IU drops 3-game series to Ohio State

The Indiana Hoosiers 16-5 (1-2) opened Big Ten play this weekend facing the Ohio State Buckeyes 16-11 (2-1) in Columbus, Ohio.

The Hoosiers split the opening games Saturday with a 4-3 loss and a 4-1 victory, respectively.

In game one, Indiana rallied back to within one run after giving up three in the bottom of the second. Sophomore Jenna Abraham started the rally off by scoring with Heather Nelson from a single by Kelsey Brannon.

Brannon went 2-for-3 in the game after notching those two RBI.

In the top of the sixth, the Hoosiers continued the rally after Abraham got the bats started with a bunt single. She moved into scoring position after freshman infielder Shannon Cawley’s sacrifice bunt.

With no outs left junior infielder Amanda Wagner sent out a double to tie the game at 3-3 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Freshman pitcher Lora Olson retired the side to put the game into extra innings.
Olson went the distance in the game, recording seven strikeouts and allowing four runs on eight hits.

The rally ended when the Buckeyes shut out the Hoosiers in the top of the eighth. Indiana intentionally walked Alicia Herron, and she eventually scored the go-ahead on a double by Evelyn Carrillo.

However, in Saturday’s game two the Hoosiers regrouped and came away with their first Big Ten win of the season. The day of firsts did not end there.

Sophomore pitcher Meaghan Murphy picked up her first career conference win in the circle as well. Murphy nearly shut out the normally explosive offense of the Buckeyes.

Although she allowed eight hits, she gave up just one unearned run against a team that is currently averaging more than five runs per game. Murphy also shut down Herron, a player who currently has the fourth-best batting average in the Big Ten.

The Hoosiers were slow to get their bats going in the first game, but Indiana found its way again in the second game. Six batters recorded hits, and Cawley led the team going 3-for-4 with one run.  Freshman first baseman Brianna Meyer also had a hot hand, going 2-for-4 in the game.

Hoosier scoring came from three Buckeye errors that turned into unearned runs, and Samantha Heyman recorded the lone RBI with a single to right field.

The win split the weekend before the Hoosiers faced the Buckeyes once more in a Sunday afternoon tiebreaker.

The Sunday game resulted in a 7-3 loss. Although the hits remained tied at nine, the Buckeyes found a way to convert nearly all of them to runs.

After taking a 2-0 lead at the top of the third inning, the Hoosiers allowed the Buckeyes three runs during the next two series to lose the lead.  

However, the Hoosiers tied the game back up at 3-3 in the top of the sixth only to give up an additional four runs in the bottom of the inning. The four-run deficit could not be reeled in during the last series.

Despite being outscored, Hoosier hitting fared well against one of the Big Ten’s premier pitchers in Endicott.  

During the final game senior catcher Cassie Gogreve went 2-for-3 with an RBI. Sophomore infielder Shelby Gogreve went 3-for-3. Cawley and Wagner each had an RBI.

The Hoosiers continue Big Ten play next weekend by starting a six-game homestand beginning with Michigan and ending with Purdue on April 7-8.