Buckeyes Back on the Road for Bevo Classic This Weekend

COLUMBUS, Ohio – After a split in Boca Raton, the Ohio State softball team (2-2) will travel to Austin, Texas this weekend looking to extend their two-game winning streak. The Buckeyes will face Northern Illinois, No. 2 Texas (4-1), Abeline Christian (0-5) and Syracuse (3-2) at the Bevo Classic, which is hosted by the University of Texas.

Coverage Plans
Ohio State's games vs. Texas (Friday, 6 p.m. ET and Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET) will be broadcast live on SEC Network+. Coverage of the other three games will come via live stats, which are available on the schedule page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
In-game updates will also be available on the team's official X account @OhioStateSB.

Basics on the Buckeyes: By the Numbers

The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a team batting average of .337, a mark that is fifth best among Big Ten teams.
The team slugging percentage of .653 ranks even higher at third in the conference.
Just like last year, that slugging translated into home runs, with Ohio State already sending seven out of the yard this season. Taylor Cruse and Hadley Parisien lead the way in that category with two apiece.

Freshman Izzy Neal currently holds the highest batting average on the team, swinging .625 and slugging .750. Neal appeared in all four games in Boca Raton, starting in three.
Abbie Wilhelm, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, was a major asset to the Buckeye offense, starting in all four games and tying Hadley Parisien for most at-bats. Wilhelm stayed on base, batting .462 with six hits and a walk. Wilhelm also launched a home run against Florida Atlantic in only her third plate appearance as a Buckeye.
Freshman pitcher Jenna Molk etched herself into the Ohio State record books, tossing a no-hitter in an 11-0 win over Army, becoming only the third freshman in the last 12 years to do so. Molk leads the Ohio State pitching stable in both ERA (3.36) and strikeouts (seven). Molk's no-no became only the 24th in program history and the second against Army.
Freshman Sara Tarr also got in on the action, starting in all four games. Tarr dropped four hits, one of which being a grand slam against Army for her first collegiate home run. She finished the weekend batting .400.

On the Opponents

Northern Illinois will play its first game of the 2026 season just prior to their matchup with Ohio State in a 10:30 a.m. ET bout with Abilene Chrisitian. NIU went 21-30 in the 2025 season. Four Huskies were named to the All-Mac team in 2025, with three of those honorees returning in 2026. The Buckeyes are 6-0 all-time against NIU. This will be the first game against the two teams since February 11, 2022.
No. 2 Texas hosts the Bevo Classic with a record of 4-1; their lone loss came last weekend against No. 9 Nebraska. Texas put up 46 runs over its first five games, while allowing 24. The defending national champions have three players batting over .500, with the team hitting a cumulative .361. Five different players went yard in week one, good for a team total of 11 home runs. The Buckeyes are 1-3 in competition with Texas, falling in a close 4-2 loss last year in front of a sold-out crowd at Buckeye Field.
Abilene Christian is currently 0-5 and will play a double header on Feb. 11 before heading to the Bevo Classic. The Wildcats will face Texas, Northern Illinois, and Syracuse before meeting Ohio State. The offense is led by Erianna Garcia and her .429 batting average, with Ella Beeman (ERA: .332) at the helm of the Wildcat pitching stable. Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between Ohio State and Abilene Chrisitian.
Syracuse travels to Austin with a record of 3-2, coming off three straight wins. The Orange are batting .288 as a team, holding competition to an average of .255. Four Syracuse sluggers hold an average above .300, by Madison Knight's mark of .556. Knight likewise leads the Orange pitching corps in strikeouts, with 11, though Jackie Pengel holds the leading ERA of 2.52. Ohio State is 0-2 against Syracuse, with the upcoming match being the first in 10 years. The last meeting between the two teams on Feb. 21, 2016, ended in a 3-2 Ohio State loss

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