Ohio State junior Lilli Piper rounds third base with the intent to score against Wright State on Sep. 24. Credit: Gretchen Rudolph | For The Lantern[/caption]
Penn State was unable to answer to Ohio State’s offense on Wednesday, dropping both games of a double-header by a combined score of 16-5. The Buckeyes improved to 26-8 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten after dispatching the Nittany Lions, one of the worst teams in the conference.
Game One
The Buckeyes came alive in the sixth inning, scoring five runs runs in the bottom of the frame en route to a 9-1 win in the first game of the double-header.
With just four hits and three walks, Penn State had no response to the Buckeyes’ offensive prowess..
“I think our pitching was clutch when they had runners on and I think we were offensively clutch when we had runners on,” Ohio State head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly said. “The combination of those two things limited their runs and helped us get the runs we needed.”
Junior right fielder Bri Betschel got the scoring started in the sixth inning with a two-run triple to five the Buckeyes a 6-1 lead. Freshman third baseman Niki Carver followed up the triple with a single that brought Betschel home.
Senior center fielder Taylor White joined the hit parade with a triple to center field that scored Carver. White later scored on a wild pitch to make it 9-1.
Although the sixth was the most eventful inning, the Buckeyes also scored two runs in the bottom of the first and one each in the third and fourth innings.
Junior second baseman Emily Clark hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning, driving in her 100th-career run.
Senior left fielder Bailee Sturgeon scored on Clark’s home run and also crossed home plate in the third inning. Sturgeon hit the first triple of her career, then scored on a wild pitch.
Senior pitcher Shelby McCombs struck out 10 batters in the winning effort and contributed to the scoring with a home run in the bottom of the fourth.
