Buckeyes Travel to Iowa for Three Games This Weekend
4/14/2022 7:04:21 AM | Softball
2022 Schedule & Results // 2022 Roster // Season Stats
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Fresh off a midweek non-conference win, the Ohio State softball team returns to Big Ten play this weekend in Iowa City, Iowa against the Iowa Hawkeyes. Pending any weather-related adjustments, the three-game series gets underway on Friday evening at 6 p.m. ET, followed by a 3 p.m. game on Saturday and the series finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET.
The Basics
Ohio State at Iowa // Friday, April 15 // 6 p.m. ET // Iowa City, Iowa
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Ohio State at Iowa // Saturday, April 16 // 3 p.m. ET // Iowa City, Iowa
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Ohio State at Iowa // Sunday, April 17 // 1 p.m. ET // Iowa City, Iowa
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Briefly on the Buckeyes
- Ohio State improved to 24-10 on the season Tuesday evening with a 5-4 win over in-state foe Toledo.
- The Buckeyes are No. 23 in the latest NCAA RPI, which is the second-highest among Big Ten teams.
- The Buckeyes were powered in that game by three home runs – two from Niki Carver and one from Sam Hackenbracht.
- Over the last 20 games, the Buckeyes have hit 28 home runs – including all 11 that Hackenbracht has on the season.
- Hackenbracht leads the team in batting average (.365), RBI (32), home runs (11), slugging percentage (.792) and hits (35).
- Over the last 20 games, Hackenbracht is batting .411 with a 1.035 slugging percentage and 24 RBI.
- It’s hardly been a one-person show on offense, though. Six everyday starters are batting .300 or better and Ohio State has a team batting average of .285.
- McKenzie Bump (.352), Melina Wilkison (.346) and Niki Carver (.329) all check in with averages north of .320.
- In the circle, Lexie Handley leads the team in every major statistical category and brings a 13-6 record in this weekend’s series. On Tuesday, she picked up her fourth save on the year, working a perfect 1-2-3 inning in the seventh with three strikeouts.
- Sophomore Emily Ruck (5-2, 2.79 ERA, 52 Ks, 42.2 IP) started on Tuesday vs. Toledo and classmate Allison Smith (6-2, 4.01 ERA, 52 Ks, 50.2 IP) got the win.
Scouting Iowa
- Iowa is 18-20 this season after dropping both games of a doubleheader at Nebraska on Tuesday.
- So far in conference play, the Hawkeyes have faced Wisconsin, Maryland, Minnesota and Nebraska. It has road series remaining at Northwestern and Illinois in addition to a home series against Purdue.
- Nia Carter leads the Big Ten in batting average at .430. She has 49 hits in 114 at-bats with two doubles, two triples, 18 runs scored and 15 RBI.
- Denali Loecker and Brenna Vasquez have combined to pitch nearly 200 of the Hawkeyes’ 242.2 innings this season. Loecker is 9-6 with a 4.17 ERA while Vasquez is 6-10 and has a 4.67 ERA.
Buckeye This and That
- Niki Carver’s two-home run, four-RBI performance on Tuesday gives her 98 RBI in her 187-game career.
- As a fifth-year senior, Carver is batting a career-best .329 and is on pace to set a career high in RBI.
- The Buckeyes have been fast starters in 2022. They’ve outscored opponents 55-19 in the first and second innings combined and are 21-2 when they score first.
- In the last 20 games, Ohio State’s power numbers have increased. It’s has 51 extra base hits (2.55 per game) and a slugging percentage of .506.
- In that same span, Lexie Handley has eight complete games and four complete game shutouts in the circle.
The Ohio State/Iowa Series
- The Buckeyes and Hawkeyes played a doubleheader last season in Leesburg, Fla. to begin the Big Ten-only 2021 season.
- Ohio State won the first game, 3-2, on the strength of a nine-strikeout performance from Allison Smith and a two-run home run by Niki Carver. Iowa took the second game, 4-3, with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning.
- The last time Ohio State and Iowa played in the regular season was 2019. The Buckeyes took two of three games in Iowa City May 3-5.
- Kelly Kovach Schoenly-coached teams have faced Iowa 13 times since 2013 with an overall record of 8-5.
