If you haven’t been paying attention — what with the madness of March and all — the Ohio State softball team is on fire as of late. That continued on Saturday with two more wins that ran the Buckeyes’ winning streak to 10-straight games.
The ninth-straight win came behind a 14-strikeout performance by Allison smith in a 5-2 victory over Presbyterian in the Jolly Roger Invite in Greenville, North Carolina. OSU then followed that up with an impressive 9-2 win over host East Carolina in the second game of the day.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsThe streaking Buckeyes are now 16-7 on the season and will finish up its spring break trip at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday vs. Cleveland State.
Here’s how things played out on Saturday thanks to some notes from the Ohio State Department of Athletics.
Ohio State 5, Presbyterian 2 – Game Notes
- Smith set a new career high with 14 strikeouts and the Buckeyes’ offense was paced by two RBI each from Mariah Rodriguez and Kaitlyn Farley.
- After falling behind 1-0 after the first inning, the Buckeyes struck back with two in the top of the second and another in the third to grab a 3-1 lead.
- The Buckeyes’ offense gave Smith insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings. She scattered six hits over seven innings to pick up her eighth win of the year.
- Rodriguez finished the game 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Over the seven games Ohio State has played this week, she’s batting .400 with two doubles, seven RBIs, and four runs scored.
- Smith’s win was her third this week. In those starts, she’s allowed just two earned runs and has 41 strikeouts.
Ohio State 9, East Carolina 2 – Game Notes
- Ohio State’s offense was paced by junior Destinee Noury, who drove in four runs. Her biggest hit of the night was a three-run double in the fourth inning that gave the Buckeyes a 6-1 advantage.
- Noury also added an RBI in the sixth inning.
- Emily Ruck made her third start of the week and second of the weekend. She went a full seven innings, allowing just five hits and two earned runs.
- This week, Ruck is 3-0 with a 1.87 ERA in 15.0 innings of action.
- Melina Wilkison continued to swing a hot bat, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases.
- Wilkison was one of five players who had multiple hits. Overall, the Buckeyes’ 14-hit attack was the second-highest output of the season.
- Kaitlyn Farley went 4-for-6 on the day with two doubles and two runs scored.
- Mariah Rodriguez also had four hits on the day while Wilkison had five.
𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐈𝐓 𝟏𝟎 𝐈𝐍 𝐀 𝐑𝐎𝐖
The #Buckeyes run their winning streak to double digits with a 9-2 victory over East Carolina ‼️#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/BNvvu4cW7I
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioStateSB) March 18, 2023
After Sunday’s game, Ohio State will finally head to Columbus to get things going at home. The Buckeyes will play Kent State on Tuesday at Buckeye Field.
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