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[Marc Goldstein | WOUB]

Cici Keidel’s walk-off RBI secures Battle of the Bricks sweep for Ohio

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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — After the Ohio Bobcats (30-12, 14-4 MAC) took both games of their doubleheader against their rival Miami Redhawks (26-21, 15-7 MAC), Ohio completed the series sweep with a senior day victory in game three, 7-6. 

With the energy high after celebrating the softball seniors, the Bobcats would start off the game fast. A quick three outs at the top of the first inning led to Ohio kicking off the scoring, with Brenna Farmer sending home Lauren Yuhas home on a single. Scoring would continue with an Abby Kennelly single that sent CiCi Keidel home and quickly got the Bobcats up 2-0. 

The scoreboard would then go silent. Ohio pitcher Skipp Miller and Miami pitcher Madilyn Reeves would go back-and-forth pitching strikeouts and each defense making plays in the outfield.

Ohio Softball head coach Jenna Hall high-fiving Lauren Yuhas on third base.
Ohio Softball head coach Jenna Hall high-fiving Lauren Yuhas on third base. [Reece Merkel | WOUB Public Media]
 

The Bobcats would end the scoring drought in the bottom of the fourth inning. Shelby Westler would hit one over the left field wall, sending herself and Abby Kennelly home. Brenna Farmer then scored on a wild pitch, leading to a Redhawks’ pitcher switch to Léa Chevrier and extending Ohio’s lead to 5-0.  

Miami got themselves on the board at the top of the fifth. Kaylee Oh hit a double to left field and send home both Shelby Kunkel and Kari Krueger. This resulted in a pitcher switch to Anna Wise for Ohio. 

After a quick inning for the Bobcats, the RedHawks would continue to chip away at their deficit. Kari Krueger would hit a bunt and send Jenna Golembiewski home. Not too long after, Chloe Parks would send one down the right field line, with Krueger and Erin Pinter scoring to tie the game. Mckenna Campbell would break the tie with a single, sending Parks home. Ohio’s Mikie Lieving would enter the game for Anna Wise with the Bobcats down for the first time in the game, 6-5. 

The Ohio Softball team embracing Cici Keidel after she knocked in the game-winning RBI.
The Ohio Softball team embracing Cici Keidel after she knocked in the game-winning RBI. [Reece Merkel | WOUB Public Media]
It wouldn’t be long before Ohio would tie the game back up. Lauren Yuhas would score off of a Keidel single. The top of the seventh led to a quick three outs for Miami. With the Bobcats now on offense, CiCi Keidel sent a pop fly to right field which was dropped by Redhawks’ Shelby Kunkel, with Abby Kennelly scoring and ending the game in Ohio’s favor, 7-6. 

After the win, head coach Jenna Hall spoke about the team’s ability to respond to Miami’s comeback. 

“Obviously, them coming back and forcing us to finish it out at the end, that’s what good teams do,” Hall said. “We knew there was always potential for that, we’ve been prepared the whole time. They responded really, really well. I thought Lauren [Yuhas] coming out and hitting that triple right away and CiCi [Keidel] scoring her, that just shows we aren’t going to give up.”

The Miami Redhawks will be on the road at Purdue to take on the Boilermakers on Wednesday, April 23rd at 5 p.m. The Ohio Bobcats, now on a five-game win streak, will host the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday, April 22nd at 5:30 pm.