Liberty University
3-5
Ohio State
5-1
Liberty Holds Off Ohio State 3-2
2/19/2022 4:39:05 PM | Softball
Liberty built an early 3-0 lead over Ohio State before withstanding a late rally and holding on for a 3-2 victory over the Buckeyes on Saturday at Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex.
Liberty (3-5) has won each of its first three games at this weekend’s THE Spring Games session, including a pair of shutout wins over Maryland and FAU yesterday. Ohio State (5-1) suffered its first loss of the season, as the Buckeyes went 2-0 yesterday against Butler and South Alabama.
The Lady Flames take on Hofstra later this afternoon.
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 2nd INNING – Barrett singles, Roupe scores on a throwing error, 1-0
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Allan doubles to left center, Hudson scores, 2-0
Liberty – 3rd INNING – Roupe singles to right center, Wilson scores, 3-0
Ohio State – 6th INNING – Carver singles through the right side, Otte and Wilkison score, 3-2
Notable Numbers
- Liberty outhit the Buckeyes 7-5 on the day, although all seven of Liberty’s hits came in the first three innings. OSU committed two errors to one error for the Lady Flames. Liberty left seven runners on base, while Ohio State stranded five.
- Karlie Keeney (2-2) earned her second straight win over a Big Ten opponent, allowing two runs, one earned on five hits, walking two and striking out four in the complete-game effort.
- Allison Smith (2-1) drew the loss, allowing two runs, one earned on five hits, striking out two and walking one in two innings. Reliever Lexie Handley held Liberty to one run on two hits, striking out five in the final five innings.
- Lou Allan reached base safely for the eighth game in a row, going 2-for-4 with a double and one RBI, while Rachel Roupe batted 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored.
- Ohio State’s Avery Clark went 2-for-3, while Niki Carver batted 1-for-2 with two RBI.
Turning Point
- Liberty appeared to be on the way to another blowout, scoring three runs on seven hits over the span of the first two innings.
- Ohio State narrowed the gap to 3-2 with a two-out, two-run single by Carver in the bottom of the sixth.
- The Buckeyes advanced the tying runner to second base with two outs in the seventh, but Keeney got Melina Wilkison to ground out for the final out.
Beyond the Box Score
- Ohio State is one out of six Big Ten teams on Liberty’s 2022 schedule. The Lady Flames are now 9-13 all-time against Big Ten opponents, including 6-4 under current head coach Dot Richardson and 2-2 this season.  Liberty has two games each against Rutgers and Illinois remaining on its schedule.
- Liberty tied up the all-time series with the Buckeyes at 1-1. Ohio State won the only previous meeting, Feb. 22, 203, when the No. 21 Buckeyes defeated the Lady Flames 3-1 in Columbus, Ga.
- Keeney no-hit Maryland yesterday, the first no-hitter of a Power Five team in program history. When she gave up the sixth-inning run today, it snapped a personal shutout innings streak of 12 1/3 innings. The team had not allowed a run in 18 innings before the sixth inning today.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Keeney, Karlie (2-2)
L: Smith (2-1)
Batting:
2B: Allan, Lou 1
RBI: Roupe, Rachel 1 ; Barrett, Raigan 1 ; Allan, Lou 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Hudson, Caroline 1 ; Wilson, Mary Claire 1 ; Roupe, Rachel 1
Batting:
RBI: Carver 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Wilkison 1 ; Otte 1
