Although the Bobcats came out of the Carolina Classic with a 1-3 record, third baseman Kristen Salvatore was satisfied with her team's performance.
As a whole
I think that we did great as a team Salvatore said. I think we communicated well and I think that as we progress we will improve.
In their first game Friday, the Bobcats lost 3-2 to East Carolina. After Ohio established a 2-1 lead, the Pirates rallied to tie the game and won it with an RBI single in the seventh inning.
We came out really well and played a solid game
coach Jill Matyuch said. We made a couple of mistakes that cost us and we just did not get timely hits.
Michelle Sauter pitched 6 1/3 innings, allowing two earned runs on eight hits in the loss. The Bobcats only managed two hits against the Pirates.
Friday's second game pitted Ohio against No. 22 North Carolina State. Wolfpack pitcher Abbie Sims silenced the Bobcat offense with a no-hitter in a 7-0 win.
The Bobcats rebounded on Saturday with an 8-7 victory over Coastal Carolina. After trailing 5-1 through four innings, Ohio came back, scoring four runs in the final three innings to force a tiebreaker. Shortstop Amanda Sacks' two-run triple in the tiebreaker allowed Ohio to come out with the win.
I think we now understand that we can play at another level
Matyuch said. We can play with them
and it will only be a matter of time before we squeak out some more victories.
Ohio followed up this victory with a 3-2 loss to North Carolina in a game that Matyuch said could have gone either way.
It was a hard-fought battle and it was nice to see that we rose to another level as a team
she said. It just didn't go our way at the end and we were unable to pull it out.
Salvatore hit the first Bobcat home run of the season in the loss.
Through this tournament, Matyuch said that her team was able to solidify its lineup.
I think overall we have a solid lineup that can give opponents different looks
she said. We did a good job of using players' strengths and a lot of different players contributed in a variety of ways.
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