Ohio State
25-19
Ohio
14-25
Bayne’s Two HRs Power Ohio State Over Ohio, 12-4 – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/21/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 21, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Alex Bayne went two-for-three with two home runs and four RBI as Ohio State registered a 12-4 victory in five innings on a blustery day at Buckeye Field Tuesday. Ohio State improves to 25-19 overall while the Bobcats are now 14-25.
With wind gusts reaching 50 miles per hour, Ohio State’s offense pounded out 13 hits and struck for six runs in the first inning. Cammi Prantl started the rally with a double to right center, her 14th of the year. With two outs, Erika Leonard hit a pop up that the wind got a hold of and dropped in front of the third basemen for a hit, followed by a double by Taylor Watkins to left center that also fell in for a hit. Bayne, the next batter, drove home Watkins and Kirk with a two-run shot to right center, making the score 5-0. Keelia Nester drove home the sixth run of the inning on a single to left field. Also in the inning, Kirstie Fehrenbach tripled to right center, her second three-bagger of the year.
Two more runs crossed the plate in the bottom of the second as Maddy McIntyre hit her team-leading 13th home run of the year, a solo shot to left center. Leonard, who was three-for-four with three RBI on the day, followed with a single up the middle, prompting an Ohio pitching change. Pinch hitter Maddie Marotti then singled just over the head of the second basemen to keep the rally going. With the bases loaded, Bayne reached on a fielding error by the shortstop, allowing Leonard to score. The inning ended, however, with a force play at home and ground out to the pitcher.
Trailing 8-0 in the top of the fourth, Ohio scored three times to cut the deficit to five (8-3) on the strength of a two-run home run by Adrienne Gebele and solo home run by Mikayla Cooper. That rally was short-lived, however, as Bayne hit her second homer of the game, a two-run blast to right field, in the bottom of the fourth to make the score 10-3.
Ahead 10-4 entering the bottom of the fifth, Nester collected her second hit of the day when she led off the inning with a single to left center. A Conrad walk and two outs later, Leonard singled through the left side, scoring Nester and Conrad, to end the game in favor of the Buckeyes.
Starting pitcher Lena Springer went five innings, giving up eight hits and three earned runs without walking a batter. She is now 5-5 on the year. With 13 hits, the Buckeyes improved their team batting average for the season to .333, which matches the 2002 squad for highest in single-season school history.
Bayne, who is hitting .692 in 13 at-bats over the last 15 games, improved her season average to .423. She’s 11-for-26 with three home runs and nine RBI. Additionally, Kirk became the fourth player this year to amass at least 30 RBI and 30 runs scored (33 RBI, 31 runs).
The Buckeyes return to action this weekend when they travel to Evanston, Ill. For a key three-game set against Northwestern. The Friday tilt will begin at 5 p.m. EST (4 p.m. CST) followed by 1 p.m. (noon CST) starts on Saturday and Sunday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Springer, Lena (5-5)
L: MCCLARY, L. (2-13)
Batting:
2B: HUTCHINSON 1 ; BOWLSBEY, S. 1
3B: BOWLSBEY, S. 1
HR: GEBELE, A. 1 ; COOPER, M. 1
RBI: KING, R. 1 ; GEBELE, A. 2 ; COOPER, M. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: DALTON, A. 1 ; HUTCHINSON 1 ; GEBELE, A. 1 ; COOPER, M. 1
Batting:
2B: Prantl, Cammi 1 ; Watkins, Taylor 1
3B: Fehrenbach, Kirstie 1
HR: McIntyre, Maddy 1 ; Bayne, Alex 2
RBI: McIntyre, Maddy 1 ; Leonard, Erika 3 ; Watkins, Taylor 1 ; Bayne, Alex 4 ; Nester, Keelia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Conrad, Caitlin 1 ; Prantl, Cammi 1 ; McIntyre, Maddy 1 ; Leonard, Erika 2 ; Watkins, Taylor 1 ; Kirk, Anna 2 ; Bayne, Alex 2 ; Fehrenbach, Kirstie 1 ; Nester, Keelia 1
SB: Nester, Keelia 1
