Ohio (29-15 overall, 11-7 Mid-American Conference) gets a massive 4-2 non-conference win against its non-MAC rival, Marshall (32-11, 13-2 Sun Belt), despite a late and strong push by the Thundering Herd.
The Bobcats relied heavily on their defense in this game as they would win while only scoring 4 runs, which is tied for the lowest runs they’ve scored in a game this season.
“I feel like it just took good fielding,” junior outfielder Izzie Wilson said about what it took defensively to get the win. “Just fielding everything routinely rather than making it a bigger moment than it is.”
Ohio would have many good opportunities through the first two innings as senior Belle Hummel, junior Brenna Farmer and senior Shelby Westler would each record a single early in the first inning to load the bases with 1 out. Despite that strong opportunity, the Bobcats couldn’t get any runs out of it.
The Bobcats would get another hit in the second inning from junior Kylie Gorsuch but would still end the second frame with no runs on 4 hits.
“They (Marshall) have a very quality pitching staff,” Ohio head coach Jenna Hall said about the team's early struggles with turning hits into runs. “Our style of softball isn't to move runners super strategically. We’re more of a swing and hit type team.”
While the Bobcats' offense struggled to get runs, their ace pitcher, Skipp Miller, was pitching a no-hitter. Through the first two innings, Skipp allowed 0 base hits while forcing Marshall hitters into easy ground outs or pop flies and recording a strikeout.
The Bobcat offense was finally able to bring in some runs with a big third inning. The inning would open up with both Colleen Bare and Brenna Farmer getting walked. That would be followed by Shelby Westler getting a hit, which brought Bare home for the first run of the game. Wilson would come up to bat and bust the game open with a deep 3-run homer to right field to make it 4-0.
“Our defense and Skipp (Miller) were playing super well, so my main goal was to just build a bigger lead,” Wilson said about her thoughts before hitting her home run. “Having a nice four-run inning to take a comfortable lead takes a lot of relief off of the whole team.”
While Ohio’s offense finally caught some heat, Miller was still throwing it. The Herd would record their first hit of the game in the fourth inning, but awesome infield defense by the Bobcats would wrap the inning up quickly. She would also quickly end inning five by forcing 3 quick groundouts.
When it looked like the Bobcats' offense finally got some momentum, they completely lost it all. Ohio would record 0 hits in innings four and five as they started completely relying on Miller and the defense to get the win.
The game would take a turn in the top of the sixth. Marshall would open it up with back-to-back homers to get its first runs of the game and bring the game within 2 runs. Despite Miller getting fatigued and allowing 2 home runs, Hall kept her in the game.
“She’s one of the best pitchers that’s come through this program,” Hall said about her trust in Miller. “There’s nobody I trust more than Skipp (Miller) in those big moments. This is also a game she’s wanted. We’ve had some bad memories and close losses against Marshall, so she definitely wanted this game under her belt.”
Miller would quickly record 3 outs to end the inning before it got out of hand. The Bobcat offense was still running dry as they would quickly record 3 outs to give Marshall a lot of momentum headed into the final inning.
Skipp would force a groundout to open up the inning, but a hit-by-pitch followed by a single from the Herd would put the tying runner on base with 1 out. A deep fly ball to right field would be caught for out number two, but it allowed a Marshall runner to advance to third base. With runners on the corners and 2 outs, Hall would take a moment to go talk to her players.
“We just went over the situation,” Hall said. “Obviously, runners on third and first is always complicated. So, I was just making sure we were all on the same page and in the right position.”
With 2 outs and 2 runners on, the Marshall batter would drive the ball into center field, where Hummel would make a star-stunning forward diving catch to end the game.
After the third inning, Ohio’s offense would completely flatline, as they would record 0 hits for the rest of the game. Luckily, awesome pitching and great defense would help the Bobcats get the huge win over their rivals to continue their hot season.
As the regular season starts to wind down, Ohio is on the road for two of its last three series, with its only home series being against one of the hottest teams in the MAC, UMass.
“It’s going to take all of us doing it together,” Wilson said about how Ohio needs to close out the rest of the regular season. “Not only one person is going to do it, all of us are going to have to do it together.”
The Bobcats are travelling to Kent this weekend to get back into conference play with a road series against a struggling Kent State team.
