Ohio State Edges San Diego State, 4-3 – Ohio State Buckeyes

Wednesday, March 16

San Diego, Calif.

Ohio State

12-6

San Diego State

13-10

Ohio State

San Diego State

Ohio State Edges San Diego State, 4-3 – Ohio State Buckeyes

3/17/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

March 17, 2016

Final Stats

SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Approximately 72 hours after earning its first win this season over a Top 25 team, Ohio State (12-6) took that momentum with it five hours west to San Diego, knocking off the San Diego State (13-10) on Wednesday night 4-3 at the SDSU Softball Stadium.

THE SHORT STORY
Six innings from starter Shelby Hursh, a second save in as many games from Lena Springer and timely two-out hitting was the recipe for Wednesday’s win. The Buckeyes scored twice in the first inning, once in the fourth and tacked on an all-important insurance run in the sixth off the bat of Erika Leonard for all the offense they would need.

HOW THE BUCKEYE RUNS WERE SCORED
The Buckeyes staked starting pitcher Shelby Hursh to a 2-0 lead before she even threw a pitch thanks to a pair of runs in the top of the first. Leadoff hitter Maddy McIntyre, paying in her hometown of San Diego, got things started with an infield single. Two batters later, she was driven home by Cammi Prantl, who tripled down the left field line and scored herself on a throwing error by the first baseman. Prantl finished the game two-for-three with a double, triple and two RBI.

San Diego State threatened to answer immediately in the bottom of the second, getting its first two batters on base via singles. A fly out, ground out and strikeout ended the threat, however. The Aztecs did draw to within one, 2-1, in the bottom of the second thanks to one hit and one Ohio State error. Like the first inning, however, Hursh was able to strand the bases loaded by getting Katie Byrd to ground out.

Ohio State increased its lead to 3-1 in the top of the fourth thanks to two walks and a hit by pitch. Goodwin started things off with a walk, followed by a fielder’s choice bunt that saw Clark reach safely at first base. The next batter, Kirk, collected her second single of the day and McIntyre followed by being hit by a pitch. With the bases loaded, Prantl worked a walk to score Clark, but SDSU got out of the inning with a ground out to second.

That’s the way the score stayed until the sixth inning. Like in the first, McIntyre was the catalyst by getting on base in a lead-off at bat (she walked this time). After the next two batters were retired, Leonard drove her home with a singled up the middle and was aided by a fielding error by the SDSU centerfielder, which allowed McIntyre to come around and score.

SPRINGER SHUTS THE DOOR
McIntyre’s run proved to be critical, as San Diego State made one final push in the bottom of the seventh. The first two batters reached via walks, promoting a Buckeye pitching change for Lena Springer. Springer retired Ashley Ercolano and Sam Volt, but a pair of infield singles followed to make the score 4-3. That was as close as San Diego State would get, however, as Samantha Camello grounded out to Leonard at first base for the final out. Hursh picked up her team-leading sixth win of the year, going six innings and scattering four hits with four strikeouts.

BOTTOM OF THE ORDER GETS IT DONE
Like in its win on Sunday at Arizona State, the seven-eight-nine hitters once again came up big for Ohio State. Ashley Goodwin, Emily Clark and Anna Kirk combined to go five-for-11 with a run scored. At the top of the order, McIntyre, Bayne, Prantl and Leonard were four-for-11.

NOTES
• Both Ohio State and San Diego State are receiving votes in the latest USA Today/USA Softball Top 25 poll. The Buckeyes garnered a season-high eight votes while San Deigo State had two.

• Cammi Prantl and Erika Leonard extended their season-high hitting streak to 10 games.

• Buckeye pitchers held San Diego State to two-for-16 with runners in scoring position.

• Prantl is 10 doubles shy of tying Krinon Clark for the program record of 58.

• Ohio State’s offense produced 10 or more hits for the third time in the last four games

• For the 10th time in 18 games, the Buckeyes scored first. They are 9-1 in those contests.

UP NEXT
Ohio State returns to action tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. PST (7:30 EST) with a contest at the SDSU Softball Stadium against Long Beach State.