Ohio State
Stony Brook
Ohio State Begins 2024 Season This Weekend at FIU
2/7/2024 7:40:00 AM | Softball
Buckeyes will take on Stony Brook, FIU and Southeast Missouri State
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 53rd season of Ohio State softball begins this weekend in the Sunshine State, as Ohio State makes the first of back-to-back trips to Florida to compete in the Felsberg Invitational on the campus of Florida International.
The schedule begins with two games on Friday – a 3 p.m. contest vs. Stony Brook followed at 5 p.m. against the host FIU Panthers – and continues on Saturday against Southeast Missouri State at 10 a.m. The remainder of the weekend schedule, which will include one more game on Saturday and the weekend finale on Sunday, will be determined based on the results of previous games.
The Basics
Ohio State vs. Stony Brook // Friday, Feb. 9 // 3 p.m. // Miami, Fla.
Live Stats // Ohio State Roster // Stony Brook Roster
Ohio State at FIU // Friday, Feb. 9 // 5 p.m. // Miami, Fla.
Live Stats // Watch: ESPN+ // Ohio State Roster // FIU Roster
Ohio State vs. Southeast Missouri State // Saturday, Feb. 10 // 10 a.m. // Miami, Fla.
Live Stats // Ohio State Roster // Southeast Missouri State Roster
How to Follow Along
- Ohio State's second game on Friday, which is scheduled for 5 p.m. vs. FIU, will stream live on ESPN+.
- Live stats to each game during the weekend will be available on the softball schedule page of OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
- In-game updates will also be posted on X at @OhioStateSB.
Basics on the Buckeyes
- Ohio State returns 19 letterwinners from its 2023 squad that won 33 games and was in contention for an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament.
- Among those 18 returnees are all five pitchers, three starting infielders and two first-team All-Big Ten honorees.
- The Buckeyes do have to replace two starting outfielders from last year's squad – center fielder Meggie Otte, a four-year starter, and left fielder Jaycee Ruberti, who started most of the last two seasons.
- The rest of the Buckeyes' lineup returns in tract. That includes the power-hitting duo of fifth-year senior Sam Hackenbracht and junior Melina Wilkison. Together, the two combined to hit 19 home runs, drive in 82 runs and had a collective .659 slugging percentage.
- Last season's middle infield of Kaitlyn Farley (second base) and Kami Kortokrax (shortstop) have played in nearly every game together over the past two seasons. Korotkrax was a first team All-Big Ten honoree and All-Defensive Team selection in 2023 while Wilkison improved her batting average by 33 points from the season prior.
- Other key upperclassmen who are back in 2024 includes fifth-year senior Tegan Cortelletti (133 games played, .291 batting average), senior McKenzie Bump (64 career starts) senior Destinee Noury (.26 RBI in 2023), senior Hannah Bryan, senior Taylor Heckman, senior Kirsten Eppele.
- Senior Allison Smith is the most experienced of the five returning pitchers (385.0 career innings pitched). The group includes fellow senior Emily Ruck (10-9 in 2023), sophomore Lexi Paulsen, sophomore Julia Miller and third-year sophomore Kennedy Kay.
- Head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly begins her 12th season at Ohio State and 18th overall.
- Her winnning percentage (.621) is the best in program history.
For Starters
- The Buckeyes head to Florida this weekend looking to continue a trend of strong early-season starts.
- Over the past four years (2020-2023), Ohio State is 11-6 on opening weekend.
- Its best start in that stretch was a 3-0 weekend to open the 2022 season at the FAU Invitational in Boca Raton, Fla.
- This will be the fourth consecutive season that Ohio State is beginning its season in the state of Florida.
More on the Opponents
- FIU, a member of Conference USA, finished 24-27 overall last season and 10-14 in conference play.
- Southeast Missouri State went 20-2 in the Ohio Valley Conference and won the regular season title but was upset in the double elimination conference tournament.
- Stony Brook had a winning record last season (29-27 overall) and is a member of the Colonial Athletic Association. Despite losing in the tournament semifinals, the Seawolves eliminated the No. 1, No. 2 and No. 4 seeds in the double elimination format.
