By Sara Biela (@sarabielaa ):
A costly hit-by-pitch was the game changer for San Jose State softball as it dropped its final game in Orange County to the No.16 Ohio State Buckeyes, 6-3.
The Spartans (15-9) took three of five games in the Louisville Slugger Invitational to end their tournament play.
The Buckeyes (13-1) got on the board first just two batters into the game. Junior shortstop Lilli Piper hit a solo homer to right center to put OSU up 1-0.
Senior designated hitter Shelby McCombs tacked onto the lead with a solo homer of her own in the second inning to make it 2-0.
In the third, sophomore right fielder Kaelin Amrein cut the deficit in half with an RBI groundout that scored freshman third baseman Rayohna Sagapolu.
Down 2-1 with one hit as a team, SJSU senior center fielder Brittany Abacherli gave the Spartans a 3-2 lead with a two-run homer to right in the fourth.
SJSU took its one-run lead into the top of the seventh. With bases loaded and two outs, junior pitcher Madison Aurin hit senior center fielder Taylor White and allowed the tying run to score.
The game went into extra innings tied at three runs apiece. With freshman third baseman Niki Carver on second base, Piper hurt the Spartans once again with a two-run homer to break the tie and give the Buckeyes a 5-3 lead.
McCombs added an insurance run with an RBI single and gave OSU a 6-3 lead after the top of the eighth.
The Spartans had runners on the corners with two outs in the bottom half of frame, but could not start a rally. SJSU will travel back to the Bay and face its last non-conference team in the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights (4-8) at Mission College on Wednesday.