Softball team posts two wins over Rutgers

Ohio State hit three home runs to power a two-game sweep of Rutgers in Big Ten play on Saturday at Buckeye Field.

In the completion of a game that started Friday but was suspended after four innings because of rain, the Buckeyes shut out the Scarlet Knights 8-0. Taylor White blasted a two-run home run in the first at-bat of the day, and Shelby Hursh (9-2) allowed three hits over five innings to pick up the win over Rutgers (9-23, 1-4).

In the second game, White connected on a three-run homer in the first inning and Emily Clark hit a grand slam in the second to power a 12-2 victory. Lilli Piper added a two-run single as the Buckeyes (21-7, 5-0) tacked on four more runs in the third to complete the scoring. Lena Springer (8-2) gave up five hits and two runs over five innings to get the win.

Baseball

Ohio State gave up six runs in the first four innings and lost to Purdue 6-1 in a Big Ten game at Bill Davis Stadium. Buckeyes starter Ryan Feltner (0-5) gave up the six runs, all earned, but avoided giving up the big hit: four of the Boilermakers’ runs scored on groundouts, in the first, second, third and fourth innings. Feltner walked three and struck out four.

Purdue starter Gareth Stroh (2-2) limited the Buckeyes to one run on six hits over 7 innings. He struck out two and walked none for the Boilermakers (14-12, 2-3).

The only run for the Buckeyes (11-15, 1-4) came in the fifth inning. Brady Cherry led off with a single, then advanced on a passed ball and took third on single by Tyler Cowles. Shea Murray doubled down the left-field line to score Cherry.

Women’s gymnastics

Ohio State finished fifth out of six teams in the NCAA Champaign Regional at Illinois, but Alexis Mattern posted a 39.250 in the all-around to finish fifth and advance to the NCAA championships on April 14 in St. Louis.

UCLA won the regional with a score of 196.800. Ohio State finished with 195.700 points. Jamie Stone posted a team-high 9.750 on the vault for the Buckeyes, who concluded the meet with a seasonhigh 49.125 on balance beam.