Olympic Sports Recap: Men’s and Women’s Tennis Fall Short In Conference Tournaments, Softball Finishes 1-2 In Weekend At Oregon
Softball Claims One Of Three In Weekend Series At No. 15 Oregon
The Ohio State softball team opened its weekend series in Eugene, Ore., with a 3-0 victory over No.15 Oregon on Friday before falling to the Ducks 13-6 on Saturday and 8-0 on Sunday.
Following three scoreless innings, Ohio State infielder Kiki Estrada opened game one with a solo home run to center field. The Buckeyes then added to their lead at the top of the fifth, as infielder Abbie Wilhelm reached on a fielder’s choice, while senior utility player Skylar Limon scored on a throwing error.
Estrada then smashed another home run in the top of the ninth to add an insurance run for Ohio State, capping off the Buckeyes’ 3-0 victory.
In game two, Ohio State jumped out to a 4-0 lead before an Oregon explosion in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings fueled the Ducks to victory.
Ohio State outfielder Hadley Parisien opened game two with a home run on the game’s opening at-bat. Two innings later, the Buckeyes added to their lead as Limon scored on an inside-the-park home run. Estrada then reached on a fielder’s choice and Parisien scored to give Ohio State a 3-0 lead, before infielder Sami Bewick scored outfielder Taylor Cruse with a sacrifice ground ball to extend the advantage to four.
In the bottom of the fourth, Oregon answered when utility player Elon Butler hit a three-run homer to left-center field, cutting Ohio State’s lead to one.
After Wilhelm crushed a solo home run to left field to give the Buckeyes a 5-3 lead in the top of the fifth, the Ducks responded with four runs in the bottom half of the inning to take their first lead of the day at 7-5, highlighted by a two-run homer from catcher Emma Cox.
Bewick then answered in the top of the sixth with a solo home run to left field, cutting Oregon’s lead to one.
In the bottom of the inning, Oregon’s Cox smashed another two-run shot to extend the advantage to three. Then, Ducks infielder Katie Flannery hit a grand slam to seal Oregon’s 13-6 win in game two.
It was all Oregon in game three of the series. Utility player Amari Harper homered to give Oregon a one-run advantage in the first inning, before a solo home run by Ducks infielder Kaylynn Jones increased its lead to two.
Oregon then added another two in the bottom of the second before a Cox solo home run to right centerfield pushed the Ducks’ advantage to five. Three more Oregon runs in the fourth inning sealed an 8-0 shutout of Ohio State.
Ohio State (24-25, 11-10 Big Ten) returns home to close out the regular season and take on No. 25 Washington (34-15, 15-6) for a three-game series at 6 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. on Sunday at Buckeye Field in Columbus.
No. 5 Women’s Tennis Falls To No. 18 Michigan In Big Ten Championship
The Ohio State women’s tennis team hosted the Big Ten tournament championships at the Auer Tennis Complex in Columbus and advanced to the finals after defeating No. 55 Illinois 4-0 in the quarterfinals on Friday and No. 19 UCLA 4-2 in the semifinals on Saturday. All team and individual rankings are according to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association.
In the championship match, Ohio State fell 4-2 to its rival, No. 18 Michigan,
The Wolverines claimed the doubles point, despite Ohio State’s No. 32 Flora Johnson and Luciana Perry defeating Michigan’s No. 30 Jessica Bernales and Lily Jones 6-2 on court one. Michigan’s Reese Miller and Laura Rahnel upset Ohio State’s No. 27 Teah Chavez and Hephzibah Oluwadare 6-4 on court two, while the Wolverines’ Piper Charney and Emily Sartz-Lunde clinched the doubles point with a 6-4 win over the Buckeyes’ Sophia Cisse-Ignatiev and Audrey Spencer on court three.
In singles play, Ohio State’s No. 124 Cisse-Ignatiev defeated Michigan’s No. 90 Miller 6-3, 6-4 to even the match at 1-1.
Though Michigan quickly took its lead as No. 13 Charney beat Ohio State’s No. 4 Perry 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 on court one and added another point on court two, where the Wolverines’ No. 36 Jones topped 5th-ranked Buckeye Chavez 7-5, 6-4 to make it 3-1.
Ohio State’s No. 76 Nao Nishino followed with a 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 win against Michigan’s Bernales on court four, bringing the match within one at 3-2.
However, Michigan sealed the victory on court five, where Sartz-Lunde rallied past Ohio State’s Spencer 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 to clinch the 4-2 win and the Big Ten tournament championship for the Wolverines.
It was Ohio State’s sixth straight appearance in the Big Ten tournament’s championship match and 10th overall.
Ohio State (23-4, 12-1 Big Ten) will look to bounce back in the NCAA tournament when the Buckeyes host Youngstown State (13-11) in the first round at the Auer Tennis Complex. Ohio State was the No. 3 overall seed in the tournament, trailing only No. 1 Georgia and No. 2 Auburn.
No. 3 Men’s Tennis Defeated By No. 25 Michigan State 4-3 In Big Ten Championship
After defeating No. 64 Nebraska 4-0 on Thursday and No. 14 Illinois 4-3 on Friday, Ohio State advanced to the Big Ten Tournament final, where the Buckeyes narrowly fell to No. 25 Michigan State 4-3 on Saturday at Libbey Park in Ojai, Calif.
The match, which began at 8:20 p.m. on Saturday, was delayed multiple times due to inclement weather and didn’t conclude at 2:45 a.m. on Sunday.
Ohio State dropped the doubles point for just the fourth time this dual season and for the first time since a 4-1 win against Indiana on March 20.
The Spartans secured wins on courts one and two, as Michigan State’s Ozan Baris and Matthew Forbes defeated Ohio State’s No. 5 Nikita Filin and Brandon Carpico 6-2 on court one, while Taym Alazmeh and Mitchell Sheldon defeated the Buckeyes’ No. 39 Alexander Bernard and Alex Okonkwo 6-3 on court two to claim the doubles point.
Ohio State’s No. 85 Nikita Filin opened with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Michigan State’s Danial Rakhmatullayev on court four to even the team score at 1-1. On court three, Michigan State’s Baris took down No. 30 Preston Stearns, 6-2, 6-4, to regain the advantage.
The Buckeyes’ Alexander Bernard then defeated the Spartans’ Sheldon, 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 on court six to even the match at two apiece.
Michigan State’s Alazmeh pulled off a tight upset over Ohio State’s No. 118 Bryce Nakashima 3-6, 6-0, 7-5, on court five, before the Buckeyes’ No. 12 Aidan Kim beat No. 33 Aristotelis Thanos 7-6(5), 3-6, 7-5 on court one to tie the match at three apiece.
On court two, Michigan State’s No. 15 Forbes claimed a 6-2, 5-7, 7-6(3) thriller over Ohio State’s No. 29 Jack Anthrop to claim a 4-3 win and the Big Ten tournament championship.
The loss marked Ohio State’s second 4-3 defeat to Michigan State this season, also falling to the Spartans on March 15. The two teams split the Big Ten’s regular-season title with 12-1 records in conference play.
Ohio State (29-4, 12-1 Big Ten) now shifts its focus to the NCAA Tournament, where it earned the No. 3 overall seed and is set to face Buffalo (16-6) at 1 p.m. on Friday at the Auer Tennis Complex in Columbus.
Image courtesy of Ohio State Athletics