Sports
Ohio Tops Kent In MAC Round 1
By: Kaleb Carter
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All it took for Ohio to win the day on Wednesday was a standout performance from Savannah Jo Dorsey and two RBI singles to take down Kent State 2-1.
With the victory, Ohio moves on to the second round of the MAC tournament with its next game to be played at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Head Coach Jodi Hermanek also made it back to the dugout for her first game since the birth of her daughter.
Dorsey went the distance in the circle, striking out 10 and wiggling out of several murky situations to pick up the victory. The complete game was her 24th of the season as she walked only two and allowed eight hits.
“There was a lot of trust in my teammates today we kept getting the job done,” Dorsey said. “Every time the ball left the infield it was taken care of, every time the ball was in the infield it was taken care of.”
An RBI single from Casie Hutchinson brought home Taylor Saxton, who had just stolen her 13th base of the season to get in scoring position, and gave Ohio an early 1-0 lead in the third.
In spite of numerous opportunities to score, Ohio left runners stranded in nearly every inning, including two in the first and second and three in the fifth. Adrienne Gebele had a tough day at the plate, striking out three times.
Dakota Pyles, Dorsey and Alyssa Wolfe all contributed one hit, but it was Ohio’s patience that resulted in many of the its baserunners. In fact, even though Ohio only had five hits, the ‘Cats put runners on in six of the game’s seven innings. Kent State pitcher Emma Johnson had control issues throughout, walking eight batters.
In the sixth, Hutchinson came through clutch once more, this time, with a two-out single that allowed Pyles to touch home.
“We call her ‘clutch’ for a reason,” Hermanek said.
It was all the offense the ‘Cats needed, as the game finished at that 2-1 score.
A leadoff double from Kim Kirkpatrick and a single from Dani Ramos (she had three hits on the day) made Ohio sweat in the bottom half of the seventh. A Maddy Grimm sacrifice fly to left field scored Kirkpatrick to make it a 2-1 contest.
Dorsey then procured an out on a fly ball to Gebele, and Patterson popped out to end the game.
“She did a great job, I mean that’s what she’s made for,” Hermanek said, “stepping up in some pressure situations and coming through, just getting into her groove.”
Ohio gets the winner of Miami and Ball State in the second round Thursday at 1:30 p.m.