ATHENS, Ohio – The Ohio softball team fell 2-1 in its series finale against Buffalo at the Ohio Softball Field on Sunday. Sophomore Emily Futscher (Cincinnati) drove in the lone Bobcat run.

In a rematch of Saturday’s game-one pitcher's duel between Ohio junior Kerri Harley (Hickory Hills, Ill.) and Buffalo’s Sarah Evans, the Bulls (14-18, 5-6) looked to score the first run of the afternoon in the top of the fourth. Allison Round started the inning with a double and moved to third on a wild pitch. Harley kept Buffalo off the board, though, as she retired the next three batters in order to end the inning.

The Bobcats (12-23, 6-6) took advantage of Harley’s masterful pitching and scored first in their half of the fourth when freshman pinch runner Debbie Szalejko (Beavercreek) bowled over catcher Julie Hibner to score on a suicide squeeze laid down by Futscher.

The Bulls threatened once again in the top of the fifth, as they had runners on first and second with one out. Buffalo appeared to have found the equalizer when Ann Magur singled to center, but a perfectly executed throwing sequence from senior centerfielder Erin Chapman (Beavercreek) to shortstop Sarah Melvin (Loveland) to catcher Georgia Villard (Canton) caught Bulls pinch runner Colleen Greene at the plate for the second out. Ohio got the third out of the inning on the same play, when Villard threw to senior second baseman Kiersten Scrima (Olympia, Wash), who tagged out Mary Russell in between second and third base for the double play.

Buffalo rallied in the top of the seventh, as Hibner reached on a throwing error by Futscher and advanced to second on the play. After Jessica Labella singled, Hibner scored on a ground ball that squirted by Melvin and put Russell on first. Lauren Picciano, who was entered as a pinch runner for Labella, scored the go-ahead run when she crossed the plate on a groundout by Magur. Ohio had a chance to force extra innings, but was unable to do so as Evans retired the side in order for the complete game victory.

Harley got the start and went five innings, shutting out the Bulls while allowing just five hits and one walk. She struck out two batters. Freshman Natalie Armstrong (Murrysville, Pa.) pitched the final two innings, allowing two runs - both unearned – on two hits.

The Bobcats hit the road Tuesday for a doubleheader against in-state rival Toledo. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.