Savannah Jo Dorsey turned and high-fived her catcher after watching Alex Day throw across the diamond to secure the final out of the game. It was the end of a long day for the Bobcats.
Dorsey’s perfect inning of relief helped secure Ohio’s 3-2 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday at the Ohio Softball Field.
The Bobcats started the day on the field at 10 a.m. to finish their game against Northern Illinois from the day before. The game had to picked up Saturday, because the construction at the Ohio softball field has left the lights in-operable.
Dorsey started the game on Friday and went seven innings, only allowing two runs on four hits with 12 strike outs. Coach Jodi Hermanek’s plan was to keep riding her ace when the game resumed on Saturday.
“That is what she is made to do,” Hermanek said of Dorsey. “We lean on her when we needed it.”
Dorsey did not disappoint and threw three innings with seven strike outs. She only allowed one unearned run, which was on base due to the international tiebreaker rules softball teams play with in pre conference games. The rule starts extra innings with a runner on second base.
Morgan Geno gave Dorsey and Ohio the victory when she singled to score the tying and winning runs in the bottom of the 10th to give Ohio a 4-3 win.
Geno would also be a big factor in the full game against the Huskies on Saturday. She went 2-for-2 with a two-run home run that hit off the roof of the indoor batting cage in left field.
“We try to amp her down because when she is steady is when she gets good looks at pitches and stays through her swing,” Hermanek said. “I’m excited for her to come up in those big moments.”
Danielle Stiene was the starter for that game as she would go five and two-thirds giving up two runs on four hits. Stiene would leave after giving up the lead in the sixth, but her offense got it back in the bottom half of the inning when Alexa Holland scored on an error.
Dorsey would come in and close the game out from there.
“They train us to be up all the time,” Dorsey said. “I’ve been doing this over and over again, and we are always excited to get in the game no matter what.”
Stiene was a big factor in Ohio’s •8-5 win over Rutgers on Friday. She threw seven innings and struck out 13.
Madison Claytor drove in five of the eight Ohio runs as she hit two home runs in the win over the Scarlet Knights. Claytor would make Friday a three homer game when she went deep to tie the game against Northern Illinois and force extra innings Saturday.
