Ohio State
6-3-1
Cornell
0-1
Home Runs Power Ohio State to a Pair of Wins on Friday
2/21/2025 6:25:00 PM | Softball
Buckeyes defeat Cornell and Siena, improve to 7-3-1 on the season
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A barrage of home runs to start the day and a hard-fought win to finish the afternoon helped the Ohio State softball team go 2-0 on the opening day of the Make It Happen Games in Madeira Beach, Fla. Ohio State defeated Cornell, 15-0, in five innings and then edged Siena, 6-4, to improve to 7-3-1 on the season.
The Short Story
Ohio State had a 17-hit, 15-run offensive attack in Friday's opening game that was highlighted by a school-record seven home runs. The long balls came from six different players – Hadley Parisien, Sami Bewick, Kami Kortokrax, Kaitlyn Farley, Cadyn Ruffer and two from Reagan Milliken. Bewick and Farley both went 4-for-4 and also combined to drive in four runs. Milliken, meanwhile, was 3-for-4 with a career-high two home runs and four RBI.
Parisien led off the game with a home run for the third time in last four contests and was followed later in the inning by long balls from Farley and Milliken. Ruffer then followed with a three-run home run in the third inning for a 7-0 lead and the Buckeyes scored three times in the fourth and five in the fifth innings.
In the circle, freshman Lorin Boutte (4-2) struck out seven batters in three innings of work and classmate Kassandra Gewecke went the final two innings and did not allow a base runner.
In Ohio State's second game of the day vs. Siena, the Buckeyes scored four times in the bottom of the first inning – keyed by a two-run home run by Burns – and built a 5-0 lead after three innings. Freshman Layna Gerhard got the start in the circle and struck out a career-high 13 batters. Siena would claw back, scoring twice in the fourth inning and twice more in the seventh before Kennedy Kay came on in relief to record the final out of the game.
Farley hit a sixth-inning solo home run that proved to be important, part of a 3-for-4 game for the senior that included two RBI and two runs scored.
Buckeye This and That
- Ohio State's seven home runs in the 15-0 win over Cornell bested the previous high mark of five, which had been achieved five different times. The most recent occurrence was vs. Maryland in 2018.
- Kortokrax's three-run home run in the fifth inning gave her 101 career runs batted in. She surpassed 100 career hits last season and is just 11 runs scored shy of 100 in that category.
- The 15 runs scored against Cornell were the most by the Buckeyes since a 15-3 win over Maryland on March 31, 2019.
- Additionally, the Buckeyes' seven home runs vs. Cornell are the most by any team so far this season. Stanford, Northern Colorado and Arizona all hit six in games previously this season.
- Ohio State hit nine home runs on the day and had a .929 slugging percentage.
- Farley swung on the Buckeyes' hottest bats, going 7-for-8 with two home runs, a double and five RBI.
What's Next
The Buckeyes have two games scheduled tomorrow. First, they'll meet North Florida at ROC Park in Madeira Beach beginning at 1:30. Then, they'll make a trip north to Orlando to meet UCF beginning at 7 p.m.
Ohio State's game with North Florida will be streamed live on AthletesGoLive.com. Check the softball schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com for information about how to following the UCF game via live stats.
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Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Boutte, Lorin (4-2)
L: Kyrie Denny (0-1)
Batting:
2B: Bewick, Sami 1
HR: Parisien, Hadley 1 ; Bewick, Sami 1 ; Kortokrax, Kami 1 ; Farley, Kaitlyn 1 ; Milliken, Reagan 2 ; Ruffer, Cadyn 1
RBI: Parisien, Hadley 1 ; Bewick, Sami 1 ; Kortokrax, Kami 3 ; Farley, Kaitlyn 3 ; Milliken, Reagan 4 ; Ruffer, Cadyn 3
Base Running:
RUNS: Parisien, Hadley 2 ; Bewick, Sami 2 ; Kortokrax, Kami 2 ; Burns, Jasmyn 1 ; Limon, Skylar 1 ; Farley, Kaitlyn 3 ; Milliken, Reagan 3 ; Ruffer, Cadyn 1
