Ohio State sophomore catcher Jasmyn Burns (12) scores a two-run homer to make it 2-0 during the game against UConn Sunday. The Buckeyes defeated the Huskies 4-1 to finish the weekend undefeated. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
The Kirin Kumar era at Ohio State is off to a strong start.
Ohio State’s new head coach led the Buckeyes (4-0) to a sweep in its first series of the season. Ohio State defeated North Carolina Central and UNC Greensboro on Friday, Elon on Saturday and UConn on Sunday.
Over the weekend, catcher Jasmyn Burns led the team with three home runs, nine RBI’s and 12 hits, while shortstop Kami Kortokrax had nine hits, hit three doubles and scored seven runs.
Freshman pitcher Lorin Boutte shined in her Buckeye debut, pitching 16.1 innings over three games, striking out 32 batters, only giving up three hits and zero earned runs.
Game 1: North Carolina Central
In the Buckeyes’ first game of the season, the offense erupted and the pitching shut out the North Carolina Central Eagles (0-3 13-0).
Ohio State got its first win of the season thanks to 12 hits and a no-hitter from Boutte, who had 13 strikeouts.
Boutte became the first freshman pitcher since 2014 to throw a no-hitter for the Buckeyes and just the second in program history.
Catcher Jasmyn Burns got things started with a three-run home run in her first appearance at the plate, scoring second basemen Kaitlyn Farley and Kortokrax. The Buckeyes led 3-0 after the first inning.
In the second, first baseman Reagan Milliken hit a two-run RBI single. Shortly after, Milliken reached home plate after a Burns single to put the Buckeyes ahead 6-0.
In the first at-bat of the fourth inning, Milliken hit the Buckeyes’ second home run of the game and gave Ohio State a seven-run cushion in the top of the fourth. The Buckeyes tacked on two more runs in the inning due to errors by North Carolina Central.
Boutte dominated in the final two frames, striking out six batters in a row. Ohio State added four more runs in the fifth inning, giving the Buckeyes a 13-0 victory.
Game 2: UNC Greensboro
In the second game of the day, the Buckeyes fell behind early to UNC Greensboro (1-1) but were able to power through with their offense late in the game to claim a 10-6 win.
Ohio State was led offensively by Kortokrax, Burns and Miami (OH) transfer infielder Sami Bewick. All three accounted for three hits, and right fielder Morgan Frye and left fielder Tanaya Barrett knocked in two RBIs apiece.
The Buckeyes found themselves trailing though after the Spartans hit an RBI double in the bottom of the third to take a1-0 lead. But Ohio State responded and scored four runs in the fourth inning. Barrett hit a single that scored three runs and the Buckeyes never looked back. Two batters later, Barrett scored on a play where Farley reached first base on a dropped third strike.
In the bottom half of the inning, UNC Greensboro loaded the bases and scored two runs to cut the Buckeyes lead to just one with three innings to go.
In the sixth, a single to left field by Bewick scored Barrett and gave Ohio State a 5-3 lead. The Spartans responded, tying the game at five with a two-out RBI double, followed by an RBI single.
When it mattered most though, the Buckeyes scored five runs in the final frame to close out their win 10-6.
Game 3: Elon
On Saturday, the Buckeyes faced the weekend series’ host, Elon (0-3), and squeaked out their third straight win 4-3.
In the first, Elon handed Ohio State its biggest deficit of the season, as it went up 3-1 thanks to a two-run home run and an RBI double.
The Buckeyes answered back in the third inning off a a sacrifice fly by Sewick and an RBI single from Milliken.
Kortokrax stepped up in the fourth inning and notched an RBI single that scored Frye to give the Buckeyes a 4-3 lead.
Boutte saw her second appearance of the season in the fourth inning, where she struck out five batters and only gave up one hit the rest of the way which sealed the Buckeyes victory.
Kortokrax and Burns led Ohio State once again, combining for five of the team’s seven hits in the game.
Game 4: UConn
In its final game of the series, Ohio State edged out the UConn Huskies (1-3) 3-1 to finish its undefeated weekend.
Pitcher Kassandra Gewecke made her debut for the Buckeyes, pitching three scoreless innings with one hit allowed.
Boutte pitched the final four and struck out seven batters. Ohio State only amassed five hits but the combination of the two freshmen was too much for UConn to overcome.
Burns hit her third home run of the season in the first inning, scoring Kortokrax to give the Buckeyes a 2-0 lead.
Kortokrax then scored her second run of the game in the fifth off a UConn error, putting Ohio State up 3-0.
The Buckeyes were in dangerous territory in the top of the sixth inning, as UConn had runners on first and second base with no outs. However, Boutte and Ohio State escaped by only allowing one run, sustaining the 3-1 lead the rest of the game.
The undefeated Buckeyes head to Clearwater, Florida next weekend for the Shriners Children’s Hospital Clearwater Invitationals. Ohio State will face Florida State at 2 p.m. and Missouri at 6:30 p.m. on Friday, Alabama at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and Clemson at 10 a.m. followed by UCF at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
