Ohio State Heads to Maryland for B1G Series
3/27/2019 1:06:49 PM | Softball
RELATED INFO
- Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram | 2019 Schedule (PDF) | Game Notes
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After opening its Big Ten and home slate with a series sweep, the Ohio State softball team is back on the road for a three-game outing at Maryland, starting Friday at 6 p.m. The Buckeyes and Terrapins will take the field at 2 p.m. Saturday before wrapping things up on Sunday at 1 p.m. All games will be streamed on BTN Plus/BTN2Go.
WEEKLY BASICS
| Ohio State at Maryland | March 29 | 6 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream |
| Ohio State at Maryland | March 30 | 2 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream |
| Ohio State at Maryland | March 31 | 1 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream |
BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN
- For the first time since the 2015 season, Ohio State swept its series with No. 22/20 Indiana, improving to 18-9 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play.
- By taking all three games against the Hoosiers, the Buckeyes secured their first sweep of a ranked opponent since Apr. 25-27, 2014 when they bested No. 25 Northwestern.
- Kallie Boren knocked the first home run of the season at Buckeye Field, a go-ahead two-run shot, to lift the Buckeyes to a 7-6 upset Friday.
- Lilli Piper led the team on the weekend batting .500 with four hits, three runs, three RBI, a .625 slugging clip and 13 putouts.
- RHP Lauren Rice picked up two relief wins and did not allow a run in seven innings of work for a 0.00 ERA in a pair of appearances against Indiana.
- Ohio State checked in at No. 32 in this week’s NCAA RPI. Overall, the Big Ten came in with the fourth-best conference RPI.
- Morgan Ray currently leads the Big Ten in opposing batting average with a .147 clip. She also ranks eighth behind a 1.67 ERA and 82 strikeouts.
- Emily Clark ranks in the top 15 of multiple categories in the conference, including slugging percentage (.716), total bases (58), RBI (25), runs scored (22), doubles (9) and home runs (6).
- Claire Nicholson is making her mark as Ohio State’s starting catcher and has caught 10 stealing, the best mark in the Big Ten.
- Defensively, the Buckeyes have caught 11 stealing and fielded 15 double plays, the top marks in the league.
- For the first time since 2007, Ohio State has thrown two no-hitters in a season. The first came against Army (Feb. 22) as Skylar Hayward and Morgan Ray combined for a complete-game shutout with 10 strikeouts.
- Ray had the first solo no-hitter of her career in game two against Portland State (Mar. 12) after pitching seven innings of six-strikeout ball.
- The Buckeyes put on a hitting clinic in game one of their doubleheader at Portland State. The squad had eight extra-base hits, including four home runs. The quarter of roundtrippers is the most in a game this season.
- Ohio State is 8-0 when scoring in the first inning and 13-0 when leading after five innings.
- The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 119-68.
SCOUTING REPORT
Maryland is coming off a 0-3 weekend at then-No. 20 Minnesota to open its Big Ten schedule. The Terps have lost four in a row, having closed its non-conference slate with a loss to Virginia. As a team, Maryland ranks third in the Big Ten batting .305 while its 255 hits comes in second. Taylor Okada leads the conference with 40 hits and checks in at No. 2 behind a .426 batting average and 54 total bases. Sydney Golden has 9-5 record and 3.30 ERA in the circle, having pitched 95.1 innings with 44 strikeouts.
SERIES HISTORY
The Buckeyes are 12-2 all-time against the Terps. Ohio State swept last year’s series in Columbus, outscoring Maryland by a 27-12 margin. It was the third straight year the Buckeyes took all three games, recording five home runs in the series opener and a season-high 13 runs in the finale.
HOME COOKING
With three wins last weekend, Ohio State improved to 69-27 at Buckeye Field over the last seven seasons. The Buckeyes have won a minimum of 10 games at home in each of the past six years.
ROAD TRIPPIN’
Ohio State spent the first six weeks of the season on the road. The Buckeyes played 24 games away from Columbus, posting a 13-5 neutral site record and 2-4 away mark. During the stretch, the Buckeyes faced six opponents that played in last year’s NCAA Tournament, including defending national champion Florida State and runner-up Washington. Ohio State still has four games against two teams that made the postseason a year ago.
STREAKIN’
Lilli Piper and Claire Nicholson have successfully gotten on base in the last six games while Ashely Prange is on a three-game hitting streak. Piper has tallied nine games with multiple hits and Emily Clark leads the Buckeyes with six multi-RBI outings.
WOMAN IN CHARGE
Head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly picked up her 200th win at the helm for Ohio State when the Buckeyes delivered a 7-0 shutout versus George Mason to open the 2019 season. Schoenly hit another milestone on March 12 when OSU swept its doubleheader at Portland State for win No. 400 of her 13-year career as a head coach.
EYEING THE RECORD BOOK
| Ohio State Career Records Standings | ||
|---|---|---|
| Totals | Rank | |
| Lilli Piper | .420 batting avg. | 2nd |
| 47 home runs | 3rd | |
| 151 runs | 6th | |
| 143 RBI | 7th | |
| 40 stolen bases | 10th | |
| Emily Clark | 169 RBI | 3rd |
| 40 home runs | 5th | |
| 42 doubles | 5th | |
| 81 walks | 8th | |
| Morgan Ray | 44 wins | 5th |
| 414 strikeouts | 6th | |
| 455.1 IP | 10th |
UP NEXT
Ohio State stays on the road for a non-conference outing at Pittsburgh on Wednesday, Apr. 3. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m.
