No. 24 Ohio State Tops Dayton, 11-2, in Five Innings

Wednesday, April 16

Dayton, Ohio

4:00 P.M.

Ohio State

34-10-1

Dayton

20-14

Ohio State

Dayton

No. 24 Ohio State Tops Dayton, 11-2, in Five Innings

4/16/2025 5:51:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

Buckeyes hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in the second inning

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 24th-ranked Ohio State softball team rolled to a 11-2 five-inning win at Dayton on Wednesday afternoon, scoring early and often against the Flyers on the strength of four home runs and a 14-hit attack. The Buckeyes improved to 34-10-1 on the season. Dayton is 20-14.

Buckeye long balls came from Hailey Lang, Taylor Cruse, Skylar Limon and Kami Kortokrax. Ohio State hit homers in three consecutive at-bats in the second inning (Lang-Limon-Cruse) and plated 10 of its 11 runs in the first three innings to build a 10-2 lead.

In the circle, freshman Layna Gerhard got the start and allowed two runs over four innings with two strikeouts. Classmate Kassandra Gewecke worked the final inning of the game and did not allow a run.

How The Runs Were Scored

Ohio State manufactured three runs before Dayton even came to the plate, putting three on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning. Milliken, Kortokrax and Sami Bewick singled and the Buckeyes were also aided by two Dayton errors.
Dayton's Chloe Wong answered the Buckeyes' start with a two-out two-run home run in the bottom of the first to cut the Buckeyes' lead to 3-2.
The Buckeyes' second-inning home barrage came from the bottom of the lineup – the No. 7, No.8 and No. 9 hitters – as Hailey Lang, Skylar Limon and Taylor Cruse all hit solo shots. They were the Buckeyes' 106th, 107th and 108th home runs this season.
Lang added to her career game in the third inning with a single to right field. A Dayton error allowed Bewick to score, who had reached earlier in the inning on a one-out walk.
Ohio State built a 10-2 lead in the third inning by plating four runs. Lang, Limon and Burns all had RBI while Kaitlyn Farley was able to score on a Dayton throwing error.
In the top of the fourth inning, Kami Kortokrax hit her 13th home run of the season to make the score 11-2 in the Buckeyes' favor.

Buckeye This and That

Hailey Lang made her first career start behind the plate on Wednesday. The sophomore from Ashland, Ohio had played in 14 career games prior to today and collected her first career hit on March 23 at Michigan State.
Ohio State now holds a 16-2 all-time record against Dayton. It's the third consecutive year that the two teams have played in the regular season.
The Buckeyes' 109 home runs are the second-most in Big Ten history. Michigan holds the record with 118 long balls in 2015.
Kortokrax's fourth-inning home run was the 32nd of her career, which puts her No. 9 in program history. She also had 197 career hits.
Defensively, Ohio State finished the afternoon with a season-high three double plays.
Five players had multiple hits on Wednesday: Hadley Parisien (2-for-4), Burns (2-for-3, one RBI), Kortokrax (2-for-3, home run), Lang (2-for-2, home run, two runs scored) and Limon (2-for-2, home run and double).

What's Next
With its eight-game road trip completed, Ohio State will play six of its next seven games at Buckeye Field, beginning on Friday when it opens a three-game series against rival Michigan. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m.

Those interested in purchasing single-game tickets can do so here: CLICK HERE. Premier pricing will be in place for this weekend's series. 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.

Michigan (31-12, 9-4) and Ohio State both enter this weekend of winning streaks. The Wolverines have won four consecutive games, including a sweep of Rutgers last weekend in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes, meanwhile, are 4-1 in their last five games and are just one game back on Michigan in the conference standings.