Final Stats

IUPUI PDF Boxscore | NC State PDF Boxscore 

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Ohio softball team (13-7) opened play at the NC State Doubletree RDU Invite with a 2-1 victory over IUPUI (7-14) before defeating host NC State in the second game of the day by a 2-0 score.

AGAINST IUPUI
Ohio struck first in the top of the second. It began with a leadoff walk to Madison Claytor (Alpharetta, Ga.), who stole second, and then advanced to third after tagging up on a fly out to right field off the bat of Mikayla Cooper (Delaware, Ohio). The next batter, Natalie Alvarez (Long Beach, Calif.), ripped a double into center field to bring Claytor in and give the Bobcats the 1-0 lead.

"I knew we just needed to get runners on and let the rest of the lineup advance us," Claytor explained, "That's really what I was just trying to focus on. Trying to get runs for our pitchers."

In the bottom of the fourth, Roni Patterson evened up the score for the Jaguars with a solo home run to left field that leveled the game at 1-1.

After entering the game in the sixth to relieve Danielle Stiene (Loveland, Ohio), Savannah Jo Dorsey (Grove City, Ohio) tallied three strikeouts to end the seventh inning and send the game into extras. Meanwhile, her third strikeout of the frame was the 600th of her career, and she became the first pitcher in school history to reach that mark.

"My goal for this season is just to get better than last season," Dorsey said.

"I think it's well deserved," Claytor added, "She does a great job every time she comes out to the mound; always attacking the batters, and with the defense working behind her, she's not afraid to just go at whoever is in the box. She got 600, but there's a lot more season to go."

Dorsey deflected praise back to her catcher, noting that, "You also can't get strikeouts without a good pitch caller."

After a scoreless eighth, Ohio regained the lead in the top of the ninth. With Deanna Cole (Akron, Ohio) starting on second base, Casie Hutchinson (Lebanon, Ohio) planted a sac bunt in front of the plate to move Cole to third. Claytor then scored Cole by smacking a hard ground ball up the middle for an RBI-single. The 2-1 score would stand, as the defense shut down the Jaguars in the bottom of the inning to clinch the victory.

"I was really proud of our team staying tough, mentally," said head coach Jodi Hermanek, "[IUPUI pitcher Brooke Boetjer] threw a pretty good zone and mixed us up and got a number of strikeouts against us, but I was more impressed with our mental state of mind."

On Dorsey's accomplishment, Hermanek exclaimed, "I'm super proud of her. She wants those key strikeouts and she wants to be in those moments. I'm extremely proud of her talent and her mental approach to how she gets those strikeouts and attacks the zone."

Offensively for the Bobcats, Cooper led the team by getting two of their five hits. Claytor, Alvarez, and Amanda Dalton (Salem, Va.) each contributed one.

From the circle, Stiene's start lasted 5.2 innings. She allowed four hits, one run (earned), walked one, and struck out four. Dorsey's relief appearance lasted 3.1 innings, in which she allowed one hit, one walk, and racked up seven strikeouts.

AGAINST NC STATE
After the first three innings saw two combined runners make it on, Ohio broke the deadlock in the top of the fourth.

Cooper sent a low line drive into right field that the fielder couldn't make a play on to allow her aboard. Alvarez then dropped a sacrifice bunt to move Cooper to second, and Sloan Walker (Cypress, Texas) put runners on the corners with a single into shallow left field. On the next pitch, Walker took off for second, and although the throw down caught her stealing, Cooper came in to score on the attempt and make it 1-0 Bobcats.

Ohio struck again in the sixth, when Claytor sent a high fly ball deep into left and watched it clear the fence for a solo home run that made it 2-0 Bobcats.

That was all the offense Ohio would need. Dorsey threw a complete game, allowing just one hit and no walks while fanning 12.

Offensively, the Bobcats collected four hits. Cooper's two led the team, while Claytor and Walker added one each.

UP NEXT
Ohio will take on Bryant at 10 a.m. tomorrow morning. The time and opponent of the second game of the day will be determined after each team has completed the round-robin phase of play.

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