Ohio State
Missouri State
12-Game Spring Break Trip Starts This Weekend at Tennessee
3/6/2024 3:48:00 PM | Softball
Buckeyes scheduled to play five games Friday-Sunday in Knoxville
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The busiest stretch of the 2024 season has arrived for the Ohio State softball team. It begins this weekend as the Buckeyes kick off a nine-game, 12-day spring break trip in Knoxville, Tennessee at the Tennessee Invitational. Ohio State takes on Missouri State and South Dakota on Friday and ninth-ranked Tennessee on Saturday in pool play before determining its final two opponents of the weekend.
The Basics
Ohio State vs. Missouri State // Friday, March 8 // 10 a.m. // Knoxville, Tenn.
Live Stats // Ohio State Schedule/Results // Missouri State Schedule/Results
Ohio State vs. South Dakota // Friday, March 8 // 10 a.m. // Knoxville, Tenn.
Live Stats // Ohio State Schedule/Results // South Dakota Schedule/Results
Ohio State at No. 9 Tennessee // Saturday, March 9 // 12:30 p.m. // Knoxville, Tenn.
Live Stats // Ohio State Schedule/Results // Tennessee Schedule/Results
Note: The Buckeyes will play an additional game on Sunday and then close out the weekend with one contest on Sunday. Those times and opponents will be determined after the three games above, which are a part of pool play.
Buckeye in a Nutshell
- Ohio State has its lone off weekend of the season March 1-3 and enters the Tennessee Invitational with an 8-4 overall record.
- The Buckeyes possess the Big Ten's best team batting average (.328), second-best slugging percentage (.509), second-best earned run average (2.26) and best fielding percentage (.975).
- Eight players who has started seven or more games are batting .280 or better, led by senior Taylor Heckman, who checks in with a .455 average, one home run and six RBI in nine games.
- Sophomore Hannah Church is right behind her with a .393 average and nine RBI, the third-most on the team, while senior Tegan Cortelletti is having the most productive season of her career thus far with a .379 average and .486 on-base percentage.
- Freshman Jasmyn Burns leads the team in both home runs (four) and RBI (15). She had a hit in each of her first 10 collegiate games and was the Big Ten's Freshman of the Week on Feb. 12.
- The pitching staff, which returned all five letterwinners from last season, has seen seniors Allison Smith and Emily Ruck combine to throw just over 60 innings so far.
- Smith is 4-3 on the season with a 1.57 ERA and 34 strikeouts in 35.2 innings while Ruck, who already has a no-hitter to her credit, is 2-0 with a 2.27 ERA.
- The last time out, however, sophomores Lexi Paulsen and Julie Miller both did not allow an earned run in 12 combined innings to lead Ohio State to wins over New Mexico State and Idaho State.
Spring Break at a Glance
- The Buckeyes will play as many games – 12 – over their nine-day spring break trips as they've played all season thus far.
- Following this weekend's games at Tennessee, Ohio State has midweek games scheduled at Belmont (Tuesday, March 12) and Austin Peay (Wednesday, March 13).
- The backend of spring break occurs at Kentucky where Ohio State is scheduled to face the host Wildcats (twice) along with Columbia (twice) and South Dakota State.
- When they return to Columbus on March 17, Ohio State will have played 24 games – all away from home – and have Big Ten play in front of them, which begins the weekend of March 22-24 at Rutgers.
