Smith, Hackenbracht Key Doubleheader Split with Northwestern

Saturday, March 13

Leesburg, Fla.

Ohio State

Northwestern

Smith, Hackenbracht Key Doubleheader Split with Northwestern

3/13/2021 5:00:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

LEESBURG, Fla. – Ohio State split on Saturday doubleheader against No. 23 Northwestern and in the process handed the Wildcats their first loss of the year with a 4-2 triumph in the first game. Northwestern won the second game, 9-0. The teams will play the rubber game of their three-game set tomorrow at 9 a.m.

The Short Story
The Buckeyes' game one win was built of the strength of timely hitting and another strong performance from freshman pitcher Allison Smith. Sam Hackenbracht hit a two-run home run in the second inning and Ohio State tacked on single runs in the fourth and fifth innings to ride the arm of Smith, who struck out seven over seven innings to earn her third win of the weekend.

Northwestern won the second game of the day due in large part to a six-run third inning. The rubber game of the three-game set will be tomorrow morning at 9 a.m. in Leesburg, Fla.

Game One: Ohio State 4, Northwestern 2
Ohio State broke open a scoreless tie in the bottom of the second in a big way when Sam Hackenbracht connected on a two-run home to left field. One batter earlier, Avery Clark nearly homered when she sent a ball to the wall that resulted in a triple, the first of her career. It marked the first time this season that

Northwestern, which had won its first nine games of the season prior to Saturday, trailed all year.

The Buckeyes added an RBI single from Carley Gaskill in the bottom of the fourth to increase their lead to 3-2, which was an important run after NU's Rachel Lewis hit a two-run home run with two outs in the top of the fifth to make the score 3-2 in Ohio State's favor.

In the fifth inning, Ohio State tacked on an important insurance run. The first batter of the inning – Tegan Cortelletti – singled through the left side and was sacrificed to second on a bunt. With two outs, Ashley Prange delivered a clutch single to left center, scoring Cortelletti and giving Ohio State a 4-2 lead.

Smith cruised through the sixth inning, setting the Wildcats down in order. In the seventh, NU had two runners on with two outs, but a ground ball to shortstop got the final out at second base.

Smith has been the winning pitcher in each of Ohio State's three victories this weekend and has 18 strikeouts in 17.0 innings with a 2.02 earned run average.

Cortelletti has had two hits in each game and is batting .474 on the weekend with nine hits in 19 at-bats. She's one of five players with multiple RBI.

Game Two: Northwestern 9, Ohio State 0
Northwestern broke a scoreless tie open in the bottom of the third with six runs and then tacked on three more in the bottom of the fourth to earn a 9-0 win and split the Saturday doubleheader.

Two of Ohio State's five hits came off the bat of Cortelletti, who was 2-for-3 on the game. The Buckeyes' offense produced three doubles – one each from Prange, Gaskill and Hackenbracht. The Buckeyes' five hits came against NU pitcher Danielle Williams, who had allowed just seven hits in 25.0 innings prior to Saturday.

The two teams wrap up their series – and the weekend – tomorrow with a game at 9 a.m. at Sleepy Hollow Fields. It will be broadcast live on BTN Plus.