Softball: Ohio State blanks Rutgers in five-inning 8-0 shutout win

Weiyu Tong
Sun, 07 Apr 2019 18:11:31 +0000
News, Softball, Sports, Alex Vargas, Amy Balich, Andi Farrah, Ashley Goodwin, Bailee Sturgeon, Becca Gavin, Bri Herschel, Buckeyes, Carley Gaskill, Claire Nicholson, Emily Clark, Kallie Boren, Katya Duvall, Kelly Kovach Schoenly, lilli piper, Maddie Marotti, Megan Choinacky, Megan McMenemy, MJ James, Morgan Ray, Niki Carver, ohio state, Ohio state buckeyes softball, Ohio State Rutgers, Ohio State Rutgers softball, Ohio State softball, Ohio State softball roster, Ohio State softball schedule, Ohio State softball score [and 10 more]

Lilli Piper (22) celebrates after coming into home safely in a game against Indiana on March 24 at Buckeye Field. Credit: Gretchen Rudolph | For The Lantern

The Ohio State softball team (23-11, 7-2 Big Ten) earned a victory in the final game of the three-game series against Rutgers, shutting out the Scarlet Knights 8-0 in the five-inning win with the help of three home runs, including a grand slam..

Ohio State freshman third baseman Ashley Prange began the offense in the third inning, hitting her first career grand slam down the left field line to give the Buckeyes the 4-0 lead.

“We had a great warmup, and we all have a great time hitting,” Prange said. ?“I think we are all prepared.”

Sophomore catcher Claire Nicholson extended Ohio State’s lead to 6-0 in the bottom of the fourth inning with a two-run homer over the left field wall.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, freshman Kaitlyn Coffman sealed the victory with another two-run home run to the left.

“We had a rough game yesterday,” Coffman said. “I think we just want to really make a statement. This is our home field. We should [have] beat them yesterday.”

Senior pitcher Morgan Ray added seven strikeouts in the complete game, earning her ninth win of the year. Overall, she has recorded 101 strikeouts in 108.1 innings of work this season and is the only player on the Ohio State roster with more than 32 strikeouts.

Ohio State head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly said Ray responded to yesterday’s loss in the way one of the team’s top pitcher should respond.

“Just come out and put it on the line and just do what she needs to do,” Schoenly said. “I think having a determination to be better for her today was key. She is such a great player. I am glad she responded like that.”

Ohio State will head to State College, Pennsylvania, to start a two-game series against Penn State, both of which take place on Tuesday. The first game will start at 5 p.m., and game two will start at 7 p.m. as the second part of the double header.