Ohio State sophomore outfielder Hadley Parisien (2) celebrates with her teammates during the game against Georgia. The Buckeyes defeated the No. 10 Bulldogs 7-0. Credit: Ohio State Athletics
After a series of away games, the Buckeyes returned to Columbus with momentum for their first home contest.
Ohio State won four of five games over the weekend and run-ruled its opponents three times.
The Buckeyes fell to No. 10 Georgia Saturday, but got their revenge on the Bulldogs Sunday in dominating fashion to pick up their second-ranked win of the season.
Ohio State outscored its opponents 41-10 and catcher Jasmyn Burns, who accounted for nine hits and seven RBIs over the weekend, led the way offensively.
Game 1: Stetson
The Buckeyes started quickly and overpowered Stetson in five innings, with a final score of 9-1.
The Buckeyes earned an early 4-0 lead after the first, as first baseman Reagan Milliken and Burns each hit a home run.
With a 6-1 lead in the fifth, the Buckeyes tacked on three more runs, led by a two-run RBI double from right fielder Morgan Frye.
Game 2: UMBC
The Buckeyes found themselves down early, but rebounded quickly to run-rule UMBC 10-2.
Down 2-0, Ohio State exploded in the second as right fielder Taylor Cruse and Milliken each sent a three-run home run over the fence.
In the fourth frame, Ohio State knocked in three more runners, highlighted by a two-run RBI double from Burns.
Game 3: No. 10 Georgia
Ohio State battled, but came up just short as the Bulldogs edged the Buckeyes 7-6.
Cruse had her first career multi-home run game, but it was not enough, as the Buckeyes’ six-game win streak was snapped.
After Georgia took a 2-0 lead, Frye put the Buckeyes on the scoreboard with an RBI double.
A couple batters later, Cruse belted a two-run home run to give Ohio State its first lead of the game.
Georgia responded and led 5-3 before the final frame.
With the Buckeyes on the ropes, Cruse and shortstop Kami Kortokrax each hit a home run to give Ohio State a 6-5 lead.
But in the bottom of the seventh, Georgia answered once again and put two more runs on the board to hand the Buckeyes their lone loss on the weekend.
Game 4: UMBC
The Buckeyes caught fire in the fourth inning and trounced UMBC 9-0 in another mercy rule.
After scoring twice early on, Ohio State stranded four runners over the first three innings, keeping UMBC in the game.
However, the Buckeyes tallied seven runs in the fourth, with a home run from Frye getting things started.
Then, left fielder Hadley Parisien’s RBI single and Milliken’s RBI triple scored three runners. A few batters later, Burns added an RBI double, and the Buckeyes took full control up 9-0.
Freshman pitcher Kassandra Gewecke had her best performance of the season, pitching a shutout while only giving up one hit.
Game 5: No. 10 Georgia
Ohio State avenged its loss to the Bulldogs with a powerful second inning in a 7-0 win.
In the second, Burns and Parisien each sent a long ball over the fence to give the Buckeyes an early 3-0 lead.
But Ohio State was not done.
With two outs, the Buckeyes loaded the bases and Farley and Burns each hit RBI doubles to add four more runs.
Ohio State’s offense powered the Buckeyes to an early 7-0 lead, and freshman pitcher Lorin Boutte pitched a shutout to pick up a team-high seventh win of the season.
Next weekend, Ohio State (13-4-1) plays its first home games at Buckeye Field in the Ohio State Tournament, during which they will take on St. Francis, Oakland, Merrimack, Kent State and No. 2 Texas.
