Buckeyes Open Their Home Schedule This Weekend

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Buckeye Field will be buzzing with softball action over the next week, as Ohio State opens the home portion of its schedule with the Ohio State Tournament, which will feature Oakland, Saint Francis, Kent State, Merrimack and Texas. The Buckeyes will play five games between Friday and Monday, beginning with a 3 p.m. contest against Saint Francis on Friday.

Coverage Plans
Each of Ohio State's games Friday through Sunday will be streamed live on B1G+. The Monday contest against Texas will air live on BTN. A link to the game stream is available on the softball schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com as is a link to live stats.

Parking and Ticket Info
With several events scheduled on Ohio State's campus this weekend, including the OHSAA wrestling championships at the Schottenstein Center, fans are encouraged to arrive early and allow extra travel time. Parking in the lots surrounding Buckeye Field will be $10. A weekend parking map can be found HERE.

For those interested in purchasing single-game tickets, CLICK HERE. Prices for non-premier games range from $5-$9 before fees. Premier pricing will be in place for a select number of home games this season. Seating at Buckeye Field is general admission. A limited number of student tickets will be available for free at each game with a BuckID on a first come, first serve basis. Children under two years old and younger will be admitted free but must sit on an adult's lap.

Two-game mini plans are also available for purchase. The mini plan include a game vs. Texas (March 10) and a choice of one of the following: Akron (March 26), Youngstown State (March 19) or IPFW (March 25). The cost of the mini plan starts at $26. Fans interested in a mini plan can purchase those packages HERE.

The Ohio State Tournament – Full Schedule
Friday, March 7
Merrimack vs. St. Francis – 10 a.m.
Merrimack vs. Oakland – 12:30 p.m.
Ohio State vs. St. Francis – 3 p.m.
Ohio State vs. Oakland – 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, March 8
St. Francis vs. Texas – 9 a.m.
Oakland vs. Texas – 11:30 a.m.
Merrimack vs. Ohio State – 2 p.m.
St. Francis vs. Kent State – 4:30 p.m.
Kent State vs. Merrimack – 7 p.m.

Sunday, March 9
Oakland vs. St. Francis – 10 a.m.
Oakland vs. Kent State – 12:30 p.m.
Kent State vs. Ohio State – 3 p.m.
Texas vs. Merrimack – 5:30 p.m.

Monday, March 10
Dayton vs. Texas – Noon
Ohio State vs. Texas – 4 p.m.

Briefly on the Buckeyes

Ohio State enters this weekend having won eight of its last nine games and with a 13-4-1 overall record. It is receiving votes in several national top 25 polls this week.
This will mark the earliest home opener in program history. Prior to this year, the earliest opening game at Buckeye Field was in 2001, when Ohio State played at home on March 8.
The Buckeyes picked up their second Top 25 win of the season last Sunday at No. 10 Georgia, knocking off the Bulldogs 7-0 on the strength of a seven-run second inning and a complete game shutout by Lorin Boutte.
Ohio State boasts some of the nation's best power numbers: It ranks sixth nationally in home runs per game (1.72), 14th in total home runs (31) and 15th in slugging percentage (.610).
Senior Reagan Milliken and sophomore Jasmyn Burns are tied for the team lead with six home runs so far this season. Milliken also has 26 RBI, which is third-most in the Big Ten.
Burns' .510 batting average is second only to Purdue's Moriah Polar in the Big Ten. She's one of only two players in the Big Ten with a .500 or better batting average and 1.000 or better slugging percentage (Nebraska's Jordy Bahl is the other).
Ohio State currently ranks in the top six in the Big Ten in runs scored (sixth – 125), doubles (fifth – 32), home runs (fifth – 31), on-base percentage (fourth - .431) and batting average (fifth - .337).
In the circle, freshman Lorin Boutte's seven wins is the sixth-most amongst conferences pitchers thus far. She has a 2.65 earned run average with 54 strikeouts in 42.1 innings.
A fourth-year junior – Kennedy Kay – and two other freshmen – Layna Gerhard and Kassandra Gewecke – make up the remainder of the pitching staff. Kay is 3-2 with two complete games while Gerhard is 2-0 and averaging better than a strikeout per inning (24.1 innings, 30 Ks).

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