March 29, 2014
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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - Sophomore Savannah Jo Dorsey (Grove City) drove in two runs on three hits and fanned 10 while going the distance in the pitching circle to power the Ohio University softball team (18-13, 3-0 MAC) to a 5-3 victory over Central Michigan (17-10, 0-1 MAC) in a Mid-American Conference clash on Saturday (March 29) at Margo Jonker Stadium.
The Bobcats open league play with three straight wins for the first time since 2007.
Dorsey improved to 13-9 on the season and picked up her second pitching victory in as many days. She totaled double-digit strikeouts for the sixth time in 2014 and third time in her last four starts. Dorsey limited the Chippewas to just two earned runs on four hits in her 11th complete game of the season.
Dorsey was one of five Bobcats to post multi-hit efforts.
Sophomore Sloan Walker (Cypress, Texas), sophomore Alexia Cortez (Beaufort, S.C.) and freshman Casie Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio) each went 2-for-4 with a double, with Walker and Hutchinson both driving in a run while Cortez scored two runs.
Sophomore Amanda Dalton (Salem, Va.) tallied two singles in the win.
Ohio landed the first punch of the contest in the top of the second inning. Freshman Madison Claytor (Alpharetta, Ga.) coaxed a one-out walk, then moved into scoring position on a double to left center by Dorsey. That set the table for Walker to single down the left field line to plate Claytor and give the Bobcats a 1-0 edge.
The `Cats tacked on three more scores in the ensuing frame. Cortez got things going with a double to left field, then moved to third on a fielder's choice that put senior Alexandria Basquez (Elk Grove, Calif.) on. Junior Adrienne Gebele (Annapolis, Md.) plated Ohio's second run by shooting a double to left to score Cortez. One out later, Dorsey cashed in with Basquez and Gebele in scoring position, smashing a two-run triple to right field.
The bottom of the fourth inning saw Ohio make a critical defensive play to rob Central Michigan of a run. With senior Lauren Bowman on second base with one out, Central Michigan sophomore Chelsea DeLamielleure smacked a single to center, but Ohio senior outfielder Alyssa Wolfe (Junction City, Ohio) made a great throw to Claytor, who blocked the plate perfectly to prevent Bowman from scoring.
The Chippewas broke through for a run in the home half of the fifth, but Ohio answered back with its fifth run of the ballgame in the sixth. Cortez slapped a two-out single down the left field line, then scored by way of a double by Hutchinson.
Central Michigan staged a rally in the bottom of the seventh, scoring two runs on two hits and two Ohio errors, but the Bobcats got out of the jam to nail down the win.
Ohio takes aim at the weekend sweep of Central Michigan on Sunday (March 30). First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. ET.
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