Softball
Thundering Herd Tramples Buckeyes
By Kevin Schlosser

The Ohio State softball team hosted Marshall for a doubleheader on Wednesday night and lost both games. With an 11-0 loss in the first game and 6-1 in the second, the Buckeyes struggled on the mound and at the plate. The Thundering Herd had lost eight in row entering the doubleheader. With two wins they improved to 14-23 while OSU falls to 23-10 this season.

In the opener Marshall scored in each of the first three innings to lead 5-0 before Ohio State was able to make it through a scoreless inning. The Thundering Herd added a run in the fifth and five more in the six as they continued to build their lead through their last at-bat. Despite being shutout OSU did have their opportunities but left the bases loaded three times and stranded fifteen runners. Starter Kim Reeder (12-6) took the loss.

The second game did not get any better for the Buckeyes. Both teams scored a run in the first; but only the Thundering Herd scored again, adding single runs in the second, third, and sixth innings with two more in the seventh. The Buckeyes were out-hit fifteen to four and held scoreless for the last six innings. In defeat, Megan Miller (5-2) pitched her second complete game of the season.

“We have worked ourselves into a rut. We are pressing a lot and getting out of our element,” said senior captain Brittany Vanderink. “Right now our concern is doing the little things. We are getting people on base, but we are not executing to bring them home.”

Ohio State was out-hit twenty-nine to twelve, outscored seventeen to one, and trailed for twelve out of thirteen innings in the doubleheader. With a loss in the first game the Buckeyes ended a thirty-two game regular-season winning streak against nonconference opponents. This was the first time an OSU softball team was swept at home by an out of conference opponent since 1992.

“It’s a funny game, sometimes numbers tell you a lot and sometimes they don’t give you any answers at all,” commented head coach Linda Kalafatis after the game.

“Tonight, Marshall was just the better team. I don’t think anyone would tell you they don’t want to win or that they didn’t come ready to play. But there is a fine line between being good and being mediocre and we can each give a little more.”

After a promising start to year Ohio State is experiencing some growing pains at midseason. OSU has two seniors, three juniors, and thirteen freshmen and sophomores on their roster. Going from a veteran team to young team will lead to some ups and downs, but the Buckeyes are confident that hard work is the solution.

“We will have to re-evaluate ourselves, for sure,” said Kalafatis. “Every team gets to points in the year where they struggle offensively a little bit and we’re pretty young. Maybe that’s playing with us a little bit. The girls feel like we’re not quite playing as a unit the way we were, so we’re making a decision to work on that better and come to practice and get better.”

This weekend OSU resumes their conference schedule with four Big Ten games. They host Michigan State for a Friday-Saturday two game series and Northwestern for a Sunday afternoon doubleheader. The Buckeyes will return to the road next weekend with two games at both Indiana and Purdue.

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