Then-freshman Kami Kortokrax (27) hits the ball during the Ohio State-Nebraska game April 30, 2022. Ohio State won 5-4. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern File Photo
After dropping the lead and allowing the Scarlet Knights to tie the game in the home side of the seventh inning, the Buckeyes came back in the ninth to win 4-3.
Ohio State (23-13, 4-5 Big Ten) had a 3-2 lead up until they attempted to get the last out of the seventh inning when sophomore infielder Kami Kortokrax dropped the ball at second base, allowing Rutgers (30-14, 7-4 Big Ten) to score and tie the game 3-3.
“It was like a kick in the gut a little,” head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly said.
Kortokrax redeemed herself in the bottom of the ninth when her RBI single to left field won the game for the Buckeyes.
“I was thinking about it on the on deck circle [that] I wanted that shot again and I had it again,” Kortokrax said. “I’m here, I want to do it this time and fortunately, I came through that time.”
Graduate outfielder Jaycee Ruberti made an impressive diving catch at the wall of left field and quickly threw it to the cutoff at shortstop where Kortokrax turned and fired to first base for the double play.
Schoenly said Ruberti’s catch set the tone of the game as Rutgers junior shortstop Kyleigh Sand led off with a single in the first inning.
“That killed every piece of momentum they had,” Schoenly said. “They had their fastest kid on, and they had the middle of the order up and sometimes it goes overlooked because it happened so early but don’t forget that play.”
The Scarlet Knights were the first on the board for the first time this series when senior infielder Payton Lincavage hit a two-run home run in the top of the third inning. She doubled her home run output for the season as she collected four during the weekend series with the Buckeyes.
Junior righty Emily Ruck pitched back-to-back games Saturday and Sunday, completing 16 innings while allowing three earned runs, striking out seven and earning two wins, which puts her record at 7-5 this season.
Schoenly said the decision for Ruck to pitch Sunday’s game came down to what worked best for the Buckeyes and what kept Rutgers from rallying.
“Yesterday, she showed that her combination of pitches were good for the matchups of their best players,” Schoenly said. “She’s got a nice combination of fast and slow and up and down, so that combination worked better against this team.”
Lincavage was on Ohio State’s radar each time she was up to bat and even more after crushing the home run in the third inning. Schoenly and Ruck made the decision to not throw her anything over the plate, and Lincavage drew walks in the fifth and seventh innings before flying out in the ninth.
“Halfway through the game we decided we weren’t going to pitch to Lincavage anymore,” Schoenly said. “You know what, someone else beat us and [Ruck] was on board with that.”
The bats came alive for the Buckeyes in the bottom of the fourth inning when junior infielder Destinee Noury hit an RBI double to center field, followed by an RBI single from Ruberti, tying the game 2-2.
Noury wasn’t done driving in runs as she hit an RBI single in the bottom of the sixth inning to give Ohio State the lead 3-2.
Kortokrax said there wasn’t a moment this weekend that either team knew which direction the game was going or who was an obvious winner. She said the Buckeyes had each other’s backs especially when they were down — they picked each other up.
“There wasn’t a lot of moping around when you weren’t the one to do it,” Kortokrax said. “You were right in there cheering for the next one which is a selfless part of our team.”
After Ohio State’s series win over the Scarlet Knights, the Buckeyes will play two in a doubleheader Tuesday at Penn State. The first game will begin at 4 p.m. on Big Ten Network.
