Final Stats

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COLUMBIA, S.C. â€" Led by Savannah Jo Dorsey’s 13 strikeout performance, the Ohio softball team (1-0) opened up the 2016 campaign with a 2-1 victory against Longwood (0-1) at the opening day of the Carolina Classic in Columbia, S.C.

Defensively for the Bobcats, Dorsey (Grove City, Ohio) returned to the circle for the first time in nearly a year, throwing a complete-game, three-hit gem. Dorsey added 13 strikeouts and walked three batters in her first win since Feb. 7, 2015.

“She [Dorsey] takes the pressure off the defense,” head coach Jodi Hermanek said. “She wants those outs herself. For her to take the first game of her season, coming back after a year, and watching her do her thing out there and get stronger as she went, I was just impressed.”

Longwood took the lead in the opening frame, going up 1-0 on an RBI single up the middle.

Offensively for Ohio, the Bobcats got on the board in the fifth inning. The inning began when Sloan Walker (Cypress, Texas) reached base on an error and then advanced to third when Mikayla Cooper (Delaware, Ohio) reached and advanced to second on another Longwood error. Walker would score later in the inning on an RBI bunt single by Taylor Saxton (Circleville, Ohio), who also returned to the diamond after missing the 2015 season.

In the sixth, after a two-out bunt put her on first and a steal got her to second, Walker once again crossed the plate when Cooper looped a single into shallow center, giving Ohio the 2-1 lead.

The bottom of the sixth nearly saw the Lancers even up the score, but after a walk to load the bases with just one out, Dorsey forced a fly out and caught another batter looking to keep the Bobcats on top. When Ohio went down in order in the top of the seventh, the defense stiffened, retiring Longwood’s first two batters on groundouts before Dorsey ended the game with a strikeout, giving the Bobcats a 2-1 victory.

“Really it’s just been about the kind of speed that we have in the lineup, and then the connection that we’re going to have after they’re on,” Hermanek said. “We just want to be a creative offense that keeps the pressure applied, not just with swinging, but with that slap.”

Overall at the plate, the Bobcat offense registered six hits and were led by both Cooper and Saxton. Saxton went 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Cooper went 2-for-2 with an RBI. Deanna Cole (Akron Ohio) registered her first career hit and along with scoring both of Ohio’s runs, Walker also registered one hit for Ohio.

“From the jump we knew that we were going to win the game,” said Dorsey. “It was definitely motivational to be scored on in the first inning. I told myself that wasn’t going to happen again. We focus on that a lot in practice, getting stronger every inning and every outing, so it was kind of just playing how we practice.”

The Bobcats return to action with two games on Saturday, Feb. 20 when they face UNCG at 10 a.m., and at 12:30 p.m., will take on host South Carolina. The Bobcats’ game against South Carolina can be seen on Watch ESPN.

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