Ohio State has displayed its power hitting potential throughout the season, averaging a home run per game entering Saturday’s contest with the Maryland softball team.
The Buckeyes again benefited from the long ball in their 10-6 extra-inning win over the Terps. They crushed three homers off pitcher Hannah Dewey and a grand slam against pitcher Madison Martin.
“You’ve got to keep the ball down,” coach Julie Wright said. “The pitches that were hit out of the ball park today were too elevated for what the pitch call was.”
Ohio State’s four-homer barrage proved too much for the Terps to recover from. Maryland forced extra innings after tying the game at five, but the Buckeyes’ five-run eighth inning put the contest out of reach.
For the second straight game, Ohio State scored in the first frame. Infielder Lilli Piper singled with two outs, and infielder Emily Clark followed with a two-run dinger.
In the third inning, the Buckeyes added two more runs on homers. Infielder Anna Kirk led off the inning with a shot to left field before Piper put Ohio State ahead, 4-0, with a homer to center.
“Especially when these great hitters get that much of a look at pitchers, the more that they see pitchers the more they get comfortable,” Wright said. “It gets harder. You’ve got to be a little bit better each time, because great hitters adjust. … The big miss will get hit hard. That’s why they’re 22nd in the nation in home runs per game.”
After relief pitcher Madison Martin allowed only one run through four innings, Ohio State got added five runs in the eight frame to take a 10-5 lead. An error by shortstop Anna Kufta led to the Buckeye’s first run. Then after a walk to load the bases, outfielder Taylor White hit a grand slam off of Martin, White’s second homer of the series.
“We made probably a defensive mistake prior to [the grand slam] that would have taken us out of the inning,” Wright said. “And then again, great hitters getting an additional look, that’s tough. I think that pitch was a little bit up, and [Martin] knows it.”
Still, Maryland played with some of the “swag” Wright called for when it had runners in scoring position. By converting in these situations, the Terps climbed back into the contest before the Buckeyes clinched the victory in extra innings.
With two outs in the third frame, Maryland put together four hits and three runs. Infielder Juli Strange walked and infielder Skylynne Ellazar reached on a fielder’s choice.
After an infield fly, catcher Kristina Dillard hit a two-RBI double. Dewey followed with an RBI double to slim the Buckeyes’ lead to 4-3.
Wright told Dillard and Dewey that as middle-of-the-order hitters, it was their job to drive in runs. The pair had two RBIs each against the Buckeyes on Saturday.
The Terps added more two-out offense when Strange hit an RBI double in the sixth to score outfielder Sarah Calta from first. Then, a leadoff double by infielder Anna Kufta in the seventh led to a Dewey sacrifice fly, tying the game at five.
“Punch and punch and punch until you can’t raise your arms,” Wright said, comparing comeback attempts to a boxing match. “If at the end of the game you have an opportunity to win, then you’ve done what you’re supposed to do.”
Trailing, 10-5, in the eighth, Martin hit her second career home run and first this season to bring the Terps within four. But her long ball didn’t lead to further offensive production in their second straight defeat.
