 6-3 in the bottom of the fifth on a double-steal play in a first and third situation that ended with pinch runner Alyson Mott scoring on the play – her sixth run of the season.
In the bottom of the sixth, Herron gave her squad two insurance runs when she crushed a line drive to left center field for a two-run double to make it 8-3. Herron now has a Big Ten-best 40 RBI in 2012.
The Bulls continued to battle in their final at-bat to cause Ohio State to make a pitching change after two runs crossed the plaate. Endicott relieved Nichols in the circle with the score 8-5 and a runner on second. Following an infield single, the senior pitcher retired the next two batters on strikeouts to end the game and claim her third save of 2012.
Melanie Nichols claimed her eighth win of the season, tossing 6.1 innings allowing five runs with three strikeouts.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will next host No. 20 Michigan in a three-game series this weekend at Buckeye Field. Ohio State and Michigan will play at 5:30 p.m. ET Friday live on BTN and will conclude the series with a doubleheader Saturday beginning at 2 p.m.
