Ohio State
29-15, 0
Purdue
21-25, 0
Buckeyes Rally From Early Deficit to Defeat Purdue, 12-9
4/22/2023 6:48:00 PM | Softball
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A crowd of nearly 1,700 fans got a treat on Saturday afternoon, as Ohio State fought all the way back from an 8-0 third-inning deficit and defeated Purdue, 12-9, to even its weekend series with the Boilermakers.
The Buckeyes improved to 29-15 on the season (9-7 Big Ten) while Purdue is 21-25 (4-12 Big Ten).
The Short Story
Trailing 8-0 through two and a half innings, Ohio State rallied by scoring five runs in the bottom of the third, one in the fourth and six in the bottom of the sixth to complete the comeback. Mariah Rodriguez had a go-ahead two-run single in the sixth while Jaycee Ruberti drove in the tying runs earlier in the inning.
In the circle, freshman Lexi Paulsen picked up the win with a solid 3.1 innings of relief work that included four strikeouts. She's now 3-0 on the season. Junior Allison Smith worked a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the top of the seventh and ended the game with a strikeout.
How The Runs Were Scored
- Purdue built its 8-0 lead after two and a half innings thanks to a solo home run in the first and a seven-run third that was highlighted by a three-run triple and two-run single that landed just inside of the left field foul line.
- The Buckeyes' comeback started in the bottom half of the third inning, as a Purdue fielding error allowed two Ohio State runs to score and run-scoring hits from Sam Hackenbracht and Meggie Otte closed the gap to 8-5 in Purdue's favor.
- In the bottom of the fourth inning, Ruberti knocked in the first of her three runs on the day with a sacrifice fly that scored Melina Wilkison, who had singled earlier in the inning.
- Purdue's Alex Echazarreta homered in the top of the sixth to give the Boilermakers a 9-6 lead.
- The bottom of the sixth, inning, through was all Buckeyes. Meggie Otte's sac fly make the score 9-7 in favor of Purdue, and that set the table to Ruberti, whose two-run single with one out tied the game at 9-all.
- Four batters later, with two outs, Rodriguez singled to left field and scored McKenzie Bump and pinch runner Lindsey Potter to give Ohio State its first lead of the game, 11-9.
- Ohio State would tack on a 12th run with Kaitlyn Farley came home from third base via a wild pitch.
Buckeye This and That
- A crowd of 1,676 attended Saturday's game, the second-largest crowd of the season.
- A total of eight pitchers were used in the game, including five by Purdue.
- Rodriguez, Wilkison and Ruberti each had two hits. Otte and Ruberti also drove in three runs each.
- Wilkison reached base in four of her five of her plate appearances, getting two hits while also walking twice.
- Paulsen threw 73 pitches in her 3.1 innings of relief and allowed just two hits.
- Ohio State had just one extra base hit in the game; however, the Buckeyes walked 10 times and were hit by pitches three times.
- Rodriguez's two-hit days upped her season average to .333 and gives her 22 RBI on the season.
- Ohio State's only extra base hit of the game was a double by Otte, which was her ninth of the season. She also has 28 RBI on the season.
- The start of the game was delayed approximately 30 minutes as a line of showers moved through the Columbus area.
What's Next
The rubber game of this weekend's series occurs tomorrow beginning at 1 p.m. The game is officially sold out, but fans who can't make it can catch all the action on BTN+. A link to live stats can be found on the softball schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Paulsen, Lexi (3-0)
L: Alex Echazarreta (7-12)
Batting:
2B: Alex Echazarreta 1
3B: Tyrina Jones 1
HR: Tyrina Jones 1 ; Alex Echazarreta 1
RBI: Tyrina Jones 4 ; Alex Echazarreta 1 ; Olivia McFadden 1 ; Kyndall Bailey 2 ; Bella Bacon 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Jade Moy 1 ; Tyrina Jones 1 ; Alex Echazarreta 2 ; Olivia McFadden 1 ; Anna Lonchar 1 ; Rita Nuss 1 ; Kiersen George 1 ; Kiara Dillon 1
HBP: Anna Lonchar 1
Batting:
2B: Otte, Meggie 1
RBI: Rodriguez, Mariah 2 ; Hackenbracht, Sam 1 ; Otte, Meggie 3 ; Ruberti, Jaycee 3
SF: Otte, Meggie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Rodriguez, Mariah 1 ; Wilkison, Melina 3 ; Kortokrax, Kami 2 ; Hackenbracht, Sam 1 ; Limon, Skylar 1 ; Potter, Lindsey 1 ; Bump, McKenzie 1 ; Farley, Kaitlyn 2
SB: Wilkison, Melina 1 ; Hackenbracht, Sam 1
CS: Rodriguez, Mariah 1
HBP: Rodriguez, Mariah 1 ; Kortokrax, Kami 1 ; Otte, Meggie 1
