Ohio State
10-5
Tennessee
17-4
Ohio State Falls at No. 8 Tennessee, 5-0
3/9/2024 10:52:00 PM | Softball
Buckeyes will finish play at the Tennessee Invitational with two games on Sunday
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Ohio State softball team lost a hard-fought 5-0 decision to eight-ranked Tennessee on Saturday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium in Knoxville. The Buckeyes, who are 10-5 on the season, will get another shot at the Lady Vols tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. on the final day of the Tennessee Invitational.
Ohio State worked around six Tennessee base runners in the first two innings and limited the damage to just two UT runs. In the first inning, centerfielder Kirsten Eppele made a catch against the wall that took a grand slam away from Taylor Pannell. One inning later, the Lady Vols would once again load the bases with two outs, but Allison Smith got Laura Mealer looking on a strikeout, her second of the game.
Ohio State's first hit of the game came in the top of the fourth inning and it was from Tegan Cortelletti, whose bunt single was her fifth hit in the last two games (she went 4-for-4 in yesterday's 6-3 win over South Dakota). Cortelletti was sacrificed to second by Taylor Heckman and eventually reached third base on an error.
Tennessee increased its lead to 5-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning via a two-RBI triple and error that allowed another run to come across the plate. Ohio State would have its best scoring opportunity of the night in the sixth, as back-to-back singles from Taylor Heckman and Jasmyn Burns put runners on with two outs. The Buckeyes, however, weren't able to push anything across.
Allison Smith went six innings and struck out five while not allowing a walk after the second inning. Her counterpart for Tennessee, Payton Gottshall, had six strikeouts in 5.2 innings of work.
What's Next
Due to inclement weather in the Knoxville area today, the remainder of the Tennessee Invitational schedule has been adjusted. The Buckeyes, however, will get five games in this weekend as they'll play twice tomorrow. Action begins with a 1:30 game against Tennessee and concludes at 4 p.m. versus South Dakota.
The game vs. the Lady Vols will be on ESPN+ while live stats and Twitter updates for both contests can be found at @OhioStateSB.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: P. Gottshall (7-2)
L: Smith, Allison (6-4)
Batting:
SH: Heckman, Taylor 1
Batting:
3B: T. Pannell 1
RBI: D. Rodriguez 1 ; M. Gibson 1 ; T. Pannell 2
Base Running:
RUNS: K. Milloy 1 ; K. Taylor 1 ; L. Mealer 1 ; T. Pannell 1 ; G.Koutsoyano 1
SB: K. Milloy 1 ; G.Koutsoyano 1
HBP: L. Mealer 1 ; G.Koutsoyano 1
