Alexandria Basquez will likely remember Wednesday for the rest of her life.
The senior first baseman went on an offensive rampage, hitting three home runs in Ohio’s doubleheader against Marshall, leaving the Bobcats just one run away from getting the sweep on the road.
“I feel like I played pretty well,” Basquez said. “I don’t like to say I played the best because I didn’t score all of the runs. I just came up and did what my team asked me to do. I came through.”
But the Bobcats finished with a split, despite taking game one 4-3, partly because of Bazquez’s first homer to centerfield in the top of the seventh to give Ohio the lead.
In game two, she hit a home run in the fourth, before hitting another in the top of the seventh. Junior right fielder Adrienne Gebele followed suit with a back-to-back homer, but was not enough for victory as the Thundering Herd won 8-7.
“It’s a great time for her to feel hot right now,” coach Jodi Hermanek said. “I think she’s doing a good job and she’s delivering with some effortless opportunities. She’s not trying to do too much.”
Basquez now has a team-high nine home runs this season. She entered the year with just seven in her career.
After getting swept by Ball State to close last weekend, Hermanek saw Wednesday’s efforts with a dose of optimism, despite an unsatisfying conclusion.
“Offensively we made strides from the first game to the second game,” Hermanek said. “In the second game, we were the offensive team that we’re capable of being. I liked our opportunities and I liked our fight, but we need to take advantage of more situations.”
Sophomore pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey also had a memorable day, as she made program history for the most strikeouts in a single season.
After coming in for relief during the sixth inning in game one, Dorsey started the second game and picked up her 206th strikeout this season, surpassing the record teammate Lauren McClary’s set two years ago. The duo are the only Ohio pitchers to ever have 200 or more strikeouts in a season.
“We didn’t really pay much attention, so I found out after the game,” Dorsey said. “I’m very proud of it. I’m happy I got to do it with this team.”
Hermanek said she has also been impressed with the pitching of Dorsey and McClary, especially lately.
“Aside from one inning today for [Savannah], the two of them look really good as of the last couple of innings and games that we’ve played,” Hermanek said. “I really like where they’re at right now compared to the start of the season. It’s a great combo to have.”
Fast Facts:
Game One
OHIO 4
Marshall 3
Game Two
Marshall 8 (14-25)
OHIO 7 (21-17)
- Alexandria Basquez had three home runs in the doubleheader
- Savannah Jo Dorsey set a new program record for most strikeouts in a season
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