No. 22 Ohio State Takes Series Opener at Penn State, 9-5

Friday, April 11

University Park, Pa.

4:00 P.M.

Ohio State

32-9-1, 7-4

Penn State

19-19, 5-6

Ohio State

Penn State

No. 22 Ohio State Takes Series Opener at Penn State, 9-5

4/11/2025 6:37:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Buckeyes are powered by a six-run fourth inning

COLUMBUS, Ohio – No. 22 Ohio State used a six four inning to pull away and defeat Penn State, 9-5, in the opening game of a three-game weekend series at Beard Field in State College. The win for the Buckeyes improved their overall record to 32-9-1 on the season and 7-4 in Big Ten play. Penn State is now 19-19 (5-6 Big Ten).

The Buckeye bats were powered by the bottom half of the batting order, as Taylor Curse, the Buckeyes' No. 9 hitter, went 2-for-4 with a home run, double and two RBI. Reagan Milliken and Morgan Frye also drove in runs and Lorin Boutte picked up her 14th win of the season in the circle. She pitched 6.1 innings with five strikeouts; Kennedy Kay came on and recorded the final two outs of the game.

Action in the series continues tomorrow when the Buckeyes and Nittany Lions meet for a 2 p.m. first pitch.

How The Runs Were Scored

Ohio State loaded the bases in the top of the second inning on back-to-back walks and a single up the middle by Kaitlyn Farley. After two strikeouts, Taylor Cruse was hit by a pitch and scored Jasmyn Burns for an early 1-0 Ohio State lead.
The Buckeyes would load the bases once again in the top of the third inning as they worked three consecutive walks, putting Bewick, Kortokrax and Burns on base. The fourth batter of the inning – Reagan Milliken – flew out to deep left field and scored Bewick for a 2-0 Ohio State lead.
The game broke in Ohio State's favor in the fourth inning, as the Buckeyes put six runs on the scoreboard on six hits with five two-out RBI. Home runs came from Taylor Cruse – her 11th of the season – and Morgan Frye – here ninth this season. Kaitlyn Farley and Reagan Milliken also had run-scoring hits.
Penn State's Michela Barbanente hit a one-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the fourth inning to cut Ohio State's lead to six at 8-2.
Ohio State's final run of the game came in the top of the seventh inning when Hadley Parisien's single scored Cruse, who doubled in the previous at-bat.
Penn State loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh and scored on a wild pitch and two-run double, but Kay struck out Maddie Gordon and got Meagan Ricks to pop out to first base to end the game.

Buckeye This and That

Dating back to 2021, Ohio State has now won eight of its last nine games against Penn State.
This weekend marks just the second time in the last 10 years that the two teams are meeting in a three-game weekend series (the other time was during the Big Ten-only season of 2021).
Kortokrax's fourth-inning double was her fifth in seven career games against Penn State. She has 11 hits in 23 at-bats in her career against the Nittany Lions with six extra base hits, five runs scored and three RBI.
The run that Farley scored in the fourth inning on Frye's home run was the 100th of her career.
The 5-6-7 hitters in Ohio State's lineup – Milliken, Farley and Frye – combined drive in six runs while going 4-for-9 at the plate with three runs scored.
Two more home runs for Ohio State gives the Buckeyes 99 on the season. Entering the day, Ohio State had 18 more than any other team in the country.

What's Next
This weekend's series continues tomorrow with a 2 p.m. contest in State College. Fans can watch the game live on B1G+ and live stats are available on the softball schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.