Ohio State
22-6-1
Youngstown State
4-22
Big First Inning Lifts Buckeyes over Youngstown State
3/19/2025 6:06:00 PM | Softball
Ohio State defeats the Penguins 12-1 in five innings
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State's longest homestand of the season concluded on Wednesday afternoon with a 12-1 five-inning victory over Youngstown State. The Buckeyes, which entered the national rankings yesterday at No. 25 in the NFCA poll, are 22-6-1 on the season while the Penguins fell to 4-22.
The Buckeyes saw eight different players record hits. Morgan Frye went 2-for-2 with two doubles while Hadley Parisien and Kami Kortokrax each hit home runs. The win was Ohio State's 17th in the last 20 games.
How It Happened
- Ohio State struck early and often, putting up eight runs on four hits in the first inning. The barrage included a bases loaded walk by Jasmyn Burns, a ground ball from Reagan Milliken, back-to-back RBI doubles from Kaitlyn Farley and Morgan Frye and a three-run home run off the bat of Hadley Parisien.
- The Penguins tacked on a run in the second inning on an infield single, rendering the score 8-1.
- In the third inning, the Buckeyes got back to their power hitting ways. Kami Kortokrax kickstarted it with a solo home run over the right field wall. Frye recorded her second RBI of the day shortly thereafter with a double in the right centerfield gap. She was then brought in by a Cadyn Ruffer's triple to put the Buckeyes up 11-1. Frye is now batting .364 on the season with 15 RBIs.
- In the fourth inning, a leadoff triple by Skylar Limon put her in scoring position, which she capitalized on with a ground-out by Sami Bewick.
- That offense attack would more than suffice for Kassandra Gewecke, who earned her second win this week to improve to 4-0 on the season. Over four innings, Gewecke allowed one run, four hits, and struck out one. She was relieved by Layna Gerhard in the fifth inning, who did not allow a runner and struck out two.
Buckeye This and That
- Wednesday's game wrapped up a 11-game homestand, which will be Ohio State's longest of the season.
- During the homestand, Parisian hit .500 from her lead-off spot in the lineup and scored a team-high 20 runs. Burns batted .484 and she tied for the team lead in RBI with Reagan Milliken (16). As a team, the Buckeyes hit 29 home runs and batted .375.
- Gewecke and Lorin Boutte both picked up three wins during the homestand. Additionally, Gewecke allowed just one earned run in 15.1 innings.
- The Buckeyes have hit a home run in 21 of their last 22 games. Entering today, they ranked second in the Big Ten and second nationally in total home runs and third in home runs per game.
- Burns has reached base in a career-high 20 consecutive games. The longest active reached base streak on the team, however, belongs to Sami Bewick, who reached for the 26th consecutive game on Wednesday.
What's Next: Buckeyes vs. Spartans
Ohio State returns to conference play this weekend with a three-game series in East Lansing, Mich. against Michigan State. Action gets underway on Friday at 5 p.m. and continues on Saturday (1 p.m.) and Sunday (1 p.m.). All three games will be streamed live on B1G+ and a link to live stats will be available on the schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Ohio State and Michigan State have not played a regular season series since 2022. The Buckeyes are 12-4 against the Spartans in their last 16 meetings. Michigan State enters action this weekend with a 9-12 overall record following Tuesday's 7-5 win over in-state foe Oakland. Last weekend in Oklahoma City, Michigan State played Minnesota and Northwestern twice each to open up Big Ten play. The Spartans went 1-3 with a 13-11 win over Minnesota on Saturday.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Gewecke, Kassandra (4-0)
L: Autumn Behlke (3-7)
Batting:
2B: Kennedy Dean 1
RBI: Grace Pilaczynski 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Kennedy Dean 1
Batting:
2B: Milliken, Reagan 1 ; Farley, Kaitlyn 1 ; Frye, Morgan 2
3B: Ruffer, Cadyn 1 ; Limon, Skylar 1
HR: Parisien, Hadley 1 ; Kortokrax, Kami 1
RBI: Parisien, Hadley 3 ; Bewick, Sami 1 ; Kortokrax, Kami 1 ; Burns, Jasmyn 1 ; Milliken, Reagan 1 ; Farley, Kaitlyn 2 ; Frye, Morgan 2 ; Ruffer, Cadyn 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Parisien, Hadley 2 ; Bewick, Sami 1 ; Kortokrax, Kami 2 ; Burns, Jasmyn 1 ; Milliken, Reagan 1 ; Farley, Kaitlyn 1 ; Frye, Morgan 2 ; Cruse, Taylor 1 ; Limon, Skylar 1
