The Ohio State Buckeyes come together in the pitcher’s circle before the first inning of the Ohio State-Maryland game March 26, 2021. Ohio State won 5-0. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
After only playing conference opponents last season due to COVID-19, the Buckeyes are eager to face nonconference competition this year.
Ohio State went 24-19 last season and defeated every team on its schedule at least once. It finished sixth in the Big Ten standings and failed to clinch an NCAA Tournament berth.
The Buckeyes will head down to Boca Raton, Florida, to play four games, starting their season against Northern Illinois Friday. Following the Huskies, they will play Louisville and Bethune-Cookman Saturday, then finish the road trip against Florida Atlantic Sunday.
The team is led by head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly, who is entering her 10th season with the team. Schoenly has compiled a 267-169 record, giving her the second-most wins in program history. The Buckeyes have been on a tear for the better part of the last decade, racking up 30 or more wins in each of the last seven full seasons.
“We had some really good young performers emerge last season, which was really exciting,” Schoenly said. “It was really good to see these young players were going to continue to develop our team and be the core of our future, so that was probably the best takeaway.”
While the Buckeyes are underclassmen-heavy, with 13 underclassmen and 11 upperclassmen, the team has come together as a collective, senior infielder Niki Carver said.
“We are a lot closer than we’ve been, ever, in my five years here. This is the most that the team has gotten along and has gelled,” Carver said. “We are coming together and having fun, playing softball and enjoying being around each other.”
Carver said the team is excited to get out of cold and snowy Ohio and into the Florida sunshine to play other teams, instead of each other. She said everyone is hungry to compete and cannot wait to start playing with one another.
Ohio State’s offense was fifth-best in the Big Ten last year, finishing with a .265 team batting average. However, the Buckeyes return two of their biggest weapons on offense.
The resurgence of a healthy junior infielder Avery Clark, who led the team with 24 hits in 2019, and junior infielder Mariah Rodriguez, who led the team with a .358 batting average last season, will provide a boost to the Buckeyes’ lineup.
The majority of the firepower on offense comes from junior catcher Sam Hackenbracht. She was second in the conference in a number of categories, including a .727 slugging percentage and team-leading 12 home runs. Hackenbracht also led the team with a .444 on-base percentage, racking up 21 walks.
Schoenly said there are five pitchers on the staff who will occupy the circle. The Buckeyes lost right-hander Payton Buresch, who led the team with a 2.47 ERA in 136 innings pitched, to graduation.
Graduate senior Lexie Handley and sophomore Allison Smith, who held opponents to a .235 batting average in 19 starts during her freshman campaign, will lead the pack and expect to shoulder most of the innings during opening weekend.
Sophomore Emily Ruck and senior Jessica Ross will also compete for starts. Freshman Kennedy Kay is returning from injury, but Schoenly said she could return in as soon as a couple of weeks.
Clark said the team has discussed its goals for this season and has its sights set on the Big Ten championship. Additionally, the Buckeyes have their aim to make it past the regional round in the Women’s College World Series, a feat that no Ohio State team has accomplished before.
“We have worked all fall, all winter for this exact moment. With our games coming up this weekend, I think we are ready to show all the hard work we put in,” Clark said. “I think the leadership and all of the girls buying in show that we are ready to succeed this year.”
The Buckeyes start their season bright and early Friday at 9 a.m. in Boca Raton, Florida, facing off against Northern Illinois, which finished 19-37 last year.
