Rutgers Softball Falls Short in Big Ten Tournament

A three-run homer in the bottom of the seventh off the bat of Sam Hackenbracht lifted 6th seeded Ohio State to a thrilling 7-4 victory over 11th seeded Rutgers in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State will move on to the quarterfinals to face Minnesota. Rutgers (32-25) will have to wait for word on a potential NCAA bid if it plays another game this season. The Scarlet Knights fought hard all afternoon, held the lead twice against Ohio State, but they couldn't slow down Hackenbracht who went 4-for-4 with five RBI on the day. https://twitter.com/OhioStateSB/status/1656366205232644096?s=20 For Rutgers Kyleigh Sand and Payton Lincavage drove in the first two runs of the day on a pair of third inning hits. https://twitter.com/BigTenNetwork/status/1656365550443057152?s=20 After Ohio State tied the game in the bottom half of the third, Rutgers regained the lead in the top of the fifth when Morgan Smith knocked in a pair of runs on a two-run single to left to make it 4-2. Jaden Vickers got the start, but was charged with six runs, five earned over 6.1 innings of work.