No. 25 Ohio State Wins Twice on Tuesday vs. Ohio – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/20/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 20, 2016
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ATHENS, Ohio — Another midweek masterpiece by Shelby Hursh in the first game followed by some late-inning clutch hitting added up to a doubleheader sweep for the Ohio State softball team over Ohio on Tuesday in Athens. With the wins, the Buckeyes improve to 27-11-1 while the Bobcats are 25-18.
THE SHORT STORY
Hursh went head to head with Ohio ace Savannah Jo Dorsey, the nation’s strikeout leader, in a classic pitchers dual in with the only run of the game came in via a perfectly executed suicide squeeze. Hursh, who tossed a complete game shutout last Wednesday vs. Dayton, struck out seven and scattered just three hits. In the second game, Ohio State erupted for six runs over the final three innings to pull away from a 10-4 victory.
GAME ONE: Ohio State 1, Ohio 0
Hursh and Dorsey combined to give up just six hits while striking out 15, but the Buckeyes were able to cash in on a critical scoring opportunity in the top of the sixth. The rally started thanks to a Taylor White double to right field and she advanced to third on a fielding error by Morgan Geno. Ashley Goodwin then laid down a perfect bunt with White charging hard from third base. She slid in under the tag of catcher Madison Claytor, giving Ohio State the only run it would need thanks to the arm of Hursh.
A Buckeye error gave Ohio a lead-off base runner in the bottom of the sixth, but after Deanna Cole was called for being out of the batter’s box, catcher Becca Gavin erased the base runner by throwing her out attempting to steal second for the second out of the inning and effectively ending the rally. In the seventh, Ohio got a pair of base runners on a walk and hit by pitch, but Hursh struck out pinch hitter Samantha Bowlsbey for the final out of the game.
Despite finishing with just three hits, two of them were for extra bases — a sixth-inning double by White and Emily Clark’s fourth inning lead-off double. Ohio’s only hits were a second-inning infield single and a fourth-inning single.
Hursh retired the Bobcats in order in the first, third and fifth innings and allowed just two walks to pick up her team-leading 14th win of the year. It was also her third complete game shutout. In the last three weeks in midweek games against Penn State, Dayton and Ohio, Hursh has a 0.29 ERA in 24.1 innings pitched with four wins, a save, 31 strikeouts and .120 batting average against.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
In the fourth inning, Ohio threatened to push across the game’s first run when back to back singles and walk loaded the bases. Hursh, however, shut it down by inducing a lineout to left field by Casie Hutchinson. No other OU base runner advanced past second for the rest of the game.
STARS OF THE GAME
Taylor White: 1-2, double, run scored
Shelby Hursh: 7.0 IP, seven Ks, three hits allowed, two walks
Becca Gavin: 2-2 throwing out base runners attempting to steal second
GAME TWO: Ohio State 10, Ohio 4
After the pitchers dual in game one, fans were treated to more offensive fireworks in the second game. It was thanks to a fast-starting Ohio State offense that scored twice in the top of the first inning with a two-out rally started by Cammi Prantl’s walk. Clark then singled and the next batter, White, tripled to right center, bringing Prantl and Clark home.
Starter Morgan Ray sat Ohio down 1-2-3 in the bottom of the first and Ohio State continued to jump on Bobcats pitcher Danielle Stiene in the top of the second, scoring two more times via a McIntyre RBI single and perfectly executed double steal that brought Gavin home from third.
A rally by Ohio in the bottom of the second resulted in one run scoring on a single by Mikayla Cooper, but the Bobcats left two on base when Ray got Michaela Dorsey to line out sharply to Clark at second base. OU then scored twice in the bottom of the third to draw to within one, 4-3, on a two-out hit to center by Morgan Geno.
That’s as close as the Bobcats would get however, as White continued her big day in the top of the fifth with a home run to straightaway center field that hit off the scoreboard. On the afternoon, White had three hits — a home run, double and triple.
SPRINGER SETTLES IN
Junior Lena Springer, who came on in relief of Ray in the third inning, began to find her comfort zone in the fourth, retiring the first two batters before giving up a double and then getting an inning-ending ground ball to third base. That pattern repeated itself in the fifth inning before Springer sat OU down 1-2-3 in the sixth, needing just five pitches to do so.
THE BIG INNING
Still holding a precarious two-run lead into the top of the sixth, Ohio State erupted for five runs to bust the game wide open, keyed by a two-run double from Prantl and Clark’s two run single. The rally started when Kirk singled off OU pitcher Jamie Wren to right field and then Bri Betschel followed with a one-out single up the middle. McIntyre’s double to right field scored Kirk, setting up Prantl’s two-run double with the bases loaded. Clark’s two-run single then made the score 10-3.
TOP OF THE ORDER SHINES
The one through five hitters in Ohio State’s lineup — McIntyre, Bayne, Prantl, Clark and White — combined to drive in nine runs while going seven-for-17. Not to be outdone, Kirk and Betschel anchored the bottom have of the lineup with five hits and three runs scored.
STARS OF THE GAME
White: 2-3, triple, three RBI
Anna Kirk: 3-4, two runs scored
Bri Betschel: 2-4, one run scored
DEFENSIVE MVP
Sophomore catcher Becca Gavin threw out three base runners attempting to steal on Tuesday night, including one that was the final out in the seventh inning of game two. Ohio came into the game with 58 stolen bases on the season.
NEXT UP
Ohio State will enjoy its first home Big Ten weekend since in four weeks when it hosts Purdue (24-20, 6-8) this Friday-Sunday at Buckeye Field. First pitch on Friday is slated for 6 p.m. with a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and 1 p.m. game-time on Sunday. Admission, as always, is free.
