The Ohio softball team went 1-2 at Kent State this weekend, with the three-game series marking the beginning of play in the Mid American Conference.
Ohio (7-19 overall, 1-2 MAC) lost the first game of the Saturday double header 4-2, despite jumping out to a 2-0 lead and scoring a run in each of the first two innings.
Pitcher Natalie Armstrong got Ohio on the board with a lead off homerun in the top of the first inning. The home run was her third of the season. Robin Miller started the Bobcats' rally in the second inning with a single. Sarah Melvin drove Miller home with a sacrifice fly.
The lead did not last long, though, as Kent State (10-12, 2-1 MAC) came storming back in the bottom of the second inning. The Golden Flashes scored all four of its runs in the inning.
Kerri Harley (3-8) started the game for Ohio and pitched two innings, giving up all four runs. Armstrong came in and finished the game for Ohio, pitching four scoreless innings. She collected four strikeouts while giving up only five hits and one walk.
The second game of the double header saw Kent State win again, this time 4-1. The Golden Flashes did not waste any time in this contest, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first inning. Jodi Stevens had the big hit in this inning with a triple that drove in two runs.
Ohio scored its lone run in the fourth inning to cut the lead to 3-1. Erin Chapman reached on a fielder's choice and later moved to second on a single by Miller. Shannon Weidner drove Chapman home with a double.
Kent State finished off the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning with an RBI double by Traci Logar.
Katlyn Mallette started the game and pitched three innings. All four runs were charged to her. Once again, Armstrong shut the Golden Flashes out. She gave up only two hits in three innings of play.
We had a lot of hits on Saturday
Ohio coach Roanna Brazier said. It's a shame we couldn't put all those hits together. We made a couple of mistakes defensively and Kent State took advantage of it.
Ohio picked up a win yesterday by a score of 2-1. Chapman hit a two-run home run in the top of the first, and the Ohio pitching would make those two runs stand up. Jennifer Tisevich started the game for Ohio and went one inning, giving up a run. Mallette (1-4) pitched the next four innings, giving up no runs and only two hits. Armstrong finished the game with two shutout innings. Armstrong got out of a bases loaded jam in the bottom of the seventh.
I felt pretty good about how we played today Brazier said. We had excellent pitching today. We put the ball in play today and made Kent State play defense. The mistakes we made defensively didn't hurt us. It felt really good to earn that win.
Ohio opens its home schedule on Wednesday as Cleveland State comes to Athens for a mid-week double header. The first pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m at the Ohio Softball Field.
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Kevin Wiseman
