April 15, 2011
Box Score
DEKALB, Ill. - Behind 13 team hits and five multi-hit performances, the Ohio softball team won its third straight game with a 7-2 triumph over Northern Illinois in a Mid-American Conference (MAC) contest. The Bobcats exploded for six runs in the sixth inning to break the game open.
Juniors Alexis Joseph (Alvin, Texas) and Jillian Van Wagnen (Lorain, Ohio), and seniors Melissa Bonner (Kings Mills, Ohio), Emily Wethington (New Palestine, Ind.) and Sara Clark (Ontario, Calif.) tallied two hits each and accounted for four of six team RBIs. Additionally, Wethington struck out seven and earned her 12th win of the season with a complete game victory.
Trailing 2-1, the Bobcats plated six runs in the sixth inning as all nine players batted in the frame. Back-to-back one-out base hits by Bonner and Wethington started things off. After a Clark walk loaded the bases, Raven King (Alpine, Utah) singled to left field to plate the first run. Van Wagnen hit a two-RBI double, while Joseph plated the final run of the inning with a two-base hit.
Ohio (15-16, 4-3 MAC) took a 1-0 advantage in the top of the first as the game started with three singles by Joseph, Kemezis and Bonner. Clark gave Ohio the lead with a base hit up the middle that scored Kemezis.
The Huskies took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth. The first run scored on a Wethington wild pitch, and a Jennifer Barnett double plated Andrea Colosimo. But the Bobcats responded right away in their half of the sixth.
Morgan Bittner took suffered the loss for Northern Illinois (16-19, 6-3 MAC). She fell to 8-10 this year.
The second game of the scheduled doubleheader was canceled due to rain in DeKalb. The game will not be made up.
The Bobcats begin a two-game set with Western Michigan on Saturday, April 16. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. Fans can follow along with a FREE live blog on OhioBobcats.com.
