Maybe all that needed to happen was for the Ohio State softball team to enter Big Ten play to ramp its play up even more.
The Buckeyes used a big first inning and then hung on to beat a nationally ranked Indiana team that should be among the favorites to win the Big Ten title this year.
Ohio State jumped all over starting Indiana pitcher Tara Trainer in the bottom of the first, but had some help. Brianna Bretschel started things off with a double for Ohio State, followed by another double by Lilli Piper to make it 1-0.
Then, after two-straight walks, Trainier tossed a wild pitch to score Piper to make the score 2-0. The Hoosiers then threw away a ground ball by Niki Carver two score two more runs make it 4-0, before Claire Nicholson singled home a run to end the scoring for the Buckeyes at 5-0.
The Hoosiers were able to one run in the top of the second, and two more in the third, but that would be all the scoring for the game as OSU was able to hang on for the win.
Lauren Rice took over in the third inning and held the Hoosiers scoreless the rest of the way to pick up her ninth win.
With the victory, Ohio State improves to 17-9 overall, and runs its record to 2-0 in the Big Ten. The weekend series with Indiana will conclude tomorrow at 1PM.
