The Buckeyes meet in the pitchers circle before the Ohio State-Nebraska game April 30, 2022. Ohio State won 5-4. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Lantern File Photo
The Ohio State women’s softball team will head to Cathedral City, California, for the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic to compete for its fifth time and contest four games this weekend.
The Buckeyes (3-5) will play Cal State Northridge (5-5) Friday evening to start the weekend off. They will continue Saturday with a doubleheader against Oregon State (4-6) and San Diego State (8-2), before finishing the weekend against Utah (7-3) Sunday.
Ohio State has a history with Oregon State as both teams faced each other last year in the NCAA Softball Knoxville Regional where the Buckeyes fell short to the Beavers in both games.
Oregon State graduated its ace pitcher, former right-hander Mariah Mazon, after the 2022 season who took the Beavers to their second Women’s College World Series in program history and first since 2006.
Head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly said despite losing former graduate left-hander Lexi Handley this weekend is about who is going to show up and compete.
Schoenly said Oregon State reminds her of many teams the Buckeyes played last season in the Big Ten by the quality in pitching and players in the lineup.
“It ultimately comes down to some big moments in the game, and I think we played some very competitive teams so far this year,” Schoenly said.
Senior infielder Taylor Pack said the Buckeyes are going to take their experience with the Beavers from last season to fire them up for this weekend.
“We’re coming in with a mindset of no matter what the name is across their jersey, we are the Buckeyes and we’re going to play,” Pack said.
Freshman catcher Hannah Church has been getting many reps behind the plate and at bat in the young season, and she said the Buckeyes are a cohesive group on and off the field.
“We all understand what we go through to be here everyday, and we’re all so connected,” Church said. “It’s truly just a family atmosphere.”
Five Ohio State players are from California, and Schoenly said it is great for them to play at home in front of their friends and families.
“We only do that once or twice a year, and it’s nice for them to have that opportunity,” Schoenly said. “We try to take them home when we can.”
Pack, from Lakewood, California, said she used to watch Ohio State play in the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic when she was in high school and is looking forward to going home.
“It’s a full-circle moment to going from playing travel ball to playing on those same fields,” Pack said. “I am going to be representing a university while playing on the same field I played on in high school.”
Pack said the Buckeyes aren’t worried about what has happened so far in the season. She said it’s the mentality the team needs going into each game going forward.
“Week one and week two don’t define the rest of the season,” Pack said. “For the opponents that we have in the near future, the Buckeyes are coming.”
Church said the Buckeyes are focused on bringing home as many wins as they can and stopping their opponents from getting multiple hits in a row.
“It’s really hard to come back and bring energy back after the other team has strung together a multitude of successful hits,” Church said.
The Buckeyes pitching staff has been getting many reps the last couple weekends and as Ohio State continues to play more games, Schoenly said she hopes the girls will find what roles they are going to play.
“There’s a struggle because we have such a talented staff, but there’s only one person to give the ball to each game,” Schoenly said. “Making those decisions has really been tough deciding who to go with because I think they’re all very talented in their own way.”
First pitch between Ohio State and Cal State Northridge takes place Friday at 8:30 p.m. The Buckeyes will begin Saturday against Oregon State at noon and then move on to face San Diego State at 2:30 p.m.
To finish the weekend, Ohio State and Utah will play at 9 a.m. Sunday. All games can be streamed on FloSoftball.
