LEXINGTON, Ky. - The Ohio softball team concluded the Kentucky-hosted Frostbite Classic with a 4-3 defeat of Youngstown State and a 3-0 blanking of Morehead State.
The Bobcats started the day with a closely contested battle with Youngstown State that went down to Ohio's last at-bat. The Penguins scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning, setting the table for some late game heroics from the Bobcats.
Kristen Salvatore (Kirtland, Ohio) singled with one out and advanced to second on an Amanda Sacks (Chugiak, Alaska) sacrifice bunt. Debbie Szalejko (Beavercreek, Ohio) followed by roping a double down the right field line to plate Salvatore and give the Bobcats a 4-3 victory.
Szalejko's double made a winner of Ohio starter Michelle Sauter (Chehalis, Wash.). Sauter pitched all seven innings in the circle for the Bobcats, allowing only one earned run on seven hits.
Ohio struck first with a single run in its half of the second. Shannon Weidner (Pickerington, Ohio) led off with a single, advanced to second on a sac bunt and reached third after a wild pitch. Robin Miller (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) scored pinch runner Danielle Kelley (Franklin, Tenn.) with a sacrifice fly to center.
The Bobcats tallied another run in the bottom of the fourth to go up 2-0. Kelly Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) led off the frame with a double to right center and moved to third after a sac bunt. One out later, Marian Davis (Brighton, Mich.) singled down the left field line to plate Rodriguez.
After Youngstown State cut Ohio's lead to 2-1 in the top of the sixth, the Bobcats answered with a run of their own in the bottom half of the inning. Alicia Catlette (Mogadore, Ohio) started the inning with a walk and would later touch home on a single from Weidner.
Ohio blanked Morehead State behind a solid pitching performance from Candace Warden (Hagerstown, Md.). Warden threw a complete game, three-hit shutout while striking out a career-best nine batters.
With Warden taking care of the pitching, Miller handled the offense. Miller scored Kelley, who pinch ran for Maghan Lunsford (Centerville, Ohio), with an RBI groundout in the bottom of the second. Miller struck again in the fourth when she homered for the second straight day, connecting with a two-out, two-run shot to left. She now had eight career home runs, putting her alone in fifth place on Ohio's all-time home runs list.
"Robin is very confident up there and she hit the ball hard today," head coach Jill Matyuch said.
Sauter and Warden combined to pitch 14 innings, allowing only 10 hits and one earned run while striking out 14 and walking only four.
"We mixed up the pitch calling a little bit today," Matyuch said. "Our pitchers have been throwing very well, well enough to win to most games."
The two wins move the Bobcats back to .500 with a 7-7 record.
Ohio returns to the diamond next weekend at the Winthrop Adidas Invitational. The Bobcats open with UNC Greensboro Friday at 2 p.m. followed by East Tennessee State at 6 p.m.
