Ohio State senior pitcher Payton Buresch (20) winds up for a pitch during the Ohio State-Iowa game Feb. 26. Ohio State split the series. Credit: Ohio State Athletic Department
It took the longest game in Ohio State program history, but the Buckeyes came away with a series win over the Badgers thanks to power pitching, stellar defense and timely offense.
Ohio State (5-4) took two of three against Wisconsin (4-5) after splitting Thursday’s doubleheader and coming from behind to win Friday’s matinee.
Game 1 on Thursday lasted four hours and 13 minutes, and senior right-handed pitcher Payton Buresch was the talk of the diamond. Buresch tossed 10 innings, muzzling the Badgers to just two hits and one unearned run.
Junior shortstop Ashley Prange drove in the go-ahead run in the 15th inning with a sacrifice bunt and sophomore third baseman Avery Clark added another with an RBI single to help Ohio State to a 7-5 win. Sophomore left fielder Tegan Cortelletti went 3-6 with an RBI.
The Badgers used a seven-run sixth inning to propel themselves to a 10-1 victory in Game 2. Four Wisconsin hitters had multi-hit performances, including junior outfielder Megan Donahue and freshman third baseman Skylar Sirdashney, who each had two RBIs.
Buresch combined with freshman right-handed pitcher Allison Smith to hold Wisconsin to two runs on Friday as the Buckeyes managed a 3-2 come-from-behind win.
Game 1 – Thursday
Buresch started the first game of the weekend and locked into yet another pitcher’s duel with her counterpart, Badgers junior righty Maddie Schwartz.
Buresch retired the first nine Wisconsin batters before issuing a leadoff walk to junior catcher Morgan Kummer to begin the bottom half of the fourth inning. Three Badgers reached base through the first 8.1 innings before freshman second baseman Peyton Bannon grounded a single to left field for Wisconsin’s first base hit in the ninth.
The Buckeyes scored the first run of the game in the top of the 10th inning when senior first baseman Niki Carver hit a sacrifice fly to drive in sophomore second baseman Mya Rodriguez, who was allowed to begin the frame at second base due to extra-inning rules.
Smith relieved Buresch in the circle at the start of the 11th, and the Badgers responded when sophomore first baseman Abby Herbst grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Kummer.
Both teams added their second runs in the 11th before two scoreless innings bridged to the 14th frame. Junior outfielder Kaitlyn Coffman hit an RBI double before an error and wild pitch plated the next two runs to give Ohio State a 5-2 lead entering the bottom half of the inning.
Bannon hit an RBI single with one out, then scored on Kummer’s game-tying, two-run home run.
They marked the final Wisconsin runs, however, as Prange hit a sacrifice bunt to retake the advantage and sophomore third baseman Avery Clark padded the lead with an RBI single.
Schwartz twirled a masterpiece of her own, serving just three hits across the first 10 innings before allowing two runs in the 14th inning. She finished with 11 strikeouts over 13.2 innings of work, the latter of which set a new Badgers program record.
The Buckeyes were also spectacular defensively during Game 1 Thursday. They finished with no errors and turned four double plays, including a 6-3 lineout for the first two outs in the 15th.
Game 2 – Thursday
Wisconsin’s bats came alive much earlier in the second game Thursday.
Ohio State junior right-handed pitcher Jessica Ross began in the circle and allowed four hits and two runs across 3.1 innings.
Smith relieved Ross and allowed back-to-back RBI doubles, which put the Badgers’ lead at three.
Senior infielder Megan McMenemy pinch-hit in the bottom of the fifth and knocked an RBI single to whittle the deficit to 3-1. Coffman was the only other Ohio State hitter with a base knock as she went 2-2 with a run scored.
Wisconsin took advantage of six hits to score seven runs in the top of the sixth, keyed by an RBI single by Donahue. Donahue finished 2-3 with two RBIs and a double.
Badgers senior right-handed pitcher Haley Hestekin was dominant in the circle, throwing the full six innings and holding the Buckeyes to just three hits across as many strikeouts and no walks.
Game 3 – Friday
Buresch returned to the circle and was opposed by Wisconsin’s Game 2 starter in Hestekin. The Badgers seemed to have the senior righty figured out after seeing 126 pitches the previous day from her, though, as they scored two runs off four hits in the first three innings.
Hestekin continued brilliant pitching after going six innings the day before. Ohio State knocked four hits across the first three innings before Otte hit an RBI double to right-center field to score graduate second baseman Carley Gaskill, who led off the fifth with a single.
Cortelletti followed with a game-tying RBI single, which scored Otte from second base.
Wisconsin turned the ball over to Herbst in the sixth inning. She allowed leadoff singles to senior first baseman Niki Carver and Prange before working out of the jam, which saw an important putout at the plate when Sirdashney flipped the ball to Kummer for the inning’s second out.
Cortelletti began the eighth on second base as the game moved into extras for the second time in the series, and she scored on an error when Carver dropped a bunt in front of home plate.
Seven Buckeyes had at least one hit, and the top of the lineup produced in a large way. Otte and Cortelletti combined to go 4-8 with two RBIs and two runs. Smith threw five innings of shutout ball, striking out three while holding Wisconsin to just one hit.
Ohio State will now turn to undefeated No. 23 Northwestern for a doubleheader beginning at 10 a.m. Saturday and finishing with the series finale at 9 a.m. Sunday.
