Morgan Geno tapped home plate with her bat and raised her right arm slightly above her head.
She had just whacked a foul ball and the pitch count was at two balls and two strikes, along with two outs.
Geno stepped back into the batter’s box, exhaled, and watched the pitch — her pitch — come right down the middle. She swung back and brought it forward, the ball was launched into centerfield past the Pepsi ad on the scoreboard that read 1-1.
It was the go-ahead home run that led Ohio past Northern Kentucky 3-1. It was one of only three hits in the game for Ohio.
But for the redshirt senior, the hit was little more special; it gave her the career record for RBI in Ohio history.
“It’s something I’ve worked hard for,” she said.
Geno’s record-breaking hit couldn’t have happened at more opportune time, either. The Bobcats offense, usually one of the most explosive in the Mid-American Conference, was dormant in Tuesday’s game due in part to NKU’s Taylor Ginther and her ability to retire batters in one-two-three fashion.
The Bobcats’ offense showed some vital signs, however, when Alexa Holland got the their first hit of the day on a shallow pop-up in the bottom of the sixth.
Katie Yun brought Holland home on an RBI single to tie the game, and up came Geno two batters later.
Before she realized she had broken the record, she was happier about the fact that Ohio was in control of the game for the first time all evening.
“When it went out, I wasn’t really thinking about that,” Geno said in regards toward her record. “I was like – oh cool, we can get three outs and win the game.”
That selfless attitude has been a staple of her career. It’s that attitude that according to coach Kenzie Roark makes her even more deserving of the record.
“You talk to her about any of the big things she’s accomplished and (to her) it’s like whatever, our win-loss record is what matters,” Roark said. “People like that, they put out these great things and great things happen to them.”
With her 138 RBI and 47 on the season, the team really does come first for Geno. It’s not just a tired, old cliché. It’s who she is and it’s how she wants it to be.
As she ran to first and second, jogged to third and skipped home, in a season of 51 scheduled games, she’ll always be able to look back on March 26, knowing that was her game.
“I’ve been through a lot of adversity, so it feels pretty good,” she said.
