Spring Break Trip Concludes With a 10-0 Win over Cleveland State

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State’s final contest of its nine-day, 12-game went the way so many of them before had. The Buckeyes hit three home runs and scored seven times in the fourth inning while getting a three-hit shutout form freshman pitcher Lexi Paulsen to defeat Cleveland State, 10-0, in Greenville, N.C.

The Buckeyes, winners of 11 consecutive games, are 17-7 on the season. Over the course of their spring break trip that included stops in both South Carolina and North Carolina, Ohio State outscored their opponents 83-21.

The Short Story
A three-run bases loaded double off the bat of freshman Hannah Church and a three-run home run from senior Sam Hackenbracht was more than enough offensive support for freshman pitcher Lexi Paulsen, who scattered three hits and picked up her second career win.

Eight of Ohio State’s nine starters had a hit. In addition to Hackenbracht’s home run, sophomore Kami Kortokrax hit a two-run shot on the fourth inning, her third of the season and second of the weekend.

How the Runs Were Scored

• The Buckeyes wasted no time getting on the scoreboard. In the top of the first, freshman Hannah Church hit a bases loaded double that scored three runs, putting the Buckeyes up 3-0. It was Church’s fifth double of the season, which is the second highest total on the team.
• Ohio State doubled its lead with one swing of the bat in the fourth inning, as a Church walk and Ruberti infield single set up Sam Hackenbracht, who cranked a three-run home run to center field that made the score 6-0 in favor of the Buckeyes.
• Three batters later, Melina Wilkison doubled home a run to make it 7-0 and Destinee Noury followed with an RBI that drove Wilkison in.
• Kami Kortokrax put an exclamation point on the inning with a two-run home run. In total, the Buckeyes scored seven times with six hits.

Buckeye This and That

• Paulsen struck out six Vikings and is now 2-0 on the season with 14 Ks in 14.1 innings.
• In eight games last week – all Ohio State wins – Melina Wilkison and Kaitlyn Farley combined to hit .580 with 14 runs scored, 15 RBI and four doubles.
• Wilkison checked in with a .581 average on the week with multiple hits in five games. Her 2-for-3 showing on Sunday gives her a .427 average for the season.
• In their 12-game spring break trip, Ohio State averaged nearly seven runs per game and allowed just 1.75.
• All five members of Ohio State’s pitching staff logged innings over the last 12 games. Allison Smith was 5-0 in five starts with a 0.54 ERA and 58 strikeouts in 38.2 innings.
• Additionally, each member of the pitching staff collected a win on the trip, too. Julia Miller, a freshman from New Philadelphia, Ohio, picked up her first collegiate victory on Friday vs. Cleveland State.

What’s Next
After playing their first 24 games away from home and logging over 8,000 round-trip miles of travel, the Buckeyes are coming home. Ohio State will play its first game at Buckeye Field this season on Tuesday, March 21 at 4 p.m. versus Kent State.

Admission to all softball games is free, as is parking. Following Tuesday’s contest vs. Kent State, Ohio State opens Big Ten play at home with a three-game series against Michigan next Friday-Sunday. For the Buckeyes’ full schedule, visit OhioStateBuckeyes.com.