Ohio State Drops Two to Open Paradise Classic

Friday, February 6

Boca Raton, Fla.

6 p.m.

Ohio State

0-1

Florida Atlantic

2-0

Ohio St.

Florida Atlantic

Ohio State Drops Two to Open Paradise Classic

2/7/2026 12:28:00 AM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

The Buckeyes will resume action tomorrow against Army at 4 p.m.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team dropped two games to open its 2026 season on Friday evening at the Paradise Classic in Boca Raton, Fla., falling to Florida Atlantic, 10-6, and to Indiana, 12-3.

Despite the losses, Ohio State would homer twice, courtesy of Abbie Wilhelm and Taylor Cruse. Seven different Buckeyes recorded hits over the two games. Ohio State did have success reaching base, totaling 17 hits, but stranded 16 runners in the two games. In her Ohio State debut, Abbie Wilhelm went 5-for-6 on night with a home run, a triple and two RBI. Taylor Cruse also had a home run and a triple.

How It Happened - FAU 10, Ohio State 6

The Buckeyes took a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a bases-loaded sac fly off the bat of Kiki Estrada that scored Hadley Parisien.
Florida Atlantic evened the score in the second inning with a Lily Holtje solo home run.
In the top of the third, Taylor Cruse dropped a single into center to score Abbie Wilhelm and give the lead back to the Buckeyes. An error scored Kiki Estrada to put Ohio State up two.
A throwing error in the bottom of the third scored two Owls to tie the score at 3-3.
Wilhelm would send herself home in the fourth, sending a solo shot over the left field wall and putting Ohio State up 4-3.
The Owls took the lead in the bottom half of that same inning with a Madison Inscoe RBI single and a run-scoring walk. They tacked on two more runs on a fielder's choice and delayed steal home to end the inning 7-4 in FAU's favor.
FAU extended their lead in the fifth inning on a run scoring RBI single by Kylie Hammonds.
Taylor Cruse brought Ohio State back within three with a shot off the top of the left field wall that she legged into home, later ruled a triple and an error. Sara Tarr legged out an infield single to score Izzy Neal and put the Buckeyes within two.
FAU got the two runs back in the bottom half of the sixth with a two-run home run off the bat of Chloe Yeatts, giving FAU the 10-6 lead that it would win by.
Jenna Molk got her first collegiate start in the contest, tossing 3.1 innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out three. She was relieved by Lorin Boutté, who threw 2.2 innings and allowed another four earned runs.
While Jaden Martinez got the start, Ainsley Lambert got the win for the Owls, with Autumn Courtney getting the save. The trio combined for 10 strikeouts and four earned runs allowed.

How It Happened - Indiana 12, Ohio State 3 (5 inn.)

Ohio State got off to another first inning 1-0 lead, courtesy of an Abbie Wilhelm triple that scored Hadley Parisien.
Indiana retook the lead in the top of the second on two RBI singles by Hannah Haberstroh and Ellie Goins
Indiana added six runs on two wild pitches, an RBI single, a run-scoring walk and a single that added two runs in the third and ended the inning ahead 8-1.
Indiana posted another four runs in the fourth on a sac fly by Madalyn Strader, an error, and an RBI single by Alex Cooper, taking a 12-1 lead.
Taylor Cruse would add a solo shot over the left field wall in the bottom of the fourth to give Ohio State their second run of the game.
Izzy Neal scored on a wild pitch in the bottom of the fifth to tack on the third Ohio State run before the game's end.
Kennedy Kay got the start in the match-up, going four innings and allowing eight earned runs. Lorin Boutte added an inning with four runs scored, none of them earned.
Taylor Hess would go the distance for the Hoosiers, striking out nine and scattering eight hits.

What's Next
The Buckeyes will look to bounce back tomorrow against Army, who will also be looking for their first win of the Paradise Classic. Links to live stats and streaming for the game will be available on the schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.