The Ohio State Buckeyes come together in the pitcher’s circle before the first inning of the Ohio State-Maryland game March 26. Ohio State won 5-0. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
The rivalry will renew this weekend at Buckeye Field, and much is on the line between two teams entering on long winning streaks and near the top of the standings in the Big Ten Conference.
Ohio State (12-7) will host a big weekend series versus Michigan (13-3) for the first time since the two programs met in April 2019.
“We’re feeling good about ourselves right now, so we want to get back out on the field,” head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly said. “It’s a great rivalry. Our players look forward to this weekend. If you go to Ohio State, you understand the importance of it. They’re pretty pumped about it.”
Separated by just 2.5 games in the standings, both teams are riding momentum. The Buckeyes swept Penn State in three games on the road last weekend to extend their win streak to five, while the Wolverines have won seven straight.
Michigan, however, hasn’t played since March 28 after taking a one-week pause due to COVID-19 protocols. The Wolverines will be plenty hungry to return to the diamond behind their Big Ten-best 0.87 pitching staff ERA, and Schoenly said she expects a battle in the circle.
“We feel very good about our pitching, and they feel very good about their pitching,” Schoenly said. “There’s definitely some parts that make it challenging to face them, and we have some kids on our team that make it challenging to face us. It’s just gonna be about who’s gonna clutch up in those moments and make the big plays in those big moments.”
Senior left-handed pitcher Megan Beaubien and junior right-hander Alex Storako have held down pitching duties phenomenally. Storako leads the conference with 110 strikeouts, a 0.49 ERA and .122 opposing batting average. Beaubien isn’t far behind as she’s third in each category with a 0.94 ERA, 88 strikeouts and .168 opposing batting average.
“They have two really great pitchers,” graduate infielder Carley Gaskill said. “Our game plan against Megan Beaubien two years ago is going to be different than it was this year because she’s evolved, we’ve evolved. Alex Storoko, she has truly upped her game. It’s gonna be who’s gonna stick to their game plan and who is gonna execute. I think that’s gonna be who’s ending on top this weekend.”
At the plate, the Wolverines own a collective .297 batting average, third in the Big Ten and one spot ahead of Ohio State’s .275 average. Junior outfielder Lexie Blair owns the best batting average in the conference with .482 alongside a .732 slugging percentage, also first in the Big Ten.
The Buckeyes’ bats have been dangerous the last two weekends. Sophomore catcher Sam Hackenbracht earned Big Ten Softball Player of the Week honors after driving in 12 runs and slugged four home runs, including two during her 4-for-4 performance in Game 2 Saturday at Penn State.
Junior outfielder Meggie Otte also came through with big hits, including her first home run of the season on Sunday. Otte’s 18 hits are second among the Buckeyes, behind only sophomore outfielder Tegan Cortelletti’s 26.
“Meggie has been hitting so well lately, it’s just been gappers,” Gaskill said. “That’s what we needed from her at the top of the lineup, and I think her breaking through with that home run and getting her hips open, barrel to the ball, I think that just helped her confidence more than anything.”
Ohio State’s senior right-hander Payton Buresch and freshman righty Allison Smith continued to stand out in the circle last weekend. Buresch tossed 5 2/3 hitless innings in her Game 1 win Saturday to begin the series, then tossed the first four innings of Sunday’s 9-0 shutout victory.
Smith tossed her sixth complete game of the season during Saturday’s 9-3 Game 2 win over the Nittany Lions, piling seven strikeouts while allowing just two earned runs.
The Buckeyes will need their offense, pitching and defense to continue to perform like it has over their five-game winning streak in order to take the upper-hand in the latest chapter of the rivalry with Michigan.
For Schoenly, the series will represent a chance to showcase the Buckeyes’ pride in their program while defending their home field. For Gaskill, it’s among the most important series of the season.
“It’s probably the weekend that we as a team look forward to the most, but we try not to make it bigger than it is,” Gaskill said. “It brings the community together. I think it’s something that we’re just always so excited to play. For it to be taken away last year and all the rest of the games, it was unfortunate. It was upsetting at the time, but I’m just happy I get to try one more time to get at them.
First pitch is set for 4 p.m. Friday and will be broadcast on BTN+.
