Feb. 24, 2012
Box Score (Game One) | Box Score (Game Two)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA â€" Ohio Softball completed the first day of competition at the 2012 University of Virginia Invitational on Friday, falling twice to host Virginia in a doubleheader. The Bobcats lost the first game by a final score of 9-2 and were narrowly edged in the second one, 7-6.
Virginia opened the scoring in the bottom of the first inning when Erica Cipolloni homered to left field following a leadoff strikeout. The Bobcats weren’t phased by this early run and answered back immediately and emphatically. Chelsea Hortman (Cincinnati, Ohio) stepped up to the plate at the top of the second inning and stroked a home run to right field to even the scores. Brooke Morgart (Wayne, Ohio) then added on another run in the top of the third inning, driving Alexis Joseph (Alvin, Texas) home on an RBI double.
Things went south for Ohio in the bottom of the fourth inning. With the bases loaded and no outs, Kristen Hawkins hit a grand slam to plate four runs and give her side a 5-2 advantage. Caitlin Colvin (Bonney Lake, Wash.) took a turn at the mound at this point. She was able to close out the inning after giving up one more home run, this one a two-run shot to make it 7-2.
Virginia was able to tack on two more runs in the bottom of the sixth. Hawkins was able to score on a passed ball and Taylor Williams was then able to get to the plate when a Cavalier batter ground out to the right side of the infield.
Ohio 2, Virginia 9
WP: Melanie Mitchell (5-1)
LP: Lauren McClary (2-3)
HR: Erica Cipolloni, Chelsea Hortman (2), Kristen Hawkins, Giannina Cipolloni
The second game of the doubleheader proved to be a back-and-forth affair. Virginia jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the third inning but Ohio answered right back, scoring two runs of its own in the bottom of the same frame to level the score. With one out in the third, Jillian Van Wagnen hit a bunt single and then stole second. Tessa Bailey (Acworth, Ga.) stepped up to the plate next and blasted a two-run home run out of the park to level the scores at two apiece.
Ohio hit very well over the next two innings, driving in four total runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 6-2 lead. Raven King (Alpine, Utah) drove in a run with a fourth-inning triple before Alexandria Basquez (Elk Grove, Calif.) blasted a two-RBI double in the fifth inning. Adrienne Gebele (Annapolis, Md.) then drove in one more with an RBI single.
Virginia was able to pull within striking distance in the sixth inning, scoring two runs to make the score 6-4. The Cavaliers were then able to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning when Kennedy Byxbee drove in two runs with a single up the middle. With the bases loaded, Giannina Cipolloni walked to drive in the winning run.
Ohio 6, Virginia 7
WP: Stephanie Coates (1-0)
LP: Caitlin Colvin (1-1)
HR: Tessa Bailey (1)
