LANTERN FILE PHOTO
Members of the Ohio State softball team high-five as they walk off the field during an April 2008 game.
Whatever doesn't kill the softball team makes it stronger.
The softball team went 3-2 over the weekend in Palm Springs, Calif. In the tournament, the Buckeyes defeated the University of California Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount and No. 19 Nevada. They lost to Hawaii and No. 3 Washington.
"Very few go 5-0 to this tournament," said coach Linda Kalafatis. "Any time you come back with a winning record, it's a good record."
Tory Haddad is having a great start to her season. The junior biology major from Valparaiso Fla., was named the team's most improved player last season and has carried that into this season, starting the year with a .333 batting average and 8 RBI.
"We've had a lot of time to focus on hitting," Haddad said. "Our team has really been swinging the bat well."
Earlier in the season, there was controversy over a 2-3 loss in a tournament in New Mexico. The two teams had agreed on an end time so the Buckeyes could make their flight back to Columbus. But after OSU took a 6-3 lead, there was not enough time left for its opponent to play its half of the inning and finish on time. So officials called the game and reverted to the score from the previous inning, before OSU took the lead.
OSU appealed the decision, but the NCAA stuck with the call. "It's been denied. It goes in the books as a five-inning loss," Kalafatis said.
The losses in California brought the Buckeyes' record to 12-3. They will have two more road tournaments before beginning the Big 10 season in Columbus on March 21 against Michigan State.
Andrew Martin can be reached at martin.1633@osu.edu.
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