Ohio State Meets Ohio Tuesday Evening in Athens
3/21/2022 10:46:39 AM | Softball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After playing its first 22 games outside the state of Ohio, the Buckeyes get their first taste of softball in the Buckeye State on Tuesday. Ohio State is slated to face Ohio in Athens with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.
The Basics
Ohio State at Ohio / Tuesday, March 22 / 6 p.m. / Athens, Ohio; Ohio Softball Field
Live Stats / Twitter Updates
Briefly on the Buckeyes
- Ohio State has won three straight games and nine of its last 11 overall. The Buckeyes are 17-5 on the season and were ranked No. 23 in last week’s Extra Inning Softball poll.
- The Buckeyes are batting .302 as a team and averaging 5.3 runs per game. Among the everyday starters, Sam Hackenbract leads the team in batting average (.377), home runs (seven), slugging percentage (.836) and is tied for first in RBI (21).
- Four players who have started at least 10 games are hitting .300 or better thus far: Hackenbracht, Melina Wilkison (.370), Jaycee Ruberti (.344) and Kami Kortokrax (.339).
- Three pitchers have each started five or more games thus far: graduate student Lexie Handley along with sophomores Emily Ruck and Allison Smith.
- All three have an ERA of 2.17 or lower and are averaging better than one strikeout per inning.
- Handley leads the group in total innings (76.2), wins (seven) and strikeouts (99).
History vs. Ohio
- The Buckeyes and Bobcats last met in April of 2019, a 4-3 Ohio State win at Buckeye Field.
- Tuesday will be the 72nd meeting all-time between the two teams. The Buckeyes lead the series, 49-22.
- The last time the two teams played in Athens was 2016 when Ohio State swept a doubleheader, winning the first game 1-0 and the second 10-4.
Spring Break In Review
- Ohio State capped off a 10-game, eight-day Spring Break trip to Florida on Saturday night with a 9-0 five-inning win over No. 22 South Florida.
- Overall, the Buckeyes won eight of 10 games on the trip.
- The offensive standouts on the trip were aplenty: Sam Hackenbracht hit .500 with seven home runs and 15 RBI; McKenzie Bump started eight games at third base at hit .476 with four extra-base hits and Kami Kortokrax had 11 hits in 25 at-bats.
- As a team, the Buckeyes hit .347, had 31 extra-base hits, including 13 home runs, and averaged over six runs per game.
- The pitching staff had a 1.86 combined ERA with 83 strikeouts in 60.1 innings and had five shutouts.
Home Sweet Home
- Following Tuesday’s game, conference play begins for the Buckeyes this weekend.
- Ohio State hosts Indiana at Buckeye Field for a three-game series on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
- First pitch on Friday is set for 6 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. game on Saturday and 1 p.m. start on Sunday.
- All three games can be seen on B1G+.
- Admission to Buckeye Field is free. Parking is available in the lots surrounding the Schumaker Complex and Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium.
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