Buckeyes Set to Battle Nittany Lions on Big Ten Network
4/8/2019 5:24:47 PM | Softball
RELATED INFO
- Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram | 2019 Schedule/Results | Game Notes
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team is set to take over the Big Ten Network when it travels to Penn State for a doubleheader Tuesday. The Buckeyes and Nittany Lions will face off at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. live on BTN.
WEEKLY BASICS
| Ohio State at Penn State | April 9 | 5 p.m. | Big Ten Network | Live Stats | Live Stream |
| Ohio State at Penn State | April 9 | 7 p.m. | Big Ten Network | Live Stats | Live Stream |
BUCKEYE BREAKDOWN
- Ohio State is coming off a 2-1 weekend against Rutgers at Buckeye Field.
- The Buckeyes are 23-11 on the year with a 7-2 mark in Big Ten games.
- Bri Betschel had a RBI single and Emily Clark hit a RBI double to lead OSU to a 2-0 win Friday.
- Ohio State knocked three home runs Sunday in an 8-0 five-inning shutout to clinch the series.
- Ashley Prange demolished a grand slam, the first of her career, in the series finale. She drove in a career-high four RBI, tied her career mark in runs scored (2) and slugged 2.000.
- Kaitlyn Coffman and Claire Nicholson both had two-run homers.
- It was the first time this season the Buckeyes scored all of their runs on dingers.
- Ohio State checked in at No. 39 in this week’s NCAA RPI. Overall, the Big Ten came in with the fourth-best conference RPI.
- The Buckeyes are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Coaches Poll and ESPN.com/USA Softball Poll.
- Ohio State’s pitching staff has a combined 1.92 ERA, which ranks 16th
- Morgan Ray currently leads the Big Ten in opposing batting average with a .154 clip. She also ranks seventh and eighth, respectively, behind a 1.87 ERA and 101 strikeouts.
- Emily Clark ranks in the top 15 of multiple categories in the conference, including slugging percentage (.676), total bases (71), RBI (32), doubles (12) and home runs (7).
- Claire Nicholson is making her mark as Ohio State’s starting catcher and has caught 10 stealing, the best mark in the Big Ten.
- Lilli Piper paces the conference with 101 assists and stands second in fielding double plays (12).
- Defensively, the Buckeyes have caught 12 stealing and fielded 19 double plays, the top marks in the league.
- In Big Ten games only, Piper is batting .481 (5th) and has a .611 on-base percentage (t-3rd). Lauren Rice checks in third with five wins and fourth thanks to a 1.68 ERA.
- 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 had a season-high eight hits for extra bases in game one at Portland State. The team tallied four home runs, three doubles and a triple.
- Ohio State is 9-2 when scoring in the first inning and 16-0 when holding opponents to two runs or less.
- The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 167-85.
SCOUTING REPORT
After dropping the first two games of the series, Penn State rebounded with a 7-4 win over Purdue Saturday. The Nittany Lions have a 19-20 overall record and 3-6 mark in the Big Ten. The team is batting .275 on the season and has tallied 272 hits, drove in 141 runs and knocked 36 homers. Individually, Melina Livingston paces the squad with a .364 batting average while Toni Polk has 42 hits and 31 runs. Bailey Parshall owns an 8-11 record in 31 appearances in the circle. She has pitched 118.1 innings for a 3.19 ERA and 144 strikeouts.
SERIES HISTORY
Ohio State leads the series with Penn State, 56-32. The Buckeyes hosted the Nittany Lions for a doubleheader in Columbus a season ago, which they swept. The day started with a 9-1 six-inning triumph that featured a two-shot home run by Emily Clark and a two-RBI triple from Bri Betschel. In the 7-4 nightcap, Betschel had another triple to drive in a run.
STREAKIN’
Lilli Piper has successfully gotten on base in the last 13 games. Ashley Prange is riding a six-game hitting streak while Kallie Boren has safely reached in seven straight contests. Piper leads the Buckeyes with 11 multi-hit outings and Emily Clark has seven games with multiple RBI.
HOME COOKING
With three wins against Indiana, Ohio State improved to 71-28 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.
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 returns to Buckeye Field this weekend to host No. 23 Michigan in a three-game series. Friday’s contest is slated to air on ESPNU with the first pitch at 6:02 p.m.
