The Ohio State softball team was swept Wednesday by the Michigan Wolverines in Ann Arbor Mich.
The Wolverines (40-9, 16-2 Big Ten) moved past the Buckeyes (42-9, 14-4 Big Ten) to take over first place in the conference.
Sophomore Lindsay Bodeker (15-4) pitched four and two-thirds innings gave up three earned runs on seven hits.
Her counterpart for the Wolverines was sophomore Jordan Taylor. Taylor pitched seven innings of one hit softball and shut down the Buckeyes.
OSU started fast in both games but could not keep pace with the Michigan offense.
The Buckeye’s offense got on the board first when junior first basemen Tory Haddad hit a two-run bomb to deep center field in the second inning.
In the third the Wolverines scored three runs on Bodeker with two outs. Senior short stop Teddi Ewing led of the inning with a single to left field and after a couple of solid defensive plays by the Buckeyes they were in position to end the inning.
Junior right fielder Angela Findlay singled in Ewing and appeared to be picked off as she rounded first but was called safe. Michigan cut into the lead 2-1.
The Wolverines loaded the bases for junior third basemen Maggie Viefhaus. Viefhaus is hitting .667 with the bases loaded this season. She hit a two run single to center to give Michigan the lead 3-2.
In the fifth inning Michigan loaded the bases and once again it was Viefhaus. This time she singled to right field scored one. The Wolverines added two more runs in the fifth and led the Buckeyes 5-2.
Bodeker was replaced by senior captain Kim Reeder with two outs in the fifth and the bases loaded. Reeder induced a ground ball right back to her to retire the side with one pitch.
Jordan Taylor was too much for OSU and Michigan cruised to a 5-2 victory to secure a top spot in the Big Ten.
OSU suffered its first two game series loss of the season. The Buckeyes return home Saturday to take on Penn State at Buckeye Field. PSU is 7-11 in conference play and just 5-10 on the road this season.
Evan Winkofsky can be reached at [email protected].
