Ohio State Set for Regular Season Finale vs. Michigan State
5/13/2021 9:37:55 AM | Softball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team plays its final four regular season games this weekend when it welcomes in Michigan State Friday through Sunday at Buckeye Field. The series kicks off Friday with a single game at 6 p.m. followed by a doubleheader on Saturday starting at 2 p.m. The series finale is set for Sunday at noon on BTN.
The Basics
Friday: Michigan State at Ohio State // 6 p.m. // Buckeye Field // Columbus, Ohio
Watch Live (BTN Plus) // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
Saturday: Michigan State at Ohio State (Gm. 1) // 2 p.m. // Buckeye Field // Columbus, Ohio
Watch Live (BTN Plus) // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
Michigan State at Ohio State (Gm. 2) // 4:30 p.m. // Buckeye Field // Columbus, Ohio
Watch Live (BTN Plus) // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
Sunday: Michigan State at Ohio State // Noon // Buckeye Field // Columbus, Ohio
Watch Live (BTN) // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
Briefly on the Buckeyes
- Ohio State is 21-18 on the season after taking three of four games at Illinois last weekend.
- The Buckeyes are fifth in the Big Ten in team batting average at .269 with four starters who are hitting .275 or better – Mariah Rodriguez (.353), Sam Hackenbracht (.322), Tegan Cortelletti (.287) and Niki Carver (.277).
- Hackenbracht is tied for the lead in the Big Ten in home runs (11) and is tops in slugging percentage (.759). Her 24 RBIs are the second-most on the team.
- In the circle, Payton Buresch and Allison Smith have each pitched the same number of innings this season: 119.1.
- Buresch has the Buckeyes’ top ERA at 2.70 and is 9-6 on the season.
- Smith, meanwhile, is 11-11 on the season with 120 strikeouts and a .237 batting average against.
- Jessica Ross has been the most-used reliever and did pitch a complete game in a 9-1 win vs. Rutgers on April 23.
The Ohio State/Michigan State Series
- The last time the Buckeyes and Spartans met in Columbus was April 20-22, 2018.
- That weekend, Ohio State swept Michigan State with wins of 10-2, 6-2 and 6-5, respectively.
- Overall, the Buckeyes have won eight straight against the Spartans dating back to the 2017 season.
- Since 2013, Ohio State is 16-4 against Michigan State.
Scouting the Spartans
- Michigan State improved to 13-23 on the season after a doubleheader split against Penn State on Tuesday.
- MSU’s top pitcher is Ashley Miller, who comes into the weekend with a 1.93 earned run average in 101.1 innings of work. She has the most starts on the team with 16.
- Next in line after Miller is Sarah Ladd, who is 4-8 on the season with a 3.35 ERA and 94 strikeouts in 75.1 innings.
- Janae Wash leads the team from an offensive standpoint in RBI (16), home runs (three) and slugging percentage (.500). She hit a game-tying home run in the sixth inning of the first game of Tuesday’s doubleheader.
Senior Weekend
- The Buckeyes will honor six seniors after Sunday’s game: Niki Carver, Payton Buresch, Skylar Hayward, Spencer Sansom, Carley Gaskill and Megan McMenemy.
- Ohio State also had a senior manager who will be recognized: Alex Lazarony.
- Two of this year’s seniors are currently enrolled in graduate school: Carley Gaskill and Spencer Sansom.
- Gaskill and Sansom have been a part of 136 Ohio State wins over the last five seasons and three trips to NCAA Regionals.
- Megan McMenemy graduated last Sunday with her degree in health and rehabilitation sciences.
- Carver, a captain, is Ohio State’s active career leader in home runs (17), hits (110) and RBI (73). She has a .272 career batting average.
- Gaskill is having the best statistical year of her career. She’s batting .274 with six doubles and two home runs.
- Hayward pitched a combined no-hitter, along with Morgan Ray, vs. Army in 2019.
- Sansom has played in 91 career games entering this weekend. She’s already earned her undergraduate degree in sport coaching, recreation, and physical education with a minor in human development and family sciences.
The Buckeye Bats
- Ohio State currently ranks in the top five in the Big Ten in four major hitting categories.
- It is No. 5 in the league in batting average (.269), tied for second in home runs (32), fifth in slugging percentage (.417) and fifth in total hits (279).
- Mariah Rodriguez is fifth in the league in batting average at .353 and seventh in hits (42).
- Sam Hackenbracht’s .759 slugging percentage is best in the league and 42 points higher than anyone else.
- Allison Smith’s 11 wins are the seventh-most in the Big Ten and the most among freshmen pitchers.
- She also leads all freshmen pitchers in innings (119.1) and strikeouts (120).
This and That
- Carley Gaskill has reached base in 13 straight games entering the weekend, the longest such streak on the team this season.
- Niki Carver has the next-longest streak, which she’s on currently, with 10 straight games.
- Ashley Prange needs four hits this weekend to reach 100 in her career.
- Friday will be the 100th games that Prange will have played in her career.
- Hackenbrach’s .759 slugging percentage currently ranks as the program’s fifth-best in a single season since 2013. Lilli Piper has the top slugging percentage in 2018 at .887.
