Buckeyes Clinch Series At Nebraska With a 6-4 Victory
5/7/2023 4:48:00 PM | Softball
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LINCOLN, Neb. – Not all series-ending wins are created equal, which is why Ohio State's 6-4 come-from-behind victory over Nebraska on Sunday felt more significant. The Buckeyes' win clinched the series over the Cornhuskers at Bowlin Stadium on the final day of the regular season and set them up to take momentum into the Big Ten Tournament, which begins on Wednesday in Champaign, Ill.
Ohio State improved to 32-19 overall and finished the regular season with a 12-11 mark in conference play. The Buckeyes will be the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and face 11th-seeded Rutgers on Wednesday at 11 a.m. CT (noon ET) live on BTN.
The Short Story
Trailing 3-0 after two innings, the Buckeye bats broke out in a big way during a six-run fourth inning. Key hits were provided by Taylor Heckman (RBI triple), Mariah Rodriguez (RBI single) and Meggie Otte (two-run double).
From there, pitcher Emily Ruck stymied the Huskers. She allowed just one run over 5.1 innings of relief and recorded her ninth win of the season. In the bottom of the seventh, she worked out of a bases loaded, one-out jam by getting an infield pop up and force out at second on a fielder's choice to end the game.
Ohio State's nine-hit attack saw Rodriguez and McKenzie Bump both record multiple hits. After getting just two extra base hits in the first two games of the series, Ohio State had four on Sunday: a double each from Melina Wilkison, Otte and Bump along with Heckman's triple.
How The Runs Were Scored
- Nebraska was able to plate two runs in the bottom of the first and one more in the bottom of the second to take an early 3-0.
- The Huskers' first two runs were score on Abby Squier's two-out single and the third run was adied by an Ohio State error.
- The Buckeyes' big fourth inning was started by Bump's one-out double to left. One batter later, Heckman tripled and cut the Nebraska lead to 3-1.
- Rodriguez then followed with an RBI single and the game was tied at 3-3 when Sam Hackenbracht reached on a fielder's choice that allowed Rodriguez to come in from third.
- Otte then doubled to left field and gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the day, and the sixth run came in off an infield single from Jaycee Ruberti.
- In the home half of the fifth inning, three straight Nebraska singles loaded the bases for Caitlynn Neal, who grounded into a fielder's choice but was good enough to get a run in from third.
- The next batter, however, flew out to right field to avoid any further damage.
Moments That Mattered
- In the bottom of the seventh, Ruck quickly retired the first batter but two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out.
- Neal, however, popped up to Kortokrax and on a 2-1 pitch, Ava Bredwell ground out to Kortokrax, who won a race to second base and the force out for the final out.
The Weekend That Was
- Not only did Kortokrax make key defensive plays late in the game on Sunday, she also had a stellar weekend at the plate.
- Over three games, she batted .556 with a double and two RBI. Even more impressive was her on-base percentage: .667. She reached in eight of her 12 plate appearances.
- Allison Smith started Sunday's game and went 1.2 innings with two strikeouts. She became the sixth pitcher in school history to record 200 or more strikeouts in a season.
- Hackenbracht and Rodriguez each had four hits on the weekend.
- In 23 Big Ten games, Hackenbracht led the team with a .421 batting average of 24 RBI.
- Otte's fourth-inning hit gave her eight doubles and 19 RBI in Big Ten games along with a .296 conference-only batting average.
- Ohio State's series win over Nebraska was its second in as many seasons over the Huskers. The two teams have played seven times in the last year and the Buckeyes have won four.
Postseason Time
- All 11 of the Big Ten Tournament games will be aired live on BTN.
- Live stats will also be available on the schedule page of OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
- Ohio State and Rutgers met earlier this season April 7-9 with the Buckeyes taking two of three from the Scarlet Knights in Columbus.
- Tournament information came be found at bigten.org/softball
