Sports
Ohio Softball falls to Akron in close offensive battle
By: Lindsey Crawford
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AKRON, Ohio (WOUB)- After an impressive victory over Central Michigan, the Ohio Bobcats advanced to the second round of the MAC Tournament to face the No. 1 seed Akron. In their penultimate series against the Zips, Ohio fell 2-1. After a hard-fought offensive battle, the Akron Zips would advance in the tournament, taking the game in the last inning, 6-5.
To kick things off, Ohio’s Belle Hummel came out swinging for the fences, collecting her first home run of the game. However, at the bottom of the inning, Bobcat errors would allow Akron’s Meagan Lee to cross home plate.
During the next at-bat, Lilly Sullivan would single on a hit to shortstop, but another error would allow her to advance to second. A Katie Cantrell double would send home Sullivan, upping the score 2-1 to round out the first inning.
In the second, the Bobcats would prove their strength once again, starting the inning with another homer, this one courtesy of Jordyn Wycuff. After walking Rylee McDaniel, the Zips would find themselves back in some trouble as another Belle Hummel home run would give the Bobcats a 4-2 lead.
After a quick third inning, the Zips would gain some momentum in the fourth, earning a total of three runs, taking the lead 5-4. A Delaney Jenkinson triple knocked in Sydney Selker. From there, Meagan Lee would single out left, allowing Jenkinson to find home plate to tie the game at four. To finish off the bottom, a double from Haley Glass would send home Jenkinson.
In the fifth, Ohio would substitute veteran pitcher Skipp Miller for Keegan Moore, which would prove to be effective as she would pitch a quick inning.
Izzie Wilson would help the Bobcats hold on a little longer, sending one over the right-field fence and tying the game at 5-5.
In the bottom of the seventh, Andrea Day hit a deep fly ball with bases loaded to walk it off and hand the Bobcats their first loss of the tournament.
Ohio now falls into the losers’ bracket and must win out to stay alive and maintain their hopes of bringing the MAC trophy back to Athens.