Buckeyes Head Back to Florida for Five Games This Weekend
2/16/2022 1:29:14 PM | Softball
2022 Schedule/Results / 2022 Roster / Softball Homepage
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The second week of the softball season sends Ohio State back to the Sunshine State as the Buckeyes (3-0) head to Leesburg, Fla. for five games at The Spring Games. Ohio State is slated to face Butler and South Alabama on Friday, Stetson and Liberty on Saturday and North Carolina on Sunday as part of its five-game weekend.
The Basics
Ohio State vs. Butler / Friday, Feb. 18 / 11 a.m. / Leesburg, Fla. / Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex
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Ohio State vs. South Alabama / Friday, Feb. 18 / 1:30 p.m. / Leesburg, Fla. / Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex
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Ohio State vs. Liberty / Saturday, Feb. 19 / 1:30 p.m. / Leesburg, Fla. / Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex
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Ohio State vs. Stetson / Saturday, Feb. 19 / 4 p.m. / Leesburg, Fla. / Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex
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Ohio State vs. North Carolina / Sunday, Feb. 20 / 9 a.m. / Leesburg, Fla. / Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex
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Briefly on the Buckeyes
- Ohio State began its 2022 season with three wins last weekend at the FAU First Pitch Classic in Boca Raton, Fla.
- The Buckeyes earned an 8-1 win over Northern Illinois on Friday and then followed that up with a doubleheader sweep on Saturday, defeating Louisville 8-5 and Bethune-Cookman 7-2.
- Ohio State’s series finale against FAU was canceled due to rain.
- The Buckeyes return their top five hitters this spring, including two all-conference and all-region players: infielder Mariah Rodriguez (.358, 48 hits, six doubles, three HR in 2021) and catcher Sam Hackenbracht (.303, 12 HR, 26 RBI, .727 slugging pct.).
- Other key returnees on offense include fifth-year senior Niki Carver (.277 career batting average), outfielder Tegan Cortelletti (.273, 18 stolen bases), senior Taylor Pack (seven doubles, 11 RBI) and senior Meggie Otte (team-high 28 RBI).
- Head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly is in her 10th season leading the Buckeyes and over that span has a 270-169-1 record. Her .614 winning percentage is the best in program history.
- Kovach Schoenly is assisted by Jen McIntyre, Jordan Clark and Cammi Prantl. McIntyre and Prantl begin their third seasons while Clark is in her fourth.
Weekend Rewind
- LHP Lexie Handley made her Ohio State debut and appeared in all three games, picking up a complete-game victory over NIU while striking out 10 and allowing just three hits.
- The next day, Handley picked up a save in the Buckeyes’ 8-5 win over Louisville. She finished the weekend with a 0.68 earned run average with 14 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.
- Buckeye base runners were aggressive, going 11-for-11 on steal attempts. Tegan Cortelletti, Melina Wilkison and Maria Rodriguez all went 2-for-2.
- Taylor Heckman, a sophomore from Utica, Ohio, hit her first career home run – a two-run, pinch-hit shot down the right field line in Friday’s opener vs. NIU.
- Six different players drove in runs, led by Heckman, Niki Carver and Meggie Otte, who all finished the weekend with five RBI.
- Emily Ruck pitched a career-high 4.2 innings yesterday and picked up her first collegiate win vs. Bethune-Cookman. Ruck struck out six and allowed just three hits.
- Wilkison, a freshman from Greensburg, Ind., hit .556 for the weekend while scoring four runs and reaching base safely in eight of her 12 plate appearances.
- Ohio State continued its trend of fast starts. The Buckeyes are 20-6 in opening-weekend games in the last six seasons.
That and That
- Ohio State will be returning to the site of its first 12 games of the 2021 season; last spring, in a Big Ten-only schedule, the Buckeyes played 12 games over the course of two different weekends at the Sleepy Hollow Sports Complex in Leesburg, Fla.
- Lexie Handley’s relief effort against Louisville last weekend was her 100th career appearance and first save. She made 44 appearances in her one season at Akron and 53 over three seasons at Auburn (2019-21).
- Jaycee Ruberti is nearing 100 career hits. She had two last weekend in her Buckeye debut and collected 84 in three seasons at Hofstra.
- Allison Smith needs nine strikeouts to reach 150 for her career.
- Among the Buckeyes’ five opponents this weekend, they have the most history with North Carolina. The Buckeyes and Tar Heels have played 11 times previously, most recently in the Knoxville Regional of the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
- Ohio State is 4-0 all-time against Butler (last meeting in 2010), 0-1 vs. South Alabama (last meeting in 2011), 1-0 vs. Liberty (last meeting in 2003) and 5-1 vs. Stetson (last meeting in 2017).
