Midweek Doubleheader Up Next at Penn State
4/10/2023 9:41:19 AM | Softball
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Coming off a series victory over Rutgers, the Ohio State softball team continues conference play on Tuesday with a midweek doubleheader at Penn State. Action in State College, Pa. gets underway at 4 p.m. with the second game following approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.
Both games on Tuesday will be broadcast live on BTN. Sloan Martin (play by play) and Elise Menaker (analysis) will be on the call.
Live stats will also be available on the schedule page of OhioStateBuckeyes.com and Twitter updates at @OhioStateSB.
The Basics
Ohio State at Penn State // Tuesday, April 11 // 4 p.m. // Nittany Lion Softball Park; State College, Pa.
Watch Live: BTN // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
Ohio State at Penn State // Tuesday, April 11 // 6 p.m. // Nittany Lion Softball Park; State College, Pa.
Watch Live: BTN // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
Briefly on the Buckeyes
- Ohio State got back to its winning ways this past weekend, shaking off a 6-5 series-opening loss to Rutgers to win the next two games, 3-2 on Saturday and 4-3 on Sunday, to take the series.
- With those wins, Ohio State is 23-13 overall and 4-5 in Big Ten play.
- The Buckeyes’ offense, which averages 5.6 runs per game, has six everyday starters batting .300 or better.
- As a team, Ohio State’s .309 average is third-best in the Big Ten, as is its .488 slugging percentage.
- Leading the way has been sophomore Melina Wilkison, who is batting .410 on the season with 23 extra base hits, including six triples and 10 doubles.
- Kaitlyn Farley, who drove in five runs in the Rutgers series on a pair of home runs, checks in with a .341 average and 22 RBI.
- Sam Hackenbracht (.323, six doubles, 17 RBI), Jaycee Ruberti (.320, 12 RBI), Kami Kortokrax (.319, 11 doubles) and Mariah Rodriguez (.306, 15 RBI) are the other .300+ starters.
- The pitching circle has been led by a pair of juniors: Allison Smith and Emily Ruck.
- Smith is 11-8 with a 2.96 ERA and 147 strikeouts, the second-most in the conference.
- Ruck, meanwhile, pitched 16.0 innings and had two complete game wins last weekend while giving up just two extra base hits.
Scouting Penn State
- Penn State enters Tuesday’s doubleheader with a 20-11 overall record and 2-7 mark in Big Ten play after dropping three games to first-place Northwestern over the weekend.
- The Nittany Lions are strong in the circle, as their 1-2 combo of Bailey Parshall (13-7, 1.74 ERA) and Kylee Lingenfelter (5-3, 3.27 ERA) are both averaging better than a strikeout per inning.
- Lexi Black (.344, 13 doubles, 23 RBI) and Kaitlyn Morrison (.340, 24 RBI) are the squads top two hitters. They’ve driven in 33 percent of the team’s runs.
History vs. Penn State
- The last time the Buckeyes traveled to State College was during the 2021 conference-only season. Ohio State won three times, sweeping a doubleheader on April 3 and then winning a single game on April 4. The final game of the series was canceled.
- In 2019, the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions split a doubleheader in State College. Penn State took the first game, 6-4, before Ohio State rebounded for a 12-1 five-inning win in game two.
- Over the last seven seasons (2013-21), Ohio State holds a 15-5 lead in the head-to-head series. Beginning in 2014, the teams annually played a mid-week doubleheader instead of the traditional three-game weekend series.
Ohio State/Penn State Connections
- Ohio State head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly spent eight years as an assistant coach at Penn State from 1999-2006.
- Associate head coach Jen McIntyre was a four-year starting third baseman at Penn State from 1995-98 and later an assistant coach for 12 years (2002-13).
Buckeye This and That
- Six of Ohio State’s last nine games have been decided by one run.
- For the season, Ohio State is 10-4 in one-run games.
- Kaitlyn Farley had two home runs and five RBI on the weekend vs. Rutgers while hitting .333. She batted in the lead off spot for the second time in as many games on Sunday.
- In addition to having a nine-game hitting streak, Melina Wilkison has also reached base in 28 consecutive games.
- Wilkison is also the first member of Ohio State’s 30-30 club this season: she has a team-high 34 runs scored and 31 RBI.
- Farley and Wilksion have been Ohio State’s most reliable hitters with runners in scoring position. Farley is batting .382 in those situations while Wilkison is at .395.
- Nearly half of Kami Kortokrax’s RBI (nine of 19) have come with two outs. She’s batting .366 with two outs.
