The No. 21 Ohio State Buckeyes softball team defeated Penn State 14-11 Sunday to clinch the series. Credit: Zachary Rilley | Lantern File Photo
It was a record-setting evening for Ohio State.
The Buckeyes hit their nation-leading 119th home run of the season and broke the Big Ten single-season home run record in their 15-5 win over Ohio University Tuesday at Ohio Softball Field in Athens, Ohio.
Ohio State launched five blasts, including three from shortstop Kami Kortokrax, who became the fourth player in program history to hit three home runs in a game.
Earlier this season, first baseman Reagan Milliken hit three home runs against Penn State in a 14-11 win April 13.
Ohio State closed out its final non-conference game with its fourth straight run-rule against a non-Big Ten opponent and 15th on the season.
Pitcher Layna Gerhard gave up just two hits to pick up her seventh win of the season.
The Bobcats drew first blood, though with a sacrifice fly from catcher Emma Hoffner in the bottom of the first.
Ohio State responded in record-breaking fashion with a two-run shot from second baseman Kaitlyn Farley. Her long ball gave the Buckeyes 119 homers, surpassing a Big Ten record set by Michigan in 2015.
In the third, Ohio State exploded with a five-hit, six-run inning to gain an 8-1 lead. The frame included a two-run blast from Kortokrax and RBI singles from Milliken, catcher Hailey Lang and right fielder Taylor Cruse.
The Bobcats fought back with two runs in the bottom of the third to cut their deficit to five.
But that’s as close as the in-state rivals got as Milliken and Kortokrax launched back-to-back home runs in the fourth to extend the Buckeyes’ lead to 11-3.
Ohio State kept its foot on the gas in the fifth, with four runs off six hits, highlighted by Kortokrax’s third bomb of the day.
The Bobcats tallied two runs off an RBI single from Hoffner and a sacrifice fly from left fielder Izzie Wilson, but it wasn’t enough to avoid the run-rule, and the Buckeyes won 15-5.
Next up, No. 22 Ohio State (38-10-1, 11-5 Big Ten) will play its final home games of the regular season against Purdue (25-17, 8-8 Big Ten) Friday at 6 p.m., Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. The games will be streamed at Big Ten+.
This story was updated at 2:04 a.m. April 23 to correct the date this game took place.
