Paulsen, Eppele Power Ohio State to 6-0 Shutout Win at Michigan

Saturday, May 4

Ann Arbor, Mich.

2:00 PM

Ohio State

30-19, 11-11

Michigan

38-15, 19-4

Ohio State

Michigan

Photo by: SCOTT MAYBERRY PHOTOGRAPHY

Paulsen, Eppele Power Ohio State to 6-0 Shutout Win at Michigan

5/4/2024 6:22:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Lexi Paulsen tosses a complete game shutout, Kirsten Eppele hits a three-run home run

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Lexi Paulsen tossed a complete game shutout and Kirsten Eppele hit a three-run home run in the seventh inning to help Ohio State even its weekend series at Michigan on Saturday afternoon with a 6-0 victory over the Wolverines.

The win for Ohio State was its 30th of the season and also evens its Big Ten record at 11-11. Michigan, which had a 14-game winning streak snapped, is 38-15 and 18-4 in conference play. It was also the Wolverines first loss at home this season.

The Short Story
Ohio State held a slim 2-0 lead through six inning thanks in large part to the performance of Paulsen in the circle, who limited Michigan to just three hits on the afternoon and struck out four batters. In the seventh, though, Ohio State put together a two-out rally and Eppele put the exclamation point on the win with a three-run home run that gave the Buckeyes a 6-0 lead.

The Buckeyes' offense managed six hits off two Michigan pitchers and did much of its damage with two outs, as four of its six RBI came in that situation. Conversely, Michigan was 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position.

How The Runs Were Scored

Ohio State used two successful replay reviews in the top of the third inning to push the first run of the game across. After it appeared Michigan turned a 2-4-5 double play, both out calls were overturned by replay.
That put runners on first and third with nobody out for Taylor Heckman, whose sacrifice fly plated Kaitlyn Farley.
The next batter, Kami Kortokrax, singled up the middle to bring home Tegan Cortelletti to double up the Buckeyes' lead to 2-0.
The score stayed 2-0 until the seventh inning, when the Buckeye bats busted out in a big way to plate four runs – all coming with two outs – and opened up a 6-0 lead.
After Taylor Heckman walked to start the inning, she advanced to third base on consecutive ground outs. McKenzie Bump then drove her in with an infield single in which she beat Michigan first baseman Keke Tholl to the bag.
After a Hackenbracht walk, Kirsten Eppele stepped to the plate with two on and took a 2-0 pitched from Michigan pitcher Hannah George and sent it over the right field fence for a three-run home run and a 6-0 Ohio State lead.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Michigan was able to get a one-out single but the final two outs were recorded on a lineout and fly out.

Buckeye This and That

Ohio State's win over Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday was UM's first loss at Alumni Field this season.
It also snapped a 14-game winning streak for Michigan, which was the longest in the Big Ten and among the longest nationally.
Kortokrax now has 20 RBI in 22 Big Ten games. Eppele's three-run home run upped her RBI total to 18 in conference play.
Paulsen picked up her second Big Ten win. She previously was the winning pitcher in a 13-5 five-inning win over Illinois last Saturday.
McKenzie Bump's RBI single in the seventh inning extended her hitting streak to five consecutive games.
Cortelletti went 3-for-4 on Saturday and is 5-for-8 this weekend (.625). She's upped her season batting average to .399.
The Buckeyes have hit a home run in each of the series' first two games and have 63 on the season, which is tied with Indiana for the most in the Big Ten.

What's Next
Ohio State and Michigan play the rubber game of this weekend's series tomorrow at Alumni Field beginning at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on BTN and a link to live stats can be found on the schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

For the most up-to-date information on Ohio State softball, follow on the Buckeyes on X at @OhioStateSB and online at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.