Around the Oval: Ohio State Softball Records a No-Hitter, Men's Golf Wins the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate and Men's Lacrosse Makes History

By Chase Brown on April 24, 2023 at 1:05 pm
Softball
Ohio State Dept. of Athletics
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Around the Oval is back with another week of coverage for Ohio State's Olympic sports.

In this week's edition of ATO, Eleven Warriors' one-stop shop for coverage of the Buckeyes' non-revenue programs, we provide updates for softball, men's golf, men's lacrosse and several other Ohio State teams.

Over the weekend, we also had coverage for men's tennis' 17th consecutive Big Ten regular-season championship and men's volleyball's first-place finish in the MIVA Tournament Championship.

Let's dive in.

Softball

Ohio State softball had quite the week. After a 10-2 win over Youngstown State on Tuesday, Ohio State hosted Purdue at Buckeye Field over the weekend, losing 6-3 on Friday before completing a comeback from 8-0 to defeat the Boilermakers 12-9 on Saturday. Then, the Buckeyes secured a no-hitter in a 9-0 win over their Big Ten competitor on Sunday.

Purdue was all over Ohio State's Emily Ruck in the first two innings on Saturday, recording seven hits and scoring six runs to capture an early 6-0 lead. When Lexi Paulsen entered the contest to put out the fire, the Boilermakers continued their success and added two more runs to hold an 8-0 advantage.

However, that success would be brief, as Ohio State scored six runs in the next three innings to cut the Purdue lead to two runs. In the sixth, the Boilermakers added one more run to extend their lead to 9-6, but the Buckeyes rallied to put six runs on the board in the bottom half of the inning. Mariah Rodriguez and Jaycee Ruberti provided their team with the game-tying and game-winning runs. 

On Sunday, Allison Smith tossed her first-career no-hitter, collecting seven strikeouts while allowing only four baserunners from walks. Smith's stellar performance was bolstered by an active day for Ohio State's batters, who recorded 11 hits in the 9-0 shutout.

Meggie Otte paced the Buckeyes with a 2-for-3 effort at the plate, including a home run, a triple and three RBIs, while Sam Hackenbracht (2-for-3, triple, 3 RBIs) and Rodriguez (1-for-3, two RBI) also shined. Ohio State scored three times in the first inning, twice in the second and opened the floodgates with a four-run fourth that featured Otte's homer. 

With the wins, Ohio State improved to 30-15 this season with a 10-7 mark in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes host Minnesota this weekend for its final three regular-season home games, with first pitches set for 6 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. Saturday and noon Sunday. The series finale will also serve as Ohio State's Senior Day.

Men's Golf

Ohio State men's golf won the Robert Kepler Intercollegiate for the 25th time in school history over the weekend as the Buckeyes finished with 854 strokes after 54 holes – 19 strokes better than second-place finisher Kent State.

The tournament victory was Ohio State's second this season, along with the Cal Poly Collegiate in early November. It also served as the Buckeyes' second Robert Kepler Intercollegiate title since 2019.

Jackson Chandler led Ohio State at the event with an even-par performance that tied him for second as an individual. The team's other competitors weren't far behind. JonErik Alford finished fourth at 1-over, Adam Wallin took fifth at 2-over and Max Moldovan and Neal Shipley tied for seventh at 4-over.

Since Ohio State hosted the event at the OSU Golf Club, head coach Jay Moseley had several more golfers on the course for the weekend. However, their scores did not contribute to the Buckeyes' team standing. Topher Reed and Tyler Groomes tied for 24th at 9-over and Jacob Tarkany and Joe Wilson tied for 26th at 10-over, while Patrick Schmucking (13-over) and Drew Mulcahy (14-over) tied for 41st and 49th, respectively.

Moseley and Ohio State now set their sights on next weekend’s Big Ten Championship at Galloway National Golf Club in Galloway, New Jersey, home of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. The Buckeyes will start the 54-hole tournament at 9 a.m. Friday.

Men's Lacrosse

According to Columbus Black History, an organization with a following of nearly 20,000 users on Facebook, Ohio State men's lacrosse became the first Power Five program ever to start an entire line of Black athletes on defense, something the organization considers a "huge milestone for the sport."

Other News and Notes

  • Ohio State women's golf took third at the 2023 Big Ten Championships, marking the second consecutive third-place finish for the Buckeyes. Head coach Lisa Strom and her team will now wait for their NCAA Regional placement, which will be announced on Wednesday. The Regionals will run from May 8-10.
  • Ohio State baseball was swept by Penn State over the weekend. With the losses, the Buckeyes fell to 20-20 overall with a 3-12 mark in the Big Ten conference, placing the team firmly in the bottom third of the conference standings with only three weeks left to play.
  • The No. 9 Ohio State women's tennis team closed its season with a 4-0 sweep of Maryland on Sunday. The Buckeyes improved to 18-6 overall with the win and have a 10-1 record in Big Ten competition. Ohio State also earned a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament and will begin play in the quarterfinals Friday in West Lafayette, Indiana.
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