Facing being swept in the Mid-American Conference for the second consecutive season, No. 6 Ohio remains alive after defeating No. 4 Miami 3-2 Thursday.
Ohio moved to the loser’s bracket after being shutout by Bowling Green in the opening round Wednesday, but avoided elimination and will play again Friday at 1:30 p.m. against the loser of No. 2 Kent State and No. 3 Central Michigan.
“(Thursday) was a must-have win to keep a lifeline of more softball to play,” Ohio coach Jodi Hermanek said. “It was a battle that Miami put out against us, especially in the later innings, but I’m just glad we had a talented outfielder make an amazing catch.”
Freshman pitcher Savannah Jo Dorsey led the Bobcats inside the circle with a complete-game performance. She allowed just one earned run, while striking out four.
Dorsey held the RedHawks scoreless until the sixth inning, when she allowed three RedHawks to reach base, but two runners came around to score.
“I’m extremely proud of Savannah,” Hermanek said. “I felt confident in (Dorsey) that it wasn’t just about getting three pitches against (Miami), it was making them hit one pitch against her and putting it in play for the defense to handle.”
The Bobcat defense backed Dorsey down to the last play, when junior center fielder Alyssa Wolfe robbed what would have been a two-run, walk-off home run. Wolfe ended up on the other side of the fence after the catch, but caught the ball in fair territory to end the game.
“The whole time (the ball) was in the air I honestly didn’t think it was going over,” Wolfe said. “I just thought it was a routine play. It wasn’t until I was over the fence when I realized how big of a play it actually was.”
Offensively, the Bobcats recorded eight hits, after finishing with just two against Bowling Green.
Ohio scored a pair of runs in the second inning when freshman shortstop Amanda Dalton hit an RBI double to left field, before senior second baseman Tessa Bailey was hit by pitch with the bases loaded to score the Bobcats’ second run.
The Bobcats then took a 3-0 lead after senior catcher Lauren Gellerman hit a solo home run — her 25th this season. Gellerman’s RBI on the home run placed her in a tie for the program's second-most in a single season (57).
Thursday’s win ended the Bobcats’ five-game losing streak in the MAC Tournament.
“We just keep talking about playing as a team and for each other, not playing for a MAC Championship,” Wolfe said. “That’s what we did to get the win.”
Ohio finished with a split in a two-game series against Central Michigan and Kent State earlier this season.
The Bobcats lost the first game against the Golden Flashes 2-1, before winning the second 8-0 to open MAC regular season play. Ohio concluded the regular season last weekend against Central Michigan by winning the first game 7-3, before losing the second contest 13-5 in five innings.
The Chippewas and Golden Flashes play at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, as the loser will move on to play the Bobcats Friday.
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