Junior utility Skylar Limon (5) yells as she walks off the field during Ohio State’s (36-10-1, 10-5 Big Ten) 4-3 win over Michigan (31-14, 9-6 Big Ten) Friday at Buckeye Field. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
In front of a sold-out Buckeye Field crowd, Ohio State came from behind to beat its rival in back-to-back games Friday.
Despite being out-hit 20-11 overall and trailing until the sixth inning in each game, the Buckeyes overcame adversity to win both games of the doubleheader, 4-3 and 7-4, against the Wolverines.
“I like wins regardless of who they are against,” head coach Kirin Kumar said. “But those two wins feel extra special.”
Game 1
Despite being held to its second-fewest hit total of the season, Ohio State escaped with a 4-3 win.
Center fielder Skylar Limon’s late-game offensive and defensive heroics fueled the Buckeyes’ victory.
Michigan pitcher Lauren Derkowski control the game early on, not allowing an Ohio State hit through the first three frames.
After Michigan scored once in the third inning, center fielder Jenissa Conway put the Wolverines up 2-0 with an RBI double in the fourth. Struggling to find their footing offensively, second baseman Kaitlyn Farley gave the Buckeyes life with a two-run home run.
But Ohio State’s momentum was short-lived, as Michigan right fielder Ella Stephenson belted a home run in the first at-bat of the fifth to regain a 3-2 lead.
Trailing by one in the bottom of the sixth, Limon skied a with a two-run, giving the Buckeyes their first lead at 4-3.
In the seventh inning, Ohio State leaned on pitcher Lorin Boutte, who had thrown 128 pitches through six, to finish the game. With help from Limon — who made a diving catch at the warning track — Boutte retired three straight batters, leading Ohio State to a 4-3 win.
Game 2
The Buckeyes overcame a four-run deficit and defeated the Wolverines in walk-off fashion, 7-4.
Through four innings, the Buckeyes and Wolverines were deadlocked with no score.
But momentum shifted in the fifth inning.
In the frame, Michigan scored four runs off six hits, highlighted by a two-run home run from Conway.
Limon then cut into the deficit with a home run for the second straight game, but the Buckeyes still trailed by three.
In the sixth, catcher Jasmyn Burns launched a solo home run to cut the Wolverines’ lead to two. The homerun was her 21st of the year, which broke Ohio State’s single-season home run record.
Burns said she could not describe the feeling of breaking the program’s record.
“I can’t really explain it,” Burns said. “I couldn’t have done it without my whole team, and it was just such a surreal moment.”
With two outs in the frame, Farley hit her second two-run blast of the day, tying the game at four going into the final inning.
After pitcher Kennedy Kay put away three consecutive batters, the Buckeyes had the chance to send the Wolverines home with another loss.
With runners on second and third, left fielder Hadley Parisien stepped up to the plate.
First pitch: Gone.
Parisien launched a three-run home run to defeat Michigan 7-4.
Parisien, whose lone hit of the day came from the walk-off home run, described how she was able to put aside all of her previous at-bats to step up in the biggest moment.
“I just feel great,” Parisien said. “I struggled throughout the day, so just coming back and not caring and doing it for my team.”
The Buckeyes fed off the energy from the back-to-back sellout crowds to pick up two wins.
“It was just unreal, the crowd was crazy,” Parisien said. “That’s probably the biggest crowd I’ve played in front of.”
