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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The second half of Ohio State’s 12-game spring break trip started on a winning note Friday, as the Buckeyes beat Cleveland State 10-0 in five innings and East Carolina 7-0 , the first day of the Jolly Roger Invite at Max R. Joyce Stadium on the East Carolina campus. With those wins, the Buckeyes have won eight straight games and improved their overall record to 14-7 this season.
The little story
Ohio State’s five-inning victory over Cleveland State was highlighted by a six-run third inning that saw Meggie Otte hit a grand slam. The Buckeyes’ other homer in the game came off the bat of Reagan Millikin, who also collected his first collegiate hit.
Emily Ruck started the game and struck out four in two innings before giving way to rookie Julia Miller, who worked the final three innings and didn’t allow a hit while striking out five.
In Game 2 of the day, Ohio State scored four times in the second inning and straddled Allison Smith’s hot pitch in the middle of the inning before scoring three more times in the sixth inning to put the game away.
Kami Kortokrax hit a two-run homer in the second inning while the 1-2 duo of Melina Wilkison and Mariah Rodriguez combined the five-run drive on the night. The Buckeyes had seven runs and eight hits against East Carolina starter Addy Bullis, who entered the weekend with a sub-2.00 ERA.
Game 1: Ohio State 10, Cleveland State 0 (5 Inn) – Game Notes
Ohio State’s 10-hit offense saw Wilkison go 2-for-2 with one RBI and two runs scored. She started the scoring with a brace in the top of the first set that scored Rodriguez. The Buckeyes’ six-run third inning included five hits. In addition to Otte’s grand slam, Wilkison, Sam Hackenbracht, Kaitlyn Farley and Rodriguez all had hits. Miller struck out three in the third inning and two in the fourth. Seven different players made runs. Otte’s four RBIs are a career high. It was also the first grand slam she hit in her career.
Game 2: Ohio State 7, East Carolina 0 – Game Notes
The key hits in Ohio State’s second four-run homer were Kortokrax’s homer — his second of the season — a goal-laden RBI single from Mariah Rodriguez and a sacrifice fly from Melina Wilkison. The score remained 4-0 until the sixth inning when Rodriguez’s double scored Jaycee Ruberti and Wilkson drove in two more runs with a single to right field. Allison Smith improved to 7-3 this season with her fourth double-digit at bat of the season. She whipped up 11 batters and scattered only four hits against the Pirates. She lowered her ERA on the season to 1.97 with 85 strikeouts in 67.2 innings.
Buckeye this and that
Jaycee Ruberti reached base in all five of her plate appearances today. She was 3 for 3 with three singles and also walked twice. Melina Wilkson had a team-high four runs and had 11 RBIs in nine games on Ohio State’s spring break trip. Over the past 10 games, Ohio State has batted .343 as a team with 23 extra hits, 10 homers and 60 runs scored. Allison Smith is 4-0 in her last four starts with an 0.85 ERA and has allowed just four earned runs in 33.0 innings.
And after
The Buckeyes continue their program at the Jolly Roger Invitational with two more games on Saturday. Ohio State takes on the Presbyterian at 12:30 p.m. and East Carolina immediately after around 3 p.m.
The match against ECU will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Live stats are also available on the OhioStateBuckeyes.com schedule page.
