April 20, 2006

Columbus, OH (CSTV U-WIRE) -- Freshman pitchers Kim Reeder and Courtney Pruner both pitched shutouts, and the Ohio State softball team (30-15, 8-2 Big Ten) swept a doubleheader against Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (12-29, 7-8 Mid-Continent Conference) Tuesday at Buckeye Field.

The Buckeyes took game one 2-0 and game two 8-0, extending their winning streak to a season high 12 games and improving their home record to 15-0.

"We can win in all types of situations," Reeder said. "We can win when we're up by a couple of runs, we can come back and run-rule teams and we can win tight, close games."

Reeder (13-6) notched the victory in game one, giving up three hits and striking out four. Pruner (4-0) won in game two, giving up two hits and punching out five.

At the plate, junior third baseman Jamee Juarez went 3-for-5 with an RBI and two runs scored.

Junior second baseman Nycole Koyano hit her third homer of the season and walked twice, giving her 76 for her career -- the second most in program history.

"Being a lead-off hitter, I like to get on base any way I can," Koyano said. "For me this year and the previous year, it has been walks predominantly, but I've been trying really hard to get my hits in there."

Game one developed into a pitcher's duel between Reeder and IUPUI senior Devan Craig (7-14). Both starters worked quickly, and the game was scoreless after four innings.

"It helps get me in a rhythm when both pitchers are doing their thing, but it doesn't help when we're not hitting," Reeder said.

The Buckeye offense came to life in the bottom of the fifth, pushing a pair of runs across the plate. Senior center fielder Nicole Lancaster hit a single to center that scored Juarez. After a walk to Koyano, sophomore right fielder Brittany Vanderink singled home Lancaster.

In the sixth, overaggressive base running caused the Buckeyes to miss a chance to add some insurance runs. Pruner started the inning with a double but was thrown out trying to advance to third on a groundout. Senior shortstop Billie Carder reached on an error but was thrown out trying to score from second on another error.

"We said going into (the game) that we wanted to be aggressive on balls hit into the outfield," OSU coach Linda Kalafatis said. "These (plays) were careless mistakes. We shouldn't have made those mistakes, and it probably stopped us from scoring a couple of runs."

Luckily for the Buckeyes, Reeder was in command in the circle. She worked around a double by Jaguar junior outfielder Sarah Needy and a hit batter in the seventh to secure the victory and her fourth career shutout. The shutout is Reeder's second in as many games since returning from an elbow injury.

"I don't think I'm back in the groove yet," Reeder said. "Our defense is holding up really nicely, so that helped me out a lot, but I don't think I'm back in the groove yet by any means.

In game two, the Buckeyes jumped out to a 1-0 lead after the first inning on an RBI single by Carder.

The score remained until the fourth when the Buckeyes manufactured a run. Carder began the inning with a double. She moved to third on a sacrifice fly by Juarez and scored on a sac fly by junior designated hitter Megan Schwab.

The Buckeye bats caught fire in the sixth, and OSU scored six runs, forcing the mercy rule. Junior first baseman Christina Douglas hit a double down the left field line, and Koyano followed with a two-run homer over the right field fence. Pruner added an RBI double, Juarez had an RBI single and senior catcher Stacy Hibma ended the game with a two-run double.

"The No. 1 thing I'm trying not to do is to think a lot," Koyano said. "I'm just trying to get in there and to be aggressive and try to hit the ball."

IUPUI junior pitcher Angelica Espinosa (0-5) gave up five runs and took the loss, while freshman pitcher Breanna Howell gave up the final three runs.

The Buckeyes lost in the bottom of the eighth to Miami University (17-28, 3-9 Mid-American Conference) Wedenesday night 6-5 in Oxford. They return home to Buckeye Field this weekend for a pair of conference series' against defending national champion No. 12 Michigan (26-11, 6-2 Big Ten) Friday and Saturday and against Michigan State (30-14, 9-2 Big Ten) Sunday.

(C) 2006 The Lantern via CSTV U-WIRE