Prange’s Bat, Buresch’s Arm Key 5-1 Win at Purdue

Friday, April 30

West Lafayette, Ind.

Ohio State

18-14, 0

Purdue

10-23, 0

Ohio State

Purdue

Prange’s Bat, Buresch’s Arm Key 5-1 Win at Purdue

4/30/2021 7:26:23 PM | Softball

Box Score

Final Stats: Ohio State 5, Purdue 1 // Season Stats

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Ohio State (18-14) started off its four-game series at Purdue (10-23) on Friday night in the best way possible: with a total team effort on offense, defense and in the circle that added up to a 5-1 victory at Bittinger Stadium in West Lafayette.

The Short Story
Senior Payton Buresch pitched a complete-game three-hitter to secure her eighth win of the season. All the run support she would need could come in one swing of the bat, in the form of a three-run bases-clearing double by Ashley Prange in the second inning. The rest of the way, Buresch was backed up by her defense as she allowed just two hits over her final six innings of work.

Prange finished the game 2-for-4 with three RBI and a run scored. Niki Carver also drove in two runs while Mariah Rodriguez had a two-hit day, including a double to start the game.

While Buresch had just one strikeout, it might have been the biggest pitch of the game: she got Kaeley Hallada looking at a 2-2 offering in the bottom of the first with the bases loaded for the Boilermakers to stop an early rally.

How The Runs Were Scored

After Rodriguez’s double to start the game, she was moved to third on a ground out from Prange and came home on a groundout to third.
After Buresch shut down Purdue with the bases loaded by striking out Hallada, the Buckeyes worked a bit of two-out magic to bust the game open. It started with three consecutive walks – by Carley Gaskill, Tegan Cortelletti and Mariah Rodriguez – and culminated when Prange took a 2-1 offering from relief pitcher Ashley Peters and laced a double to center field.
Prange would eventually score on a single by Niki Carver before the final out of the inning was made at second base.
Purdue put its only run of the game on the board in the third inning on a two-out error. With runners on first and third, however, Buresch rebounded to record the final out of the inning on a 1-3 ground out.

In the Circle

After Purdue was able to put a run on the board in the third, the Boilermakers recorded just one hit the rest of the game.
Buresch retired the Boilermakers in order in the fourth, sixth and seventh innings.

This and That

Friday’s game marked the first time that anyone on Ohio State’s roster had played at Bittinger Stadium, which opened in 2014. The Buckeyes’ last trip to West Lafayette was in 2012.
It also marked the Buckeyes’ first victory at Purdue in over nine years, since April 13, 2008.
Sam Hackenbracht, the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week, was intentionally walked four times. Over the past three games, she’s been intentionally walked nine times.
Rodriguez’s two-hit games gives her a .486 average over the last 10 games and .714 slugging percentage with four extra base hits.
Three of Ohio State’s six hits were doubles.
Buckeye batters drew a season-high seven walks.

What’s Next
Games two and three of this weekend’s series will be played tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. Both contests will be streamed live on BTN Plus and a link to live stats will be available on the schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.