Akron pitcher Alex Riedeman confounded the Bobcat bats through four innings Saturday. Then rain came and changed Ohio’s fortunes.
Riedeman gave up a walk-off single to senior Emily Wethington in the eighth inning of a rain-suspended game to get tagged with a 3-2 loss in the first of a two-game series yesterday. The Bobcats (14-16) used a four-run fifth inning — three of which came off Riedeman – en route to a 6-3 win and sweep of the Zips (16-15).
“Honestly, we just wanted to knock her off,” Wethington said. “They put (Riedeman) in to change it up or get us off our game, but we just took that mentality against her.”
Wethington (11-6) went the distance in the first game, which was stopped Saturday because of rain and resumed yesterday morning. She struck out five, including third baseman Alex Feltes, with the bases loaded in the seventh.
Then, after senior Melissa Bonner led off the bottom eighth with a double, Wethington knocked her in with a single to shallow right field for the game-winner.
Bonner started game two — her first since an ugly loss to Ball State last Friday.
The lefty struggled with command at times but was able to work her way out of a bases-loaded jam in the first and gave up three runs in 4 1/3 innings.
“As a pitcher you have to just trust your stuff,” Bonner said. “Getting out of that tough jam in the first inning definitely built my confidence.”
Ohio built a 1-0 lead courtesy of a third-inning RBI double from senior Paige Kemezis. Freshman Erin Lashley scored off an error in the bottom of the fourth to make it 2-0.
Akron came back with a three-run fifth inning. Bonner gave up an RBI single to Alissa Birkhimer before Wethington was brought in relief. Shortstop Sarah Earley doubled in a pair of inherited runners to give Akron its only lead of the weekend.
The Zips brought Riedeman in for relief at the bottom of the fifth, but the Bobcats responded. Bonner singled home Jillian Van Wagnen to tie it up and Wethington followed with another RBI single. Bonner then stole home to build a two-run cushion and catcher senior Jordan Paden knocked in Tessa Bailey for the 6-3 lead.
Wethington retired the next six Zips hitters to earn her second win of the weekend.
“The conference is turning out to be pretty even last weekend and even Saturday,” coach Jodi Hermanek said. “We needed these two wins to get us back into the middle of the pack and to feel good about our game.”
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