MICHAEL LINDAWAN/THE LANTERNOhio State senior pitcher Kim Reeder winds up for a pitch during Wednesday’s game with Evansville. OSU won 6-2.The No. 15 Ohio State softball team swept Wisconsin in a doubleheader Saturday and moved into first place in the Big Ten. OSU won 10-0 in game one and 6-5 in the 11th inning of game two.
Rebecca Shultz was the hero in the Buckeyes’ 6-5 victory in game two of the series. The junior designated player knocked in the winning run in the top half of the 11th inning.
Wisconsin (12-32, 1-9 Big Ten) jumped out to an early three run lead in the second inning of game two and held a 5-1 advantage going into the final half-inning. Coach Linda Kalafatis reminded the team that they faced a very similar situation against Illinois earlier in the season.
“With our backs up against the wall you see the character of this team and they fought back,” she said.
OSU (35-6, 11-1 Big Ten) scored four runs to tie the game and force extra innings. Junior right fielder Courtney Pruner hit a two-run home run and junior left fielder Leah Ledford hit an RBI triple to bring the Buckeyes back. Ledford scored in the inning on a wild pitch to tie the game.
Senior captain Kim Reeder replaced sophomore starter Lindsay Bodeker and struck out eight over five and one-third scoreless innings. Reeder (19-3) was the winning pitcher in both games Saturday and is six wins away from tying the all-time wins record at OSU, with 70 wins.
In game one Reeder spread six hits over seven innings pitched and struck out four. Reeder had an impressive weekend, and Kalafatis thought she controlled the game well.
“She had trouble getting a grip on the ball [in game one] but when she came in for relief in the second game she was really on her game and she was exceptional,” she said.
The Buckeyes cruised to victory, blanking the Badgers 10-0 in game one. OSU scored five runs in the seventh inning, highlighted by Ledford’s three-run home run to left center. She was 2-4 and had 4 RBI in game one to lead the OSU offense.
Ohio State extended its winning streak to 11 games, taking both games from the Badgers in Madison, Wisc. The Buckeyes will now prepare for a doubleheader starting 5 p.m. Wednesday at home against Purdue. The Boilermakers (20-14, 5-5 Big Ten) defeated No. 10 Northwestern in West Lafayette, Ind., Saturday, making it possible for OSU to take over first place in the Big Ten.
Evan Winkofsky can be reached at [email protected].
