Ohio State then-junior shortstop Lilli Piper rounds third base with the intent to score against Wright State on Sep. 24. Credit: Gretchen Rudolph | For The Lantern
Kelly Kovach Schoenly has experience in leading Ohio State to victory. Over the past six seasons as the softball head coach, she has accumulated 199 wins, including 13 wins against Top 25 opponents.
However, in her tenure with the Buckeyes, she has not had a better season than the one she had last year.
Ohio State had a record of 36-16, the program’s highest win total since 2010. The Buckeyes also won 14 of 22 Big Ten games this past season, but winning only two of four games in their NCAA regional.
“We represented Ohio State very well. We competed with the very top teams all the way to the end,” Schoenly said.
Now, the Buckeyes are preparing to try and not only match, but exceed last season’s successes.
“We worked very hard,” sophomore catcher Claire Nicholson said. “I think it’s ended too early for us. I think we have a lot more coming this year.”
Ohio State will have six seniors returning for the 2019 season: pitcher Morgan Ray, pitcher Katya Duvall, catcher Emily Clark, shortstop Lilli Piper, outfielder Bri Betschel and outfielder/first baseman Megan Choinacky.
Piper was the major contributor for the team a season ago, leading the team with a .404 batting average, which was 48th-best in the country, 20 home runs, tied for eighth-most in the NCAA, and 58 RBI.
The expectations for Piper remained the same heading into 2019, as she was named to the preseason USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year watch list prior to the start of her senior season.
With Schoenly saying that the senior class has contributed to where the team is today, Ohio State will still look a bit different than it did last season.
The Buckeyes added four freshmen — outfielder Meg Otte, infielder Ashley Prange, outfielder Kaitlyn Coffman and pitcher Jessica Ross — and a transfer in sophomore Lauren Rice, who spent her freshman season at Missouri.
Ohio State also added a new assistant coach in the offseason in Jordan Clark, the former volunteer assistant coach at Arkansas.
“She has brought in a lot of new ideas,” Nicholson said. “We got to teach her a new culture too. It’s really great to have Jordan with us.”
Schoenly said she is excited to develop a new identity this season and is excited to start again.
But even with the change, Nicholson said the culture of the team will remain the same.
“We have a culture that is just unbelievable,” Nicholson said. “There is definitely a way of life we like to stick to and we have a lot of things very important to us. So we get excited to share that.”
Ohio State will begin its season Friday in Orlando, Florida, when the Buckeyes take on George Mason, Ole Miss, North Florida and UCF in the Friends of Jaclyn Tournament.
