Freshman pitcher Allison Smith (22) winds up on the mound for Ohio State. Credit: Caleb Blake | Photo Editor
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, the Easter Bunny didn’t leave a series win in their Easter baskets.
Ohio State lost its first conference matchup at home and its second of the season after dropping its 1-2 series against Northwestern this weekend.
The Wildcats (19-8, 5-1 Big Ten) beat Ohio State (19-12, 2-4 Big Ten) 10-0 as the Buckeyes tried to battle back to stay in contention to win the series on Saturday but fell short, losing 9-7, yet avoiding a series shutout with a shutout of their own Sunday, taking the game 6-0.
Coming into Columbus, Northwestern had not lost a Big Ten series since 2022, and it kept its streak alive heading back to Chicago Sunday evening.
Wildcat freshman catcher Emma Raye struck first with a home run in the top of the second inning.
Two more runs scored in the top of the fourth, after a single from sophomore right fielder Kelsey Nader, made it 3-0 in Northwestern’s favor.
In the sixth, another home run propelled the Wildcats to extend their lead to 5-0, this time from graduate left fielder Angela Zedak.
To kick off the seventh inning, Northwestern scored five more runs to take a 10-0 lead. Nader started the scoring with an RBI and then returned home with another runner after a single from senior third baseman Hannah Cady. Zedak kept the hitting streak going with her double, bringing in Cady.
To cap off the game, sophomore shortstop Bridget Donahey hit an RBI to bring Zedak home and close out the inning and game.
The Buckeyes took the field again on Saturday but fell short of a victory after a seven-run, bottom-of-the-seventh, walk-off attempt.
Zedak hit a two-run homer to kick off the first inning, taking the early 2-0 lead. She came back in the top of the third and brought Nader home after she reached on an error made by the Buckeyes, concluding the inning 3-0.
Another home run followed in the top of the fourth, this time from sophomore second baseman Kansas Robinson, who leads the team in RBIs and home runs, bringing in another runner with her.
It was 5-0 at the top of the fifth inning when Donahey doubled to bring two runners home and take a 7-0 lead.
In the seventh inning, Ohio State finally saw home plate, fittingly, seven times.
The Wildcats got things started in the top of the inning with a homer from freshman designated player Renae Cunningham, followed by another homer from freshman first baseman Ainsley Muno to make it 9-0 with the Buckeyes about to bat.
The bases were loaded when senior designated player Sam Hackenbracht was hit by a pitch to walk a runner in and get Ohio State on the board, 9-1.
Senior third baseman McKenzie Bump stepped up to the plate and doubled to bring in three runners, closing in on the lead 9-4.
Senior right fielder Taylor Heckman took the batter’s box with two runners on when she homered to center field, making it 9-7 before the final out brought the game to an end.
“It’s one pitch at a time, and we have the offense to rally at any point in the game like it doesn’t one through nine can get the job done,” Heckman said. “Hopefully, tomorrow, we can get the job done and have all the fans really happy.”
The series’ final game took place on Sunday, and it was a happy one for junior shortstop Kami Kortokrax and company. She hit her second grand slam of the season to take a 4-0 lead in the bottom of the fifth against senior pitcher Ashley Miller. Miller is in the top 10 in the country with a 0.85 ERA.
Back-to-back home runs were scored at the bottom of the sixth, one from senior pinch hitter Destinee Noury and another from Hackenbracht to end the game 6-0.
“God gave us a beautiful day to be here and get a good win,” Kortokrax said.
Ohio State’s scheduled Penn State matchup was postponed, so next up for the Buckeyes will be their three-game Minnesota series in Minneapolis Friday through Sunday at Jane Sage Cowles Stadium.
