The Ohio State softball team finished the Eighth Annual Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic, 3-0, with shutout wins over Bowling Green, Dayton and Ashland Sunday at Fred Beekman Park. The event, which benefits the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute, featured 14 teams from around Ohio.
The Buckeyes defeated Bowling Green, 5-0, Dayton, 9-0, and Ashland, 6-0.
"I am incredibly proud of our pitching staff," head coach Linda Kalafatis said. "The defense really held tough behind them and enabled the team to go three games without giving up a run. The team ground it out through a long day and made adjustments as it needed to to keep up with some tough pitching."
Between games one and two of the day, Chris Spielman, former All-American and All-Pro linebacker and husband of Stefanie Spielman, addressed all teams, officials, family and friends, stressing the importance of breast cancer research and thanking people for their continued support.
"OSU is one giant family that is always willing to get behind each other for families in the need and to use actions instead of words," Chris Spielman said. "My family and (the entire Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research) are very grateful. We do whatever we can to help - from the smallest event to the largest; everything from bake sales to athletic events."
In game one, Kim Reeder pitched a no-hitter, fanning 10 batters through all seven innings to lead the Buckeyes to the 5-0 win over Bowling Green. Sam Marder went 3-for-4 from the batter's box, tallying two RBIs off singles in the fifth and sixth innings. Five different players scored for Ohio State in the game.
The Buckeyes got on the board early in game two as Karisa Madrano singled home Katie Simonton to open the bottom of the first. Madrano returned home off a double by Courtney Pruner and Tory Haddad singled, allowing Pruner to score and the Buckeyes to go up 3-0 after one.
Rachael Shepherd doubled in two runs in the bottom of the fourth and then scored herself when Whitney Cooper hit a two-run homer to move the score to 7-0. Alicia Herron added a two-run blast of her own, scoring Simonton, in the bottom of the fifth to account for the 9-0 win.
Megan Miller struck out six and gave up just two hits in the win. The Buckeyes finished the day against Ashland with a 6-0 win. Pruner hit the third two-run homer of the day in the top of the first, scoring Marder who reached first on a passed ball. Scoring then settled until the top of the sixth when the Buckeyes scored two runs off RBIs from Medrano and Marder to go up 4-0.
Ohio State would add two more in its half of the seventh, taking advantage of two wild pitches by Ashland. Herron and fellow freshman Vanessa Spears (as a pinch runner for Haddad) came home to send the score to 6-0.
In the circle, Lindsay Bodeker started the game and pitched two innings without giving up a hit and striking out three. Reeder came in for the bottom of the fourth and pitched three innings with three strikeouts and two hits before giving way to Miller for the final inning.
The Buckeyes wrap up their fall season Saturday, Oct. 11 at Ohio University. They will play a doubleheader vs. the Bobcats, taking the field at 1 and 3:30 p.m.
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