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Softball
Buckeye Softball Team Splits with Wildcats
OSU wins Game One; UK dominates Game Two
By Kevin Schlosser

Ohio State softball team hosted Kentucky for a doubleheader on Wednesday at Buckeye Field; it started out well and ended very bad. After earning splits in both series last weekend, the Buckeyes also earned a split with the Wildcats. They can hang their hat on winning the opener 6-3 before they watched the wheels fall off in a 16-0 shutout loss in the second game.

In the first game, the big inning was all that OSU needed as they scored four runs in the second and Kim Reeder pitched her eighteenth complete game for the victory.

“As a team we came out fighting hard,” commented sophomore Tory Haddad. “Everyone was mentally zoned into the game; I think we played well.”

The Wildcats came back in the second game run-rule the Buckeyes and end the game after five innings. The shutout was the worst defeat in the thirty-six years of the Ohio State softball.

“We had some mental and physical errors that defined the way that we played,” reflected Haddad. “Overall we came out with more intensity but we did not push through as a team to win.”

OSU head coach Linda Kalafatis agreed with her first baseman’s assessment of the game.

“We made some mistakes early that were extremely costly and that allowed Kentucky jumped on us,” said Kalafatis. “They grabbed the momentum and went with it.”

With the sixth ranked Michigan coming to town this weekend, it was not the way the Buckeyes wanted to end the night.

“It was a tale of two games,” continued Kalafatis. “We are not playing very consistent ball right now and we need to put a stop to it.”

Ohio State will continue their eight-game home stand with a two game series with Michigan on Friday night and Saturday afternoon. They will host doubleheaders against Penn State on Sunday afternoon and Ball State on Wednesday evening before traveling to Wisconsin and Minnesota next weekend.

Ohio State 6 vs. Kentucky 3(Game 1)

The Wildcats scored an unearned run in the first inning and built a 2-0 lead with an RBI single in the second before the Buckeyes came back in the bottom half of the inning with four runs of their own. With two outs and the bases loaded senior Brittany Vanderink drove in two runs with a double and in the next at bat Tory Haddad cleared the bases with a two RBI single.

After Ohio State built a 4-2 lead, starting pitcher Kim Reeder gave up one run over the last five innings. OSU added a run in the fourth and sixth on a pair of Vanderink and Haddad RBI singles. Both players had three runs batted in for the game. Reeder (14-11) pitched a complete eight hitter for the victory.

Ohio State 0 vs. Kentucky 16 (Game 2)

The Buckeyes gave the Wildcats two unearned runs in the first inning courtesy of a walk and two errors. The rest of the game did not get much better for OSU as they would continue give their opponent as many opportunities as Kentucky created on their own. Starter Megan Miller would give up ten runs but only five were earned as a result of four errors that put runners on or kept innings alive.

In a game that seemed like nothing could go right for Ohio State, they did put runners on second and third with one out in both the first and third innings so this was not a game they lacked opportunities of their own. In the second and fourth innings the Buckeyes made contact on every out. At the same time the Wildcats would add two in the third and four in the fourth.

OSU freshman Brittany Goodchild made her first pitching appearance of the year to open the fifth inning. Goodchild gave up six runs, getting one out, before she was relieved by Megan Miller. After giving up an RBI single; a three run homerun Kentucky freshman Annie Rowlands was the final nail in the coffin for the Buckeyes. Miller would get the last two batters to ground out to end the inning.

Ohio State went down in order in the bottom of the fifth to end the game. Megan Miller (6-4) was charged with the loss.

After the doubleheader, Kalafatis had few words for the Buckeyes, “I thought the team needed a little together time on their own.”

“We had a long team talk and we need to continue to fight,” concluded Haddad. “We need to play for ourselves and come out with good intensity.”

The team huddles in the outfield after the game.
Photo by Kevin Schlosser

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