Ohio State’s NCAA Tourney Run Ends vs. Tennessee – Ohio State Buckeyes

Sunday, May 22

Knoxville, Tenn.

Ohio State

34-20-1

Tennessee

43-15

Tennessee

Ohio State

Ohio State’s NCAA Tourney Run Ends vs. Tennessee – Ohio State Buckeyes

5/22/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

May 22, 2016

Final Stats

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – A memorable 2016 season came to an end on Sunday with a 10-1 setback to 13th-ranked Tennessee at Lee Stadium in Knoxville. The Buckeyes finished with 34-20-1 overall and punctuated its campaign with a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in six years.

THE SHORT STORY
Tennessee broke open a close game with six runs in the top of the second and advanced to the regional final against Arizona. Four different players collected hits for the Buckeyes, led by Maddy McIntyre, who was two-for-three with a RBI.

HOW THE RUNS WERE SCORED
Tennessee loaded the bases via three infield singles in the top of the first and scored twice on walks, but the Buckeyes avoided further damage by getting a key strikeout of Scarlet McSwain and pop up by Shaliyah Geathers.

Ohio State was able to cut the lead in half in the bottom of the first thanks to a one-out rally that was started by an Alex Bayne walk. A Tennessee throwing error allowed her to move from second to third on a fielder’s choice, and then Maddy McIntyre collected her 32nd RBI of the season with a single to right field. The Vols eventually got out of the inning via a fielder’s choice and pop out to third.

The Vols once again loaded the bases in the top of the second thanks to an infield single and two walks. This time, however, Lexi Overstreet made the Buckeyes pay with a three-run double to right center that made the score 5-1. The Vols tacked on three runs with a two-out single and OSU error that made the score 8-1, but the inning ended when Geathers failed to touch home plate trying to score on the error.

Springer worked two scoreless innings, but UT’s Meghan Gregg extended the lead to 10-1 in the top of the fifth when he hit a two-run home run to left field with one away.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
A Jess Machovina lead-off single in the bottom of the second and walk to Becca Gavin gave the Buckeyes momentum, and Bri Betschel’s sacrifice bunt put both runners in scoring position. UT’s Erin Gabriel got a strikeout and pop out to end the threat, however.

In the third, Ohio State once again threatened with no outs as Cammi Prantl (walk) and McIntyre (single to pitcher) got on base with nobody out. The Buckeyes weren’t able to push anything across, however, as the next three batters struck out.

The Buckeyes refused to go quietly in the bottom of the fifth, loading the bases on an error and two singles. With two outs, however, Machovina flew out to right field, ending the game.

THE SENIOR CLASS
Ohio State’s Class of 2016 was a part of 128 victories while wearing the Scarlet and Gray, making it one of the top 10 winnigest classes in school history. It finished in the top half of the Big Ten standings for three consecutive seasons (2014-16) and made the program’s first regional appearance since 2010.

In the record books, Prantl became the school’s all-time hits and double leader and also finished in the top ten in career batting average. McIntyre also leaves the program amongst the career leaders in RBI, hits, walks, on-base percentage and home runs.

A BRIGHT FUTURE
Ten of the 13 players that played for Ohio State today are underclassmen, including three All-Region choices – freshman Emily Clark, junior Shelby Hursh and junior Alex Bayne. Bayne’s 2016 season was historic, as she tied the single-season home run record (19) and drove in a team-high 49 runs. Clark’s rookie campaign in which she hit .324 is the eighth highest average amongst freshmen in school history. In the circle, Hursh struck out 199 batters over 177.1 innings – the fifth most in single-season history.

NOTHING THE 2016 SEASON
The Buckeyes won 30 or more games for the fifth consecutive season and along the way had a flair for the dramatic, winning six games in walk-off fashion. They started Big Ten play by winning nine of their first 11 games and were ranked in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll for five consecutive weeks.

POSTGAME QUOTES
Kelly Kovach Schoenly, head coach: “I spend so much time with these ladies and they’re like family. I watch them grow and I’m so proud of them and then I have to let them go into the real world, but they’re more than ready to go and take what they learned in college and go conquer the world.”

“I’m very grateful that the people who I spend my time with are very worthy of – you know, they’re just amazing kids. I can’t believe I get to call this my job. It’s awesome. I love them to death. I told them I don’t want to think about coaching without them because they’ve been so much a part of it for me. But I know they’ll be proud alums and support us here [going] forward.”

Maddy McIntyre, senior shortstop: “When Cammi [Prantl] and I got here, the coaches were new. We started right away, and our goal was to set a standard to be at regionals and to make it happen every year. As Cammi, the other seniors and I head out, we just hope that this is a standard, and they keep raising the bar. We’re just happy we got on the map. It was a great tournament with great facilities. We loved being here. We had a blast.”

Cammi Prantl, senior outfielder: “It was a fun year, a fun four years. Really happy that we made it here. We deserve to be here. It was a lot of fun playing. Thank you to NCAA Softball and to Ohio State for a fun four years.”