ATHENS, Ohio -

Box Score

The Ohio (1-4) softball team gave up five runs in the first three innings and could not recover, dropping an 8-1 decision to Kent State (1-0) in the first game of the 2007 Spartan Softball Classic hosted by UNC Greensboro.

The Bobcats gave up three runs in the second inning and two in the third inning to fall behind 5-0 early. Ohio countered with a run in the top of the fourth to cut the deficit to four.

Maureen McKelvey (Stow, Ohio) led off the fourth inning with a single. She moved to third on consecutive ground outs and then scored on a single by Amanda Sacks (Chugiak, Alaska). Kent State tallied two more runs in the bottom of the fourth to go up 7-1 and an additional run in the bottom of the sixth to set the final margin.

Kelly Rodriguez (Miami, Fla.) had one walk on one hit. Overall, the `Cats totaled three hits.

"There were a few bright spots today," said Head Coach Jill Matyuch. "Hopefully tomorrow we can come back a little more prepared and ready to play."

Zoe Heim (Ann Arbor, Mich.) took the loss for Ohio, allowing three runs on four hits in two innings of work, she also struck out four batters. Deanna Hartsough (Santa Ana, Calif.) gave up two runs in one inning of play, and Katlyn Mallette (Taunton, Mass.) allowed three runs on four hits in three innings and totaled two strikeouts.

Although both Ohio and Kent State are members of the Mid-American Conference, today's game was not a league game.

Ohio returns for day two of the Spartan Classic tomorrow against Morehead State at 10 a.m. and Campbell at 4:30 p.m.