The Ohio State softball team went 2-3 in the Sun Devil Classic on Friday and Saturday. Credit: Zach Rilley | Lantern File Photo
A rough start for the Buckeyes in the Sun Devil Classic over the weekend led them to a 2-3 end at the series in Phoenix and Tempe, Arizona.
Ohio State softball (8-4, 0-0 Big Ten) kicked off its weekend out west on Friday with a 6-1 loss to Texas State (14-4, 0-0 Big 12) at Farrington Stadium on Arizona State’s campus.
The Bobcats struck first when senior first baseman JJ Smith hit an RBI in the top of the second to bring senior right fielder Anna Jones home, making it a 1-0 game.
Ohio State returned the favor in the bottom of the third when it scored its only run of the game after freshman designated player Jasmyn Burns singled to the right center to bring in graduate shortstop Tegan Cortelletti and tie the game at one apiece.
From then on, it was the Texas State show. After the Buckeyes’ single score, the Bobcats brought three of their own home in the top of the fourth after a few singles with the bases loaded.
Texas Tech led the Buckeyes 4-1 leading up to the top of the sixth when it scored two more to take its 6-1 victory over Ohio State.
In their final game of the day and only the second of the series, the Buckeyes took on Arizona State (11-6, 0-0 PAC-12). After a tough and long battle, Ohio State lost 12-10 in ten innings.
However, it didn’t start the same way it ended. The Buckeyes came in hotter than Arizona with a 6-0 lead through the first five innings.
Burns homered in the top of the first and brought Cortelletti home with her to take an early 2-0 advantage.
Cortelletti had time to shine again when she hit an RBI to bring senior third baseman McKenzie Bump and senior right fielder Taylor Heckman home, making the score 4-0.
The excitement continued when the junior shortstop Kami Kortokrax homered in at the top of the fifth, followed by another home run, this time from senior catcher Sam Hackenbracht, in the top of the sixth.
A three-run home run from Arizona State’s freshman utility player Samantha Swan quickly made it a 6-3 game in the bottom of the fifth inning. After a wild pitch, still in the bottom of the fifth, sophomore left fielder Yannixa Acuna scored one more time for the Sun Devils to make it a 6-4 game to close the inning.
Arizona State came back in the bottom of the seventh after an RBI from graduate center fielder Kelsey Hall and senior third baseman Kayla Lissy to force the game into extra innings.
Kortokrax hit an RBI in the top of the eighth that brought in senior outfielder Kirsten Eppele, making it 7-6.
The Sun Devils hung tough, though, after graduate catcher Makenzie Macfarlane scored on a fielding error by the Buckeyes, taking the game into another inning.
Bump scored on a wild pitch to kick off the ninth followed by an RBI from Burns to bring in junior infielder Kaitlyn Farley and make it 9-7.
Arizona State returned and tied the game after Hall singled and brought in two runners just before the tenth inning.
In the top of the tenth, Heckman hit an RBI to make it a 10-9 contest, but it was not enough heading into the bottom of the inning to win.
Three RBIs gave the Sun Devils a walk-off win to end a long, excruciating game.
On Saturday, the Buckeyes headed to Grand Canyon’s campus in Phoenix to take on New Mexico State (9-5, 0-0 Conference USA) at GCU Softball Stadium with a vengeance.
After a long game the previous night, Ohio State kept it short, beating the Aggies 10-0 and forcing the mercy rule.
Six runs in the top of the second inning alone gave the Buckeyes the start they needed to get the momentum going, but that was only the beginning of an exciting game.
Burns got things going with an RBI in the top of the fourth inning. Then, with two runners on base, Eppele stepped up to the plate and hit a three-run home run to secure their 10-0 win.
The Buckeyes headed into their last game of the day, going into extra innings for the second time this weekend, and ultimately falling short to Grand Canyon (11-4, 0-0 Western Athletic Conference) 2-1.
Ohio State got started early, scoring the first run of the game in the top of the first inning when Hackenbracht hit an RBI to bring home Heckman.
The Antelopes waited until the fourth inning to tie the game after an RBI from their senior left fielder Kayla Rodgers.
The score remained 1-1 through the seventh to force an eighth inning. Grand Canyon, however, did not let overtime last too long after an RBI from its graduate designated player Ramsay Lopez won the game 2-1.
To end the series on a high note, the Buckeyes beat Idaho State (11-6, 0-0 Big Sky) 5-2.
Ohio State put the first points on the board when Cortelletti doubled and brought two runners home in the bottom of the third inning.
Burns got in on the action in the bottom of the fifth when she walked with bases loaded to give herself an RBI and tack on another run as freshman outfielder Taylor Cruse made it across home plate.
Next up was Hackenbracht, hitting her RBI to bring Bump home and make it 4-0. Eppele stepped up to the plate and struck out looking, but Heckman stole home to bring in the last run of the fifth for the Buckeyes.
After two doubles turned into RBIs, the Bengals scored their only two runs of the game in the top of the fifth but could not get anything going in the seventh to attempt their comeback, which gave the Buckeyes their second victory of the weekend.
Next up, Ohio State will play in the Tennessee Invitational in Knoxville, Tennessee, at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium March 8 and 9. The team is set to take on Missouri State, South Dakota and Tennessee.
