Final Stats

La Salle Boxscore
Virginia Boxscore

SPARTANBURG, S.C. -- The Ohio softball team (4-2) opened the Spartan Classic on Friday afternoon, defeating La Salle (0-1) and falling to Virginia (4-8). The Bobcats defeated the Explorers 8-0 in five innings and then fell to Virginia, 8-7, in the nightcap.

AGAINST LA SALLE
In the first matchup of the day, Deanna Cole (Akron, Ohio) got things rolling on the very first pitch of the game, when she dropped a bunt down the third base line for a single. After Cole stole second, Taylor Saxton (Circleville, Ohio) put her on third with a short single to the third baseman. A great jump by Cole on Casie Hutchinson’s (Lebanon, Ohio) bunt in front of the plate allowed her to score and put the Bobcats on the board with no outs.

“[Scoring early] takes the pressure off, for sure,” said head coach Jodi Hermanek. ”It allows us to know that there’s more to come so that we can build on it, and then defensively and pitching-wise, it takes the pressure off and allows us to get more aggressive.”

Next, Madison Claytor (Alpharetta, Ga.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases, bringing Mikayla Cooper (Delaware, Ohio) to the box. Cooper hit a ball deep to right field, and following the catch, Saxton tagged up and made it home to double Ohio’s lead, while Hutchinson moved to third. A single from Sloan Walker (Cypress, Texas) brought Hutchinson around, and concluded the scoring in the first inning, where the Bobcats held a 5-0 advantage.

Following three Danielle Stiene (Loveland, Ohio) strikeouts in the top of the second, the top of the order returned to bat for Ohio. Once again, Cole led off with a first-pitch bunt single to put pressure on the defense. A walk from Marlo Roadcap to Hutchinson put runners on first and second, and a wild pitch advanced each of them to place Hutchinson on second and Cole on third. With both runners in scoring position, Claytor rocketed a double into left field to bring them home and extend the lead to 5-0. In the next at-bat, Cooper sent a home run to straightaway center field, tacking on another two runs to make it 7-0.

“I think that my mindset was basically just trying to get on base,” explained Cole, “because if I’m on base, most likely the team is going to score because they’re going to get me around the bases.”

Stiene and the defense set the Explorers down in order yet again in the third, and La Salle opted to make a pitching change as Ohio came to bat in the third. Val Buehler led off the frame by plunking Amanda Dalton (Salem, Va.), and then allowed her to go to second on pitch in the dirt. A sacrifice bunt by Michaela Dorsey (Grove City, Ohio) got Dalton to third, and a wild pitch brought her home to make it an 8-0 ballgame.

That would end the scoring for the Bobcats, and despite a late threat from La Salle to extend the game, Ohio finished off the Explorers, 8-0, in the fifth after a run rule.

“I was happy to see us have some solid shots through the field today,” Hermanek said, “Our mindset offensively was just to come out and get our plan together and execute it. Getting that ball through the infield was something we wanted to see offensively.”

In total, the Bobcats tallied eight hits, three walks, and three hit batsmen. Cole led with two hits, while Saxton, Hutchinson, Claytor, Cooper, Walker, and Dalton each had one of their own.

From the circle, Stiene pitched the five full innings, giving up just two hits and one walk while striking out eight batters.

AGAINST VIRGINIA
The Bobcats got the scoring going in the bottom of the second. Claytor led off the frame with a single through to center field. Cooper then stepped up and delivered a double to right-center to put Claytor at third. Claytor and Cooper both crossed the plate after Samantha Bowlsbey (Farmingdale, N.J.) forced an error from the second baseman. Bowlsbey came around to make it 3-0 after a sacrifice by Sloan Walker, and a forced error off the bat of Dalton.

The surge continued when Dalton was moved to second on a groundout by Michaela Dorsey, took third on a passed ball, and scored on a double down the left field line by Cole. Cole then stole third, allowing her to score when Saxton singled to third base. After the eventful second inning, the Bobcats held a 5-0 advantage over the Cavaliers.

Virginia closed the gap in the fourth, when three pitches to the backstop allowed Iyana Hughes to score following a leadoff single. Danni Ingraham then sent a solo home run over the wall in left to make it a 5-2 ballgame.

In the top of the sixth, Virginia tagged Savannah Jo Dorsey for two more runs when Katie Park reached on an error, and Ingraham brought her around with her second homer of the game. Following another error and a single, Danielle Stiene entered the circle to relieve Dorsey, but didn’t fare much better. A wild pitch advanced both runners to second and third, and a double from Smith put Virginia on top, 6-5. A strikeout from Stiene finally brought the Cavaliers’ at-bat to an end.

In the bottom of the sixth, Dalton led off by singling to left field before advancing to second on a sacrifice from Michaela Dorsey. Morgan Geno (Chillicothe, Ohio) then entered to pinch-hit for Cole, and earned a walk before being replaced on the bases in favor of Cole. After Dalton took third on a passed ball, Virginia called on Erika Osherow to relieve Smith. Undeterred by the pitching change, Hutchinson continued the offensive onslaught by singling up the middle to score both Dalton and Cole. Ohio took its 7-6 lead into the seventh.

In the top of the seventh, a leadoff walk by Allie Arneson and a bunt from Hughes put two aboard before Park’s sacrifice put runners on two and three. A walk to Ingraham loaded the bases for Kaitlin Fitzgerald, who singled right, scoring Arneson. A fielding error on the play allowed Hughes to make it home as well, giving Virginia the lead back.

With the score 8-7 in favor of the Cavaliers, the Bobcats needed the bottom of the seventh to try and rally yet again. However, despite a leadoff single from Cooper, a forced error from Bowlsbey, and a single from Dalton, Ohio ultimately fell short, and dropped the contest to Virginia, 8-7.

In all, Ohio’s offense mustered 10 hits, two walks, and forced six errors. Cooper’s three hits paced the Bobcats, with Dalton contributing two herself, and Cole, Saxton, Hutchinson, Claytor, and Bowlsbey each adding one of their own.

From the circle, Savannah Jo Dorsey threw 5.1 innings, allowing six runs (three earned) on four hits and two walks while striking out 10. Stiene’s 1.2 innings of relief yielded two runs (one earned) on three hits and two walks.

The Bobcats are back in action tomorrow (Feb. 27) with two more games. First, they will face co-host Furman University in Greenville at 1 p.m., before a rematch with Virginia at 5:00 p.m.

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