Members of the Ohio State softball infield huddle during the Ohio State-Michigan game on April 9. Ohio State lost 7-0. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
Despite multiple comeback attempts, the Buckeyes were stopped by Purdue’s late-game efforts on both sides of the ball and dropped three of four to the Boilermakers.
Ohio State (18-17) took the first game of the series Friday, but lost the remaining three games at Purdue (13-23) to complete the first half of an eight-game road trip.
The Buckeyes began the weekend with a 5-1 win behind a combination of senior right-hander Payton Buresch’s complete game in the circle and junior third baseman Ashley Prange’s three RBIs and two-double performance.
Purdue bounced back with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, taking Game 1 by a score of 4-2 and walking it off 7-6 in Game 2 after Ohio State scored three runs in its last at-bat to tie the game.
The Buckeyes couldn’t quite catch up on Sunday as the Boilermakers took a lead in the bottom of the first inning all the way to the finish, winning 4-2. Three Ohio State hitters had multi-hit games in the finale.
Game 1
In their first trip to West Lafayette, Indiana since 2012, the Buckeyes greeted the Boilermakers with five runs in the first two innings.
Prange dug into the batter’s box with two outs and the bases loaded in the top half of the second inning and brought all three runners around on a 3-run double. Senior first baseman Niki Carver added another run on an RBI single two batters later.
Ohio State’s offense connected for just three hits the rest of the way, but Buresch made sure to limit Purdue from any damage.
Buresch worked out of a bases-loaded, one-out jam in her first inning of work by forcing a pop fly and getting junior catcher Kaeley Hallada to take strike three.
The right-hander retired the last seven Boilermakers and 13 of the last 14 to complete her 3-hit outing. Buresch issued four walks and had just one strikeout, but forced 15 groundouts to keep Purdue’s offense from lifting many hits.
Junior shortstop Rachel Becker and freshman catcher Kiley Goff each had doubles for the Boilermakers.
Game 2
After jumping ahead Friday, Purdue redshirt-senior right-hander Sydney Bates had solved the Buckeyes offense for the most part in the first of two games Saturday.
Bates held Ohio State to just three hits over her seven-inning complete game, striking out five while walking four.
This time, Purdue struck first. Freshman first baseman Kaitlyn Brannstrom sent a double to the wall in center field, allowing Goff to score from first base on the play.
Two innings later, Brannstrom and junior designated hitter Alex Echazarretta each connected with RBI hits to extend the Boilermakers’ lead to three.
Buckeyes graduate shortstop Carley Gaskill cut into the deficit with a 2-run home run in the top of the fourth inning, her second of the season. Prange and senior right fielder Megan McMenemy accounted for Ohio State’s only two other hits.
Right-handers freshman Allison Smith and junior Jessica Ross combined to throw in the circle, with the former accountable for all four Purdue runs in 4 1/3 innings while the latter tossed 1 2/3 shutout innings and allowed two hits.
Game 3
A late-rally nearly kept Purdue from completing the doubleheader sweep, but the Boilermakers used a walk-off double in extra innings to come away with the win.
Junior second baseman Becca Jones doubled to score freshman center fielder Kiara Dillon from first with one out in the bottom of the eighth inning. Purdue knocked eight of its 12 hits in its final four trips to the plate.
The Boilermakers first scored in the bottom half of the opening inning, just like they did in the afternoon’s preceding ballgame. Brannstrom continued swinging a hot bat Saturday with an RBI single, and finished a perfect 3-for-3 with a 3-run home run and walk.
After getting two runners to reach scoring position through the first three innings, the Buckeyes connected on a pair of homers to take a 3-1 lead. Junior center fielder Meggie Otte led off the frame with a solo shot, and McMenemy hit her first of the season three batters later, scoring sophomore designated player Taylor Pack, who hit a one-out double.
Ohio State had runners reach scoring position in each of the next two innings on just one hit, but Purdue took the opportunity to score five runs in that time on Brannstrom’s 3-run shot and senior left fielder Ryleigh Scott’s 2-run double in the sixth to put the Boilermakers ahead 6-3.
Carver and Otte led off the seventh with back-to-back doubles to cut the deficit to two, and freshman Kirsten Eppele, who substituted into the game as the designated player, tied it by connecting on a 2-2 offering for a 2-run double.
Eppele’s hit would be the Buckeyes’ last as the game went into extra innings. Gaskill also had a multi-hit day in addition to Carver, Otte and Pack. Freshman Hannah Bryan made her first-career start at catcher, drawing a walk in one of her two plate appearances.
Buresch and Smith combined to pitch in the game. Bursch pitched into the sixth inning with four strikeouts and Smith came on late to try and limit Purdue during the comeback attempt.
Game 4
Buresch and Purdue freshman left-hander Savannah Henley had a rematch between Friday’s starting pitchers, and it was the latter who came away victorious in the finale.
For the third-straight game, Purdue opened the scoring as Brannstrom continued swinging a mean bat with an RBI single to score Becker.
Two innings later, Goff followed suit with an RBI single of her own, and Echazarretta drew a full-count walk with the bases loaded to extend the lead to 3-0.
Ohio State finally cut into the deficit in the fifth inning by connecting with four hits, and Prange began the rally with an RBI double, chasing Henley in favor of Bates in relief.
Bates immediately struck out Carver, but Otte came through with a single to score sophomore second baseman Mariah Rodriguez, who had a bunt single earlier in the inning.
Rodriguez recorded the final Buckeyes hit to start the seventh inning, but Bates returned to form and retired seven of the final eight hitters to secure the 4-2 win.
Ohio State out-hit Purdue nine to seven, and both teams left eight runners on base. Carver, Otte and Rodriguez had multi-hit games as their offense had runners get into scoring position twice in the game.
The Buckeyes remain on the road next weekend with a four-game trip to Illinois set to begin Friday at 5 p.m.
