Ohio State Goes Two-for-Two on Saturday in California

Saturday, February 25

Palm Springs, Calif.

Ohio State

5-5

Oregon State

6-8

Oregon State

Ohio State

Ohio State Goes Two-for-Two on Saturday in California

2/25/2023 10:53:04 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

2023 Roster // 2023 Schedule // Follow on Twitter // Follow on Facebook

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team showed it could win in different ways on Saturday, as the Buckeyes led from start to finish in a 6-0 shutout of Oregon State (6-8) and then came from behind in the late innings to pick up a 5-4 victory over San Diego State (10-3). With the wins, the Buckeyes are 6-5 on the season and a perfect 3-0 so far this weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Cathedral City, Calif.

The Short Story
In the first game of the day, the Buckeyes scored a single run in the first and second innings to grab an early led, and shut down the Beavers thanks to a complete game shutout from pitcher Emily Ruck. Ohio State broke the game open with a run in the fourth inning and then two more in the fifth.

Immediately following that game, Ohio State took on Mountain West favorite San Diego State and quickly fell behind 4-0 after two innings. A three-run fifth and then two runs in the sixth – thanks to a single by California native Kaitlyn Farley – completed the comeback. Pitcher Lexie Paulsen went the final 3.2 innings in relief and collected the first win of her career.

Ohio State 6, Oregon State 0 – Game Notes

Run-scoring doubles in the first inning by Jaycee Ruberti and second by McKenzie Bump gave the Buckeyes an early lead, which was widened to 3-0 in the fourth inning on Melina Wilkison’s RBI triple that scored Bump.
An Oregon State error in the fifth inning brought home Ohio State’s fourth run, just before California native Mariah Rodriguez’s RBI double plated Meggie Otte to make the score 5-0.
Kaitlyn Farley would score in the sixth inning on an Oregon State error. She reached base safely in two of her three plate appearances, drawing a walk while also being hit by a pitch.
Junior Emily Ruck allowed just three hits over 7.0 innings to collect her first win of the year. None of the three hits she gave up went for extra bases.
Oregon State and Ohio State have become familiar foes over the last two seasons. The Buckeyes and Beavers played twice in last year’s Knoxville Regional. Oregon State went on to win the regional and advanced to the Women’s College World Series.
Wilkson finished the game 3-for-4 with an RBI and a triple. Kami Kortokrax also had multiple hits, going 2-for-3 with a double.
The Buckeyes seven and eight hitters – Rodriguez and Bump – combined to go 4-for-6 with two RBI and two runs scored.

Ohio State 5, San Diego State 4 – Game Notes

Two costly Ohio State errors created three runs for San Diego State over the first two innings, as the Aztecs led 3-0 after two innings and went up 4-0 on an RBI single in the third.
Trailing 4-0 entering the bottom half of the fifth inning, freshman Hannah Church started a rally with a single down the left field line.
Two batters later, Wilkison drove pinch runner Tegan Cortelletti and Kaitlyn Farley home with an infield single.
That set the stage for Jaycee Ruberti, the next batter, who cleared the bases with a double to bring the Buckeyes to within one, 4-3, after five innings.
The biggest hit of the game came from Farley in the bottom of the sixth, as her two-out single up the middle scored Taylor Heckman and Mariah Rodriguez. For the game, Farley was 2-for-3 with a run scored and two RBI.
Following the biggest offensive play in the game, senior center fielder Meggie Otte made the most important defensive play in the top half of the seventh inning.
Her diving catch in shallow center was not only the first out of inning, but also saved SDSU from having the tying run in scoring position.
Freshman pitcher Lexi Paulsen recorded the final two outs of the inning for her first collegiate victory. Her stat line included 3.2 innings pitched and one strikeout, which was the final out of the game.

This and That

Two California natives are having excellent weekends in their home states. Mariah Rodriguez has five hits in nine at-bats (.455) with a double and two RBI.
Kaitlyn Farley is batting .400 with two runs scored and two driven in.
Each of Ohio State’s three wins has featured a different pitcher picking up the decision. Overall, Buckeye pitchers have a collective 0.37 ERA this weekend in 19.0 innings.

What’s Next
The Buckeyes close out their weekend at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic tomorrow at noon ET against Utah. The game will be streamed live on FloSoftball and live stats are available at the schedule page of OhioStateBuckeyes.com.