Ohio State sophomore catcher/utility Sam Hackenbracht (24) rounds third base during the Ohio State-Michigan game on April 10. Ohio State lost 1-3. Credit: Andrew Horne | For the Lantern
Working around some rain in the forecast, the Buckeyes poured on 34 runs and eight big flies in an impressive display of offense to win its second home series of the season.
Ohio State (17-14) took three of four ball games versus Rutgers (7-25) in a battle of the bats as both teams scored in the first inning of each game in the series.
After the start of the series was moved up due to forecasted weather Saturday, the two teams began with a doubleheader Friday. The Buckeyes mounted a comeback victory in Game 1 after breaking a tie with a four-run fifth inning behind sophomore catcher Sam Hackenbracht reaching in all four plate appearances, hitting a homer as she went 3-for-3.
Junior right-hander Jessica Ross dazzled in her second start of the season, tossing a complete game two-hitter as Hackenbracht hit her second home run of the day behind a seven-run fourth inning to help Ohio State win 9-1 in five frames.
Saturday’s ballgame went four-and-a-half innings before rain suspended play until Sunday.
Ohio State had bases loaded with one out, and once play resumed, each of its first five hitters reached base as it overcame a two-run deficit and turned it into a 13-5 victory after an eight-run fifth.
Rutgers avoided the four-game sweep with a late 6-5 win Sunday as graduate shortstop Kiana Workman drove in two runs, including a go-ahead single in the seventh, to snap the Scarlet Knights’ 10-game losing streak and mark their third win against Ohio State since 2015.
Game 1
The Buckeyes’ bats broke open to begin the weekend, but not before Rutgers jumped ahead early.
The Scarlet Knights scored twice in the first inning of Game 1, thanks to three-straight two-out hits.
Graduate right-hander Izzy Berouty, who was making her season’s 11th start, got two quick groundouts before Hackenbracht clubbed a solo home run — and didn’t swing all the way through, still clearing the wall with room to spare.
Freshman designated hitter Kayla Bock extended the Scarlet Knights lead to 3-1 in the third inning on an RBI single. Freshman right-hander Allison Smith then relieved senior righty Payton Buresch, who allowed three runs on six hits after 2 1/3 innings.
Smith cinched Rutgers’ rally, striking out the first five hitters she faced.
Hackenbracht drew a four-pitch walk to open the fourth inning, then junior center fielder Meggie Otte tied the game with a two-run blast to straightaway center field.
The Buckeyes batted around in the next frame, loading the bases off sophomore reliever Jaden Vickers to prompt Berouty’s re-entry in the circle. Junior third baseman Ashley Prange hit the go-ahead single to score graduate shortstop Carley Gaskill, then Otte drove in two more runs on her second hit of the game.
Hackenbracht finished 3-for-3 and reached base in all four plate appearances, and Otte recorded four RBI. No Buckeyes struck out at the plate.
Bock and sophomore catcher Kiersten Withstandley each went 2-for-3 with a run scored for Rutgers.
Game 2
Junior right-hander Jessica Ross had started only one game this season prior to Friday, and she went the distance in a 9-1 win in five innings.
Ross allowed all two of her hits with two outs in the opening frame, and Rutgers took a lead much like it did during the first game, only this time it scored one run.
Also similar to the series opener, Hackenbracht went deep to extend her hot day, blasting a 2-run shot over the left-field wall.
From there, Ross had all of the run support she needed, getting the first two Scarlet Knights out in the second inning before finishing the game having retired 10 in a row. Ross tallied two strikeouts and didn’t walk nor hit a batter as she faced just three over the minimum.
Ohio State’s offense was held down until the fourth inning when it sent 11 batters to the plate and came back with seven runs. Senior pinch-hitter Megan McMenemy hit a bases-clearing double while sophomore first baseman Taylor Pack added a two-run extra-base hit.
Hackenbracht, Pack and sophomore second baseman Mariah Rodriguez all contributed multi-hit ball games, each with an extra-base hit as well.
Game 3
Two Ohio natives took to the circle Saturday as Rutgers started Ashley Hitchcock, from Perrysburg, and the Buckeyes began with Smith, who hails from Champion.
Smith allowed a leadoff double to graduate first baseman Gabrielle Callaway. An error allowed Withstandley to reach, and graduate left fielder Anyssa Iliopoulos drove both runs in on a two-out double to the right-center field gap and just beyond Otte’s reach.
Hackenbracht continued to punish the ball much like she had all weekend in the bottom half of the first, sending her 10th home run of the season over the left field wall to tie for the Big Ten lead.
Two innings later, Ohio State chased Hitchcock as Rodriguez led off the third with a single, then two walks loaded the bases. Berouty entered to pitch and allowed a sacrifice fly to senior designated hitter Niki Carver and game-tying single to Pack.
Rutgers had recorded just two hits entering the fifth inning, and loaded the bases after Iliopoulos was hit by a pitch. Workman drove a high flyball off the wall in center field, allowing two runs to score and the Scarlet Knights to take a 5-3 lead.
Ohio State responded in the bottom half, and used two hit batsmen, a single and walk to fill the bases.
Gaskill drew a four-pitch walk, and then the rain began.
The game paused as both teams were ushered off the field, and the remainder of the game was suspended until Sunday morning.
Otte dug into the batter’s box when play resumed, and took the first pitch she saw to the opposite field, scoring McMenemy and sophomore pinch-runner Tegan Cortelletti.
Hackenbracht was intentionally walked for the third time of the game, loading the bases once again. Prange hit an RBI single to extend the lead to 7-5, allowing Carver to dig in with the bases full.
Carver clubbed a no-doubt grand slam over the wall in left-center field, capping an 8-run bottom of the fifth.
A 1-2-3 sixth inning for Smith kept Rutgers at bay, and the right-hander recorded her 100th strikeout of the season to begin the inning. With the punch out, Smith became the seventh freshman in Ohio State history to reach 100 strikeouts in a season and first since Melanie Nichols in 2010.
The Buckeyes ended the game early after scoring two more runs in the bottom half, and Rodriguez’s first-career home run was the final at-bat of the game as her Buckeyes teammates surrounded and celebrated with her at the plate.
Game 4
Smith and Hitchcock met once again in the circle on Sunday, and the former allowed Rutgers to score in the first inning for the fourth-straight game.
Workman knocked an RBI single after a sacrifice fly to put the lead at 2-0 as the Scarlet Knights had a pair of hits in the inning.
In the bottom half, Rodriguez took the second pitch she saw for a ride over the wall in left-center field, connecting with her second-straight home run in her second-consecutive at-bat, carrying over from the previous game.
Withstandley hit an RBI double in the top of the second to give Rutgers its third run, then the Buckeyes scored three in the bottom of the third to take their first lead of the game.
Pack tied the game with a two-run double after pulling it to right-center, then McMenemy pulled another single to right field to score the former, giving Ohio State a 4-3 lead.
After a scoreless fourth frame, Rutgers capitalized on a pair of errors in the top of the fifth to retake the lead 5-4. Six Scarlet Knight hitters stepped to the plate, and Lincavage was credited with the go-ahead RBI on a groundout.
The lead didn’t last long though, as Prange joined the weekend full of big flies with a solo shot to left field to lead things off in the bottom half of the inning. Berouty relieved Hitchcock after allowing a single, and forced three-straight outs to end the inning.
Two singles and a pair of fielder’s choices moved Rutgers runners to second and third in the top of the seventh, and Workman came through yet again with a go-ahead single to right field.
Ohio State threatened in each of its last two trips to the plate, working the bases loaded in the sixth and getting a runner to reach third in its last bid for the weekend sweep.
Berouty was credited with the win after throwing three-shutout innings, and three of her teammates had multi-hit games at the plate.
The Buckeyes drew five walks as four of their hitters reached base on multiple occurrences. Buresch, who took over for Smith with two outs in the first, took the loss after allowing six hits and four runs over 6 1/3 innings.
Next, Ohio State will travel back to the state of Indiana for four games at Purdue beginning Friday at 4 p.m.
