April 12, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Under gloomy skies, Penn State dropped a close, 2-0 decision to Ohio State Friday evening at Buckeye Field in Columbus, Ohio. The Buckeyes (24-14, 4-6 Big Ten) used a pair of solo home runs in the fourth inning to take the first contest of the three-game set against the Nittany Lions (10-24, 1-8 Big Ten).
The clubs meet again at 2 p.m. Saturday before closing the series with a 1 p.m. clash Sunday.
Starting pitcher Macy Jones (Ashburn, Va.) (9-10) picked up the loss after throwing her eighth complete game of the season. The freshman allowed two runs on seven hits while striking out four Buckeyes. In her last three starts, Jones has allowed just five earned runs while tossing a trio of complete games with 13 strikeouts. Sophomore Buckeye hurler Alex DiDomenico improved her record to 10-6 after tossing all seven innings.
Senior Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) recorded two of Penn State's four hits. Her pair of singles gives her 13 multiple-hit games this season and 55 in her career as she tied Megan Humphrey (2000-03) for seventh in the school's all-time career record book with 192 hits. She has now reached safely in 17-consecutive contests with hits in the last six outings and has recorded a hit in 29 of 34 contests in 2013.
Freshman Karlie Habitz (Newhall, Calif.) notched her fifth double of the season and classmate Reina Furuya (Waipahu, Hawaii) doubled to lead off the fourth inning, her third of the year, as the Nittany Lions were held scoreless for just the third time this season. Habitz pushed her hitting streak to three games while Furuya has now produced a hit in the last two.
Penn State presented its best scoring chance in the third after loading the bases with no outs when Lauren Yao (Los Angeles, Calif.) was hit by a pitch, Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.) drew a walk and Bell singled through the right side. The Buckeye defense tightened as they turned a pair of infield grounders to fielder's choices with force plays at the plate before a foul fly ended the frame with the contest scoreless.
Habitz led off the top of the second with a double through the left side before sophomore Meghan Bradley (Santa Monica, Calif.) entered the game to pinch run, her first appearance of the season. After Furuya doubled to open the fourth, junior Alyssa Sovereign (La Canada, Calif.) reached first on a one-out walk but the Nittany Lions again could not push any runs across the plate.
Ohio State struck in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of solo home runs. Junior first baseman Evelyn Carrillo sent a 2-2 pitch over the wall in dead center before junior catcher Melissa Rennie set the score at 2-0 two batters later with a high fly ball over left field.
The teams combined to post three hits over the final three innings as neither team could send anyone home.