Ohio (31-13, 14-4 Mid-American Conference) lost to Ohio State (38-10-1, 11-5 Big Ten) by a score of 15-5. The game ended in five innings after Ohio was run-ruled. Ohio started off strong, scoring the first run of the game in the bottom of the first along with multiple big hits, but lost momentum after that as Ohio State started to make its run.
The top of the first inning started with Ohio pitching and they managed to strike out three of Ohio State’s batters, not allowing any runs to be scored. This energy then carried over to the bottom of the first inning, where Ohio managed to get a run courtesy of senior outfielder CiCi Keidel, who was brought home by a sac fly from Emma Hoffner. It looked like Ohio had a chance, but this was short-lived.
“From the very first inning, I feel like we battled at the plate,“ Ohio coach Jenna Hall said. "We got a lot of people on base, and when we did, we were scoring them and getting those opportunities.”
Ohio State came out swinging in the top of the second inning, as senior infielder Kaitlyn Farley homered, resulting in a score from her and from fellow teammate sophomore infielder Sami Bewick. This gave Ohio State the lead, and Ohio wasn’t able to score any runs in the bottom of the second.
Ohio State ran the board in the top of the third inning as they rattled off 6 runs to give it an 8-1 lead over Ohio. One of these runs included a home run from senior infielder Kami Kortokrax, which also allowed senior infielder Reagan Milliken to score a run. Ohio managed to score two runs in the bottom of the third, with Keidel and senior infielder Lauren Yuhas scoring runs each to make the score a more respectable 8-3.
Ohio State didn’t let any scoring from Ohio stop it from continuing, as 3 more runs were scored by Ohio State in this inning. The biggest of these runs was another home run for Kortokrax sent over the supply barn, which sent sophomore catcher Jasmyn Burns to home plate. Ohio State was relentless with its scoring and Ohio wasn’t able to match it, resulting in the score reaching 11-3 in Ohio State’s favor.
“We have our shifts and we have our defensive stuff but you can’t defend things beyond the fence," Hall said. "We’ve got to communicate better and be more ready. When we have the opportunity to make plays, we have to make them.”
Not much changed for Ohio State in the top of the fifth inning, as Kortokrax hit another home run, which also sent Milliken home. This followed two previous scores from Ohio State, as sophomore outfielders Hadley Parisien and Taylor Cruse scored. Ohio ended up having two last minute runs from Yuhas and Keidel but it wasn’t anywhere near enough for Ohio to get close to the 15 runs Ohio State had scored. The game ended after the bottom of the fifth inning, with Ohio State taking the contest 15-5.
Ohio never had a consistent pitcher in this game, as they started out with freshman Anna Wise as the starter but replaced her with freshman Ally Meyers. Meyers was then replaced by sophomore Mikie Lieving in the top of the fourth who ended up being replaced by junior Keegan Moore. None of the pitchers were able to stop Ohio State from scoring.
“I think when your facing an offense with that much power, we have to keep moving things around so they don’t get comfortable," Hall said. "When everyone came in for the first time, they were ready to go.”
With this loss to Ohio State out of the way, Ohio looks toward more conference play, as they face the 2nd seed in the MAC, Central Michigan, next.
