Softball team beats Wichita State on walk-off homer

Lilly Piper hit a tworun walk-off homer in the bottom of the seventh inning to send the No. 21 Ohio State softball team past Wichita State in the Texas Invitational on Friday in Austin.

Following a walk to Niki Carver, Piper deposited her home run over the left field wall to give the Buckeyes (9-1) their fourth straight win. Ohio State rallied from an early 3-0 deficit to get within 3-2 on a Shelly McCombs two-run homer in the fourth that scored Ashley Goodwin, who had singled.

McCombs (5-0) remained perfect in the circle after she relieved starting pitcher Morgan Ray in the third. Ray gave up two runs in two innings while McCombs yielded one run on three hits with five strikeouts in five innings of work.

Baseball

Second-ranked Oregon State rallied from a two-run deficit in the eighth inning to defeat Ohio State 10-8 at Surprise Stadium in Arizona.

The Beavers (6-0) stayed unbeaten thanks to six unearned runs on two errors by the Buckeyes (4-2).

The rally spoiled a career day for OSU’s Connor Pohl, who hit two home runs and had five RBI, both career highs. Noah McGowan added three hits, including two runscoring doubles.

Ohio State starting pitcher Ryan Feltner did not figure in the decision. He logged six innings and scattered four runs on six hits with two walks and six strikeouts. The Buckeyes held leads of 4-2 and 6-4 but could not hold on. Reliever Seth Kinker (1-1) took the loss.

Men’s hockey

The sixth-ranked Buckeyes (20-8-5, 13-8-2-1) erupted for five goals in the third period to lock up second place in the final Big Ten standings after a 6-1 win over Wisconsin at Value City Arena.

Dakota Joshua and Tanner Laczynski each scored twice and Freddy Gerard and Mason Jobst had two assists apiece for Ohio State, which trailed 1-0 after one period. Goalie Sean Romeo registered 36 saves against the Badgers (14-16-4, 8-12-4-1).

Women’s hockey

Maddy Field scored three goals to propel the No. 6 Buckeyes (22-9-4, 15-6-3) past Minnesota State 6-0 at the OSU Ice Rink. Lauren Boyle, Emma Malthais and Charly Dahlquist also scored for Ohio State.

Dahlquist and Jincy Dunne each provided two assists for the Buckeyes, who jumped to a 3-0 lead after one period. Amanda Zeglen stopped 21 shots by the Mavericks (5-277, 3-22-0) to post the shutout.