Ohio State-FAU Weekend Finale Canceled Due to Rain
2/13/2022 10:47:19 AM | Softball
MORE INFO: 2022 Schedule • Softball Homepage • Photos
COLUMBUS, Ohio – As it turned out, the only thing that could slow down the Ohio State softball team this weekend was rain.
The Buckeyes’ weekend finale at the FAU First Pitch Classic in Boca Raton, Fla. against the host Florida Atlantic Owls was rained out on Sunday. So, Ohio State finishes its opening weekend with a 3-0 record thanks to wins over Northern Illinois, Louisville and Bethune-Cookman.
While Sunday’s cancelation was disappointing, the start to the Buckeyes’ season was unquestionably a success. Consider:
- LHP Lexie Handley made her Ohio State debut and appeared in all three games, picking up a complete-game victory over NIU while striking out 10 and allowing just three hits.
- The next day, Handley picked up a save in the Buckeyes’ 8-5 win over Louisville. She finished the weekend with a 0.68 earned run average with 14 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.
- Buckeye base runners were aggressive, going 11-for-11 on steal attempts. Tegan Cortelletti, Melina Wilkison and Maria Rodriguez all went 2-for-2.
- Taylor Heckman, a sophomore from Utica, Ohio, hit her first career home run – a two-run, pinch-hit shot down the right field line in Friday’s opener vs. NIU.
- Six different players drove in runs, led by Heckman, Niki Carver and Meggie Otte, who all finished the weekend with five RBI.
- Emily Ruck pitched a career-high 4.2 innings yesterday and picked up her first collegiate win vs. Bethune-Cookman. Ruck struck out six and allowed just three hits.
- Wilkison, a freshman from Greensburg, Ind., hit .556 for the weekend while scoring four runs and reaching base safely in eight of her 12 plate appearances.
- Ohio State continued its trend of fast starts. The Buckeyes are 20-6 in opening-weekend games in the last six seasons.
Ohio State heads back to the Sunshine State next weekend for five games at the The Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla. The action gets underway on Friday, Feb. 19 with a doubleheader vs. Butler (11 a.m.) and South Alabama (1:30 p.m.). On Saturday, the Buckeyes face Stetson (11 a.m.) and Liberty (1:30 p.m.) before the weekend finale vs. North Carolina on Sunday, Feb. 20 (9 a.m.).
