Ohio State Splits with No. 4 Auburn, NDSU in Clearwater

Saturday, March 18

Clearwater, Fla.

Ohio State

15-7

North Dakota State

10-19

Ohio State

North Dakota State

Ohio State Splits with No. 4 Auburn, NDSU in Clearwater

3/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball

Box Score

March 19, 2017

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The Ohio State softball team split its two games on the final day of its schedule at the Michele Smith Pediatric Cancer Invitational in Clearwater, Fla. Ohio State dropped the first game of the day to No. 4 Auburn, but turned around and earned a 6-5 win over North Dakota State in the nightcap, 6-5. The Buckeyes are now 15-7 overall.

GAME ONE: Auburn 8, Ohio State 0 (6 inn.)
Fourth-ranked Auburn, the national runner-up last season, scored five in the third and three more in the sixth and Kaylee Carlson stymied the Buckeyes’ offense in the Tigers’ 8-0 win.

After a scoreless first two innings, Auburn struck for five runs on four hits and was aided by two Ohio State errors in the top of the third. It was started with two hits that were sandwiched around an error, and then a bases loaded walk gave the Tigers a 1-0 lead. Auburn would go on to add another run thanks to an infield error and then two doubles brought home three more runs.

Auburn’s three-run sixth started with a walk, single and walk, loading the bases for the Tigers with no outs. Pitcher Morgan Ray was able to record the first out on a strikeout out, but Auburn scored during the next at-bat on an error and Carlee Wallace brought two runs home with a single to right field.

In the circle, Springer put zeros on the board against the Tigers in the first and second innings while Ray found a groove in the middle of the game, retiring seven in a row at one point. She struck out four over 3.0 innings.

GAME TWO: Ohio State 6, North Dakota State 5
The Buckeyes bounced back from the setback against Auburn quickly, taking down North Dakota State 6-5 on the strength of a five-run fourth inning.

Sophomore Lilli Piper put Ohio State on the scoreboard first for the eighth time in the last nine games when she belted a home run to center field in the top of the first, giving starting pitcher Shelby Hursh an early 1-0 lead.

Hursh kept the Bison off the scoreboard for the next three innings and then gave the Buckeyes’ offense that chance to create some distance. They did just that when Shelby McCombs led off the top of the fourth with a double. Pinch runner Megan Choinacky was sacrificed to second by Becca Gavin and then Taylor White drove her home with a single up the middle. The next batter, Bri Betschel, walked, Anna Kirk was hit by a pitch to load the bases and Alex Bayne’s single dropped just between the third basemen and rightfielder. Piper’s sacrifice fly made it 4-0, and then the biggest hit of the game came from Emily Clark, who doubled down the right field line, scoring Bayne and Kirk and giving Ohio State a 6-0 lead.

The Bison, a perennial NCAA Tournament participant, refused to go quietly. In the bottom of the fifth, they loaded the bases and scored two runs on a double to cut the OSU lead to four, 6-2. In the sixth, North Dakota State added three runs, pulling to within one at 6-5.

That’s as close as they’d get however. Lena Springer, who came on in relief earlier in the game, shut the door with a perfect 1-2-3 bottom of the seventh, getting the final out of a pop out to Gavin.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Clinging to a one-run lead in the bottom of the sixth, Ohio State made a key defensive play when Taylor White threw out pinch runner Anna Watson at home plate, who was the potential game-tying run attempting to score on Stephanie Soriano’s single to center. It was the second time in three games that the Buckeyes’ defense made a critical out at home plate, following Friday’s game-ending putout of a Missouri runner in extra innings.

SPRING BREAK IN REVIEW
Ohio State’s eight-day, 10-game trip was highlighted by a seven game winning streak and four one-run victories. Along the way, the pitching staff went 32 innings without allowing a run and had four consecutive shutouts, the longest streak since 2001.

Over the six games played last week, the Buckeyes’ staff had a 1.91 ERA and .173 batting average again. It gave up just nine extra base hits in 44.0 innings, including zero home runs.

WHAT’S NEXT
Big Ten Conference play commences next weekend when Ohio State heads to College Park, Maryland to face the Terrapins in a three-game series starting on Friday, March 24. The contest on Saturday, March 25 will be shown live on BTN.