Kelsey Dotson hit a walk-off grand slam to give Indiana an 11-7 come-from-behind victory.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Kelsey Dotson hit a walk-off grand slam to give Indiana an 11-7 come-from-behind victory against Ohio State on Friday at Andy Mohr Field. With the loss, the Buckeyes fall to 15-15 overall and 3-1 in the Big Ten. Indiana is 9-21-1 and 1-3 in the Big Ten.
Leading 7-1 through five innings, the Buckeyes gave up five run in both the sixth and seventh innings to the Hoosiers. Despite the loss, Evelyn Carrillo, who hit .700 in Ohio State sweep of Michigan State last weekend, stayed hot, going 2-for-2 with an RBI. Jesse Machovina also had a big day, going 1-for-4 with a two-run home run, the first of her career.
The Buckeyes’ seven-run third inning started with an infield single by Keelia Nester and the next batter, Caitlin Conrad, reach on an error by the shortstop that scored Nester. Taylor Watkins singled back to the pitcher, setting the stage for Cammi Prantl to drive in Conrad with a double to left field. Evelyn Carrillo followed with a sacrifice fly to make the score 2-0 and Erika Leonard doubled to right center, scoring Prantl. A RBI single from Jayla Saibene preceded Machovina’s home run. In all, the Buckeyes scored seven runs on seven hits and sent 11 batters to the plate.
Starting pitcher Olivia O’Reilly worked out a jam in the bottom of the fifth. Two singles and a stolen base gave the Hoosiers runners at first and third with no outs, but Shelby Gogreve lined out to Nester, who doubled off Kelsey Dotson at first base. Indiana was able to plate a run thanks to an error, but O’Reilly got Breanna Saucedo to ground back to her and end the inning.
Indiana pushed across five runs in the bottom of the sixth thanks to a three-run triple by Kassi Farmer, an RBI double from Kelsey Dotson and RBI single from Kayla Matthewson. Shelby Hursh, who came on in relief on O’Reilly, got out of the inning when a runner at first base attempted to steal second but was called out for leaving early.
In the seventh, Indiana started with a single to left field, followed by another single through the left side. A sacrifice bunt advanced the runners and the next batter reached safely on a fielder’s choice while the runner from third was safe at home. With the game tied and two outs, Dotson sent a 1-2 pitch from Melanie Nichols over the left field fence.
O’Reilly pitched 5.1 innings, giving up six hits and five earned runs. Brooke Boetjer got the win for Indiana, tossing 4.2 innings in relief while giving up just four hits and two earned runs.
