Columbus, Ohio -- Ohio State scored all three of its runs in the second inning and senior pitcher Kim Reeder gave up three hits and fanned eight for her 11th shutout win of the season as the No. 11 Buckeyes defeated Canisius College 3-0 in the first round of the 2009 NCAA Softball Tournament Thursday night at New Buckeye Field. The host Buckeyes (45-9) will play BYU at 2 p.m., Friday in the winner's bracket, while the Golden Griffins (26-24) will take on Kentucky at 5 p.m., in the regional's first elimination game.
Canisius senior Rachelle Barrientos went 2-for-2 with two doubles, a walk and reached one time after being hit by a pitch as the Blue and Gold racked up three hits in the contest. Sophomore Paige Freiberger went 1-for-2 with a single and reached twice after being hit by pitch while senior hurler Mallory Aldred took the loss for Canisius after she gave up three runs on six hits while fanning three and walking two.
Ohio State's Whitney Cooper put her squad on the board first with an RBI-single before teammate Rebecca Shultz followed with an RBI-single of her own that put runners at first and third with one out. Canisius was able to minimize the damage when senior catcher Anglea Turrey gunned down Shultz as she attempted to steal second, but Cooper was able to race home from third before he Griffs could make a play at the plate and Ohio State led 3-0.
Canisius, which finished the night with 11 runners left on base, had runners on the corners with two down in the fifth but were unable to score. Barrientos reached base with her second double of the night with one down and then moved to third on a ground out by Lizzy Gatto. Freiberger reached moments later after she was hit by a Reeder pitch, but the Buckeyes got out of the inning her fifth strikeout of the night.
Reeder's shutout win was her 11th of the season, which sets a new single-season shutout record for the Ohio State program, She improved to 24-5 on the year with the win. Aldred saw her record move to 19-8 with the loss.
Game Notes: Ohio State now leads the all-time series with Canisius 2-0, with the first meeting coming during the 1999 season... Aldred made her first career NCAA Tournament start in the circle... Five Canisius batters were hit by a pitch on Thursday, which is a season high... Barrientos now has six doubles in her senior season... Five Griffs made their first appearance in an NCAA Tournament game on Thursday night.
