| Jen Acunto |
COLUMBUS, Ohio; May 6, 2007 ?? With the 4-0 win over Penn State, the Ohio State Buckeyes clinched the Big Ten Regular Season Championship and will host the Big Ten Tournament in Columbus from May 10-12. After six scoreless innings, Ohio State tallied four runs in the seventh and Penn State could not rally. Despite seven hits and 10 runners left on base, the Lions could not tally any runs in today's game. With the loss, Penn State drops to 26-22 overall and 5-9 in the Big Ten. Despite the loss, the Nittany Lions still earned the eighth seed in the Big Ten Tournament due to Minnesota and Wisconsin splitting their series this weekend.
Ohio State had a chance to take the lead after pitcher Jamee Juarez hit a double to right center and advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt. A groundout to shortstop Jen Acunto (Hollywood, Fla.) and a strikeout by Ashley Esparza (San Pedro, Calif.) ended the Buckeye threat.
The Nittany Lions had an opportunity of their own to take the lead in the bottom of the second. With one out, Acunto hit a single to left field for the first Penn State hit of the game. Kayce Zielinski (Arlington, Texas) then cracked a double to center field to move Acunto to third. A diving play by the Ohio State shortstop and a strikeout by Jamee Juarez ended the inning with the score still tied at zero.
Ashley Griffith (Mt. Laurel, N.J.) led off the third with a bunt single, but was stranded on first after the Lions could not tally any more hits in the inning. With Buckeye runners at first and second in the top of the fourth, Liz Caputo hit a grounder to second baseman Zielinski, who tagged the runner and then threw to Sam Hovanec (Pittsburgh, Pa.) at first for the inning-ending double play.
In the fourth, Acunto tallied her second hit of the day, a double to right field. The next batter, Zielinski, then notched her second hit of the day as well, cracking a single up the middle and advanced to second on the throw from center field. Acunto tried to head home on Zielinski's hit, but a throw from Ohio State center fielder Liz Caputo to catcher Sam Marder allowed Marder to tag Acunto and keep Penn State off the board. A fly ball to right field ended the inning with one runner left on base.
The Buckeyes looked like they were going to break through with a run in the fifth after loading the bases with only one out. Megan Schwab lined out to Hovanec at first to hold the runners on base. Juarez then grounded out to the pitcher Esparza to end the inning with the score still knotted.
Shana Madura (Slate Hill, N.Y.) led off the bottom of the fifth with a single up the middle. Griffith then reached on a bunt, but Madura was thrown out at second. With two outs, Esparza stepped up and cracked a single to left field, advancing Griffith to third. Kari Lucas (Centre Hall, Pa.) then came in as a pinch runner for Esparza. Danielle Kinley (Carlsbad, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases for Hollee Haines (Riverside, Calif.). Prior to Haines' at-bat, the Buckeyes made a pitching change, putting Kim Reeder in the circle in place of Jamee Juarez. Haines then sent a screamer to first base, but Ohio State first baseman Christina Douglas caught the line drive to end the inning with three Penn Staters left on base.
After playing solid defense to keep Ohio State off the board in the top of the sixth, Jen Acunto gave Penn State an early base runner as she earned a leadoff walk. Zielinski then reached on a fielder's choice sacrifice bunt, but Acunto was able to beat out the throw at second to give the Lions two runners. A flyout by Jenn Reynolds brought Madura to the plate. Madura grounded out, but was able to advance the runners to second and third. A Griffith groundout ended the inning and gave the Lions 10 stranded runners on the day.
Ohio State finally broke through in the top of the seventh. Brittany Vanderlink led off with a double to left center. Sam Marder then delivered a single up the middle to score Vanderlink. Courtney Pruner then singled. A fielder's choice by Megan Schwab resulted in Pruner originally getting called out at second on a tag by Acunto, but after an umpires meeting, Pruner was ruled safe and Penn State coach Robin Petrini was ejected after arguing the call. With the bases loaded, Juarez stepped up and hit a single to score Marder. Christina Douglas struck out for the first out of the inning. Lauren Daykin was then hit by a pitch to bring home another run. A single from Liz Caputo brought Schwab home and gave the Buckeyes a 4-0 lead heading to the bottom of the seventh.
Penn State could not rally from four down, going three-up, three-down in the bottom of the seventh.
The Nittany Lions will now head to back to Columbus for the Big Ten Tournament, where they will take on top seeded Ohio State on Thursday, May 10. The Lions will be taking on the Buckeyes for the third time in less than a week. Penn State dropped both games against Ohio State this weekend, losing 4-2 in a rainy affair on Saturday and 4-0 on Sunday.
Big Ten Tournament Seeds
- Ohio State
- Northwestern
- Michigan
- Iowa
- Purdue
- Illinois
- Michigan State
- Penn State