The Buckeye softball team continues to put itself in a good spot in the Big Ten, staying within shouting distance of the top of the league, yet far enough ahead of the middle-to-bottom teams to feel safe and secure when it comes to making noise in the postseason.
And it has done it in a myriad of ways. Friday, the Buckeyes broke out the bats by plating fifteen runs and a season-high fourteen RBIs to win going away 15-6.
On Saturday, Ohio State found itself in a low-scoring affair and behind late, but found a way to scratch across enough offense to win game two of a three game series against Michigan State 3-2.
Ohio State got out of the gate early in the top of the first inning with a Lilli Piper opposite field home run to make it 1-0.
Michigan State answered with a run of its own in the bottom of the first and from there, scoring was hard to come by. The Spartans added another run in the bottom of the fifth-inning to take 2-1. Despite Ohio State having plenty of chances to wrestle the lead back, it couldn’t get the timely hit — leaving eleven runners on base.
Then, in the biggest spot of the game, Emily Clark hit a liner down the right field line to score Brianna Betschel and Lilli Piper to finally grab the lead 3-2.
And that’s where things would end. Morgan Ray came on in relief to get her 13th win of the season after starting pitcher Lauren Rice held things at bay throughout the game.
The win improves Ohio State’s overall record to 28-14, and Big Ten record to 11-5. The series finale takes place tomorrow at 1:00 PM.
