The Ohio State women’s softball team split its doubleheader with Pittsburgh Wednesday.

Led by tough defense and a complete game pitched by senior Karisa Medrano, OSU (10-21, 2-2 Big Ten) defeated Pittsburgh (24-8, 3-0 Big East) 4-3 to take the first game.

Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the fourth inning, freshman Evelyn Carrillo hit a two-run homerun to center field to take the lead. Pittsburgh responded with a two-run shot of its own in the fifth inning to tie it up.

In the bottom of the sixth inning, OSU’s Megan Coletta would score on a Julia Pecina single.

In the top of the seventh, OSU’s defense stepped up.

With two runners on base with two outs, Medrano took control, sealing the win with a final strikeout.

“I think as a team, and my pitching, I think we’re coming together and playing a lot better,” Medrano said.

Game two went to Pittsburgh. Down 5-2 with two outs, a seventh inning rally by OSU was stifled when Carrillo struck out swinging with runners on second and third base.

“I feel like I could have done a lot better in my last at bat, you know, I could have produced a lot more for my team,” Carillo said

“We’re so young, and we gave up too many base runners … we gave them too many opportunities,” Coach Linda Kalafatis said. “Three or four of those runs were walks, and that changes the game … we certainly made it easier for them.”

The second game was disappointing for OSU, but splitting the doubleheader is keeping the Buckeyes optimistic.

“Even at the end, we gave ourselves a chance to win. We didn’t fall apart, you know. So just a couple more timely hits, and it would have been a great day for us,” Medrano said.

“We’ve just got to try and put the pieces together in a winning effort,” Kalafatis said.

This weekend the Buckeyes host Illinois at 2 p.m. Saturday and 3 p.m. Sunday at Buckeye Field.