Ohio State, Purdue Meet This Weekend In Columbus
4/20/2023 12:16:53 PM | Softball
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The first of back-to-back weekend home Big Ten series begins on Friday, as Ohio State takes on Purdue at Buckeye Field for three key games. Tomorrow’s action is set to begin at 6 p.m., followed by a 2 p.m. start on Saturday and the series finale at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
Follow @OhioStateSB on Twitter for up-to-date schedule information. The softball schedule page can be found at OhioStateBuckeyes.com, along with links to BTN+ streams and live stats.
The Basics
Purdue at Ohio State // Friday, April 21 // 2 p.m. // Columbus, Ohio; Buckeye Field
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Ohio State Schedule/Results // Ohio State Stats // Ohio State Roster
Purdue Schedule/Results // Purdue Stats // Purdue Roster
Purdue at Ohio State // Saturday, April 22 // 2 p.m. // Columbus, Ohio; Buckeye Field
Claim Tickets // Watch: BTN+ // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
Purdue at Ohio State // Sunday, April 23 // 1 p.m. // Columbus, Ohio; Buckeye Field
Claim Tickets // Watch: BTN+ // Live Stats // Twitter Updates
New Ticket Claim Process Implemented
- The Ohio State Department of Athletics will implement a new ticket reservation system for the softball Buckeyes’ six remaining Big Ten weekend games.
- While admission to Buckeye Field will continue to be free, fans will be asked to reserve a ticket to ensure entry to the stadium.
- To claim a ticket to any of the upcoming games, fans should visit: https://fevo.me/osusoftball
- For a full FAQ on the new claim process policy, please visit http://go.osu.edu/sbinfo2023
Promotions This Weekend
- Friday-Sunday is “Little League Weekend” at Buckeye Field
- Friday will feature inflatables while Saturday children are invited to run the bases after the game.
- On Sunday, the team will hold a postgame clinic (sixth grade and under).
- To sign up for the postgame clinic, visit: http://go.osu.edu/CZVQ
- For more information on promotions, visit: ohiostatebuckeyes.com/promotions/softball
Briefly on the Buckeyes
- Winners of seven of its last eight games, Ohio State is 28-14 on the season and 8-6 in Big Ten play.
- Ohio State has won three of their four weekend Big Ten series and also swept a midweek doubleheader at Penn State.
- Sophomore Melina Wilkison leads the team with a .411 batting average – which is also good for fourth in the Big Ten – to go along with 43 RBI and 43 runs scored.
- In addition to Wilkison, Ohio State features five other everyday starters who are batting over .300. As a team, the Buckeyes have the Big Ten’s third-highest batting average.
- Senior Sam Hackenbracht is hitting .345 overall and .447 in 14 Big Ten games. She’s second on the team with six home runs and 27 RBI.
- Kami Kortokrax, a sophomore, has improved her average by nearly 50 points from her freshman season and is third in the Big Ten with 13 doubles.
- Mariah Rodriguez (.328), Kaitlyn Farley (.321) and Jaycee Ruberti (.315) are the other starters who are above the .300 mark.
- Ohio State’s pitching staff is led by a pair of juniors: Allison Smith (15-8, 2.71 ERA) and Emily Ruck (8-6, 3.86 ERA).
- Smith is third in the Big Ten and 20th nationally in strikeouts (160) while Ruck is 3-1 in her last four starts against conference opponents.
Scouting Purdue
- The Boilermakers are 20-24 on the season and 3-11 in Big Ten play coming off a 9-1 five-inning win on Tuesday over Butler.
- Alex Echazarreta has a team-best .321 batting average and .970 OPS while teammate Tyrina Jones’ 27 RBI and 29 runs scored are both tops on the team.
- Four different pitchers have notched 40 or more innings this season, led by Echazarreta, who is 6-11 with a 3.66 ERA in 82.1 innings.
- Mo Wimpee has the team’s best ERA at 2.94 in 52.1 innings with 35 strikeouts.
History vs. Purdue
- Ohio State and Purdue haven’t met in a regular season series since the 2021 Big Ten-only season.
- Those four games were in West Lafayette, Ind. The Buckeyes won the first while Purdue took the next three.
- The last time the two teams squared off in Columbus was April 22-24, 2016.
- The Buckeyes and Boilermakers did play once last season, in the opening round of a Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State won that game, 8-0 in six innings.
In The Rankings
- Ohio State entered this weekend with an RPI of 29, which is the second-highest among Big Ten teams.
- The Buckeyes’ 12 wins over teams with an RPI of 75 or better is also second-best in the conference.
A Tale of Two Seasons
- After hitting just one home run over the first 24 games of the season, senior Sam Hackenbracht has rounded into form in a big way.
- Over the last month – 18 games in total – she’s batting a team-best .435 with a .774 slugging percentage, five home runs, 23 RBI and 11 extra base hits.
- Only two players have a higher batting average than her in Big Ten games (.447) and her 19 RBI in conference games is tied for second.
Numbers to Know
- 8: Eight different players have 20 or more RBI so far this season
- 5th: Ohio State is fifth nationally with an average of 1.76 doubles per game
- 0: The Buckeyes are averaging 7.0 runs per game over their last 18 games. For the season, they’re average of 6.07 runs/game ranks 22nd nationally.
- 158-132: Nobody in the Big Ten has a better strikeout-to-walk ratio than Ohio State. The Buckeyes have struck out 158 times on the season – second fewest in the conference – and drawn 132 walks, fourth-most in the league.
- 17: Ohio State has hit 17 home runs in the last 10 games. It also has 39 extra base hits in that same span for a team slugging percentage of .556.
