COLUMBUS, Ohio – Rutgers softball managed to get onto the scoreboard first in both its games to kick off the weekend series with Ohio State on Friday at Buckeye Field. The hosts, however, came back in both contests to take a 2-0 series lead.
 

Ohio State 7, Rutgers 3

STANDOUT STATS

• Both freshman Kayla Bock and sophomore Kiersten Withstandley hit 2-for-3 for a run scored. Bock also added in an RBI.
• Sophomore Payton Lincavage went 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs. It was her second multi-RBI game of the season with her two-run double.
• Graduate student Gabrielle Callaway extended her hit streak to eight going 1-for-4 with a run.
• Rutgers collected seven hits, the most for the Scarlet Knights in the last seven contests.
   

THE RUNDOWN

• The Scarlet Knights struck first in the bottom of the first collecting back-to-back-to-back hits with two outs. Withstandley and Bock singled to opposite sides of the outfield leading Lincavage to knock them both in with a double to left-center.
• The Buckeyes also got onto the scoreboard in the first. Sam Hackenbracht had a solo homer to left-center.
• Rutgers tacked on another run in the third as Bock added to the score. With Scarlet Knights on the corners with two outs, the freshman singled thru short to score Callaway for the 3-1 Rutgers edge.
• Ohio State tied the opener in the fourth with a two-run homer by Meggie Otte to center and took the lead off four hits the following inning.
• In the fifth, the Buckeyes loaded the bases for back-to-back singles by Ashley Prange and Otte to score a trio of runs and Kaitlyn Coffman walked home a run for a 7-3 advantage.

Ohio State 9, Rutgers 1

STANDOUT STATS

• Kayla Bock went 1-for-2 with a double and run scored. For the freshman, it was her team-leading seventh double of the season.
• Payton Lincavage finished 1-for-2 with an RBI.

THE RUNDOWN

• Rutgers opened game two with a 1-0 lead thanks to the bats of Kayla Bock and Payton Lincavage for the second-straight game. Bock got on base with a two-out double down the left-field line and came home on Lincavage's base hit to right.
• Ohio State, however, bounced back at the bottom of the inning as Sam Hackenbracht went over the fence again to put the Buckeyes up 2-1.
• The Buckeyes used seven hits to add seven runs in the fourth.

 

FRIDAY DOUBLEHEADER HIGHLIGHTS

 

UP NEXT

Rutgers softball continues the series at Ohio State on Saturday with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m..

Follow Rutgers softball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.