Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeye softball goes 4-1 with a ranked win, baseball finishes the weekend 0-3

COLUMBUS – Ohio State baseball and softball continued their non-conference schedule over the weekend.

The Ohio State softball team went 4-1 at the Bulldog Classic at the University of Georgia. The Buckeyes started the weekend off with two five-inning run-rule victories over Stetson and UMBC, respectively, on Friday.

The Ohio State offense set the tone highlighted by an 18-hit attack that included four home runs and five doubles. Infielder Reagan Milliken went 2-for-4 with two home runs and six RBI in the two games while catcher Jasmyn Burns went 5-of-6 with two doubles and a home run.

A pair of freshmen pitchers also shined for the Buckeyes. Lorin Boutte did not allow an earned run in five innings vs. Stetson and Layna Gerhard tossed four scoreless innings against UMBC.

On Saturday, Ohio State split its two games dropping a hard-fought 7-6 decision to No. 10 Georgia in the first game of the day before bouncing back to defeat UMBC 9-0 in five innings.

The Buckeyes and Bulldogs battled back and forth for seven innings in the first game on Saturday, with four lead changes. After falling behind 2-0 after two innings, a three-run fifth inning by the Buckeyes – which included home runs from outfielder Taylor Cruse and an RBI double by outfielder Morgan Frye – gave Ohio State a 4-3 lead.

Georgia answered with solo home runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but Cruse’s second homer of the game plus a two-run home run by infielder Kami Kortokrax put the Buckeyes ahead 6-5 in the seventh. With the last at-bat, however, Georgia scored the tying run on a one-out RBI single. The Bulldogs then scored the winning run on a fielder’s choice that resulted in the runner scoring from third base.

Kennedy Kay got the start in the circle and went 6.1 innings before giving way in relief to Lorin Boutte.

In the nightcap against UMBC, the Buckeyes offense exploded in the fourth inning with a seven-run inning that was highlighted by a Morgan Frye home run and three-run triple by Reagan Milliken. Freshman pitcher Kassandra Gewecke picked up her first career win as well. She pitched five innings while allowing just one hit and striking out two.

In the final game of the event, Ohio State defeated No. 12 Georgia 7-0 on Sunday.

The Buckeyes had a big second inning on offense which included a solo home run by Jasmyn Burns. Four batters later, outfielder Hadley Parisien connected on a 1-0 pitch down the right field line to increase Ohio State’s lead to 3-0.

A bases-loaded double that plated three runs from infielder Kaitlyn Farley made the score 6-0 in Ohio State’s favor. Burns drove in her second run of the inning with an RBI double just one batter later. The Buckeyes held a commanding 7-0 lead over the Bulldogs after two innings

Additionally, that was all the run support that Lorin Boutte needed in the circle. She did not allow her first hit until the third inning. Georgia had a runner in scoring position just once in the game – in the third inning – and the rally was ended when Boutte retired the next three batters.

Ohio State (13-4-1) will host Texas, Merrimack, Kent State, Oakland and Saint Francis (Pa.) next weekend at Buckeye Field. In all, the Buckeyes will play 16 of their next 19 games at home.

Buckeyes baseball struggles at Globe Life Field

Ohio State baseball went 0-3 at Amegy Bank College Baseball Series at Globe Life Field over the weekend. The Buckeyes led in two of the three games but once again struggled to close out games.

On Friday, the Buckeyes were shut out by Auburn, 13-0, in seven innings. The Tigers got on the board early, taking an 8-0 leads in the top of the second inning. Auburn then added two runs in the top of the fourth and three more in the fifth to make the final score 13-0.

Pitcher Drew Erdmann took the loss on the mound. He had one strikeout and allowed eight runs on five hits in 1.2 innings pitched.

Ohio State played much better on Saturday but still fell to Baylor, 8-6. The Bears took an early 2-0 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning on a two-run home run. The Buckeyes cut the Baylor lead to just one in the top of the fifth but the Bears scored two more in the bottom half of the inning to make it 4-1.

Infielder Marc Stephens singled up the middle to drive in fellow infielder Tyler Pettorini and cut the Baylor lead back to two, 4-2, in the top of the sixth. One inning later Pettorini tied the game at 4-4 on a two-run home run. Baylor reclaimed the lead, 8-4, in the bottom of the eighth. Infielder Nick Giamarusti cut the Bears lead to 8-6 on a two run home run in the top of the ninth but that’s as close as the Buckeyes would get.

Pitcher Chase Herrell struck out four and gave up four runs on four hits in a 5.0-inning no-decision on Sunday.

After making a late comeback to take the lead, Ohio State was unable to hold on and ultimately fell to No. 9 Oregon State, 12-10, on Sunday.

The Beavers took an early 4-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a trio of RBI base hits. In the top of the second, catcher Mason Eckelman hit his first career home run and Nick Giamarusti scored on an Oregon State error to cut the Beavers lead to 4-2.

In the bottom of the second, Oregon State got one across on a wild pitch then the Beavers scored two more in the third to take a five run lead over Ohio State, 7-2.

The Buckeyes battled back, however. Infielder Lee Ellis led the way with a solo home run in the fifth inning to cut the Oregon State to 7-3. Ohio State then scored five runs in the sixth headlined by a bases clearing double from infielder Matthew Graveline to take a 8-7 lead. Ellis added an insurance run in the seventh to make it 9-7 going into the final two frames.

From there Oregon State got two across on back-to-back RBI singles to tie the score, 9-9. The Beavers then hit a three-run home run to reclaim the lead, 12-9, in the bottom of the eight. Ohio State scored one more time in the top of ninth to make it 12-10 but it wasn’t enough.

The Buckeyes welcome St. John’s to Bill Davis Stadium for their home opener on Tuesday, March 4 at 3:00 p.m.

Counting down

Ohio State vs. Texas: 180 days away
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 271 days away

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