Ohio State softball runs winning streak to 10-straight on Saturday

If you haven’t been paying attention — what with the madness of March and all — the Ohio State softball team is on fire as of late. That continued on Saturday with two more wins that ran the Buckeyes’ winning streak to 10-straight games.

The ninth-straight win came behind a 14-strikeout performance by Allison smith in a 5-2 victory over Presbyterian in the Jolly Roger Invite in Greenville, North Carolina. OSU then followed that up with an impressive 9-2 win over host East Carolina in the second game of the day.

The streaking Buckeyes are now 16-7 on the season and will finish up its spring break trip at 9:30 a.m. ET on Sunday vs. Cleveland State.

Here’s how things played out on Saturday thanks to some notes from the Ohio State Department of Athletics.

Ohio State 5, Presbyterian 2 – Game Notes

• Smith set a new career high with 14 strikeouts and the Buckeyes’ offense was paced by two RBI each from Mariah Rodriguez and Kaitlyn Farley.
• After falling behind 1-0 after the first inning, the Buckeyes struck back with two in the top of the second and another in the third to grab a 3-1 lead.
• The Buckeyes’ offense gave Smith insurance runs in the sixth and seventh innings. She scattered six hits over seven innings to pick up her eighth win of the year.
• Rodriguez finished the game 3-for-4 with a double and two RBI. Over the seven games Ohio State has played this week, she’s batting .400 with two doubles, seven RBIs, and four runs scored.
• Smith’s win was her third this week. In those starts, she’s allowed just two earned runs and has 41 strikeouts.

Ohio State 9, East Carolina 2 – Game Notes

• Ohio State’s offense was paced by junior Destinee Noury, who drove in four runs. Her biggest hit of the night was a three-run double in the fourth inning that gave the Buckeyes a 6-1 advantage.
• Noury also added an RBI in the sixth inning.
• Emily Ruck made her third start of the week and second of the weekend. She went a full seven innings, allowing just five hits and two earned runs.
• This week, Ruck is 3-0 with a 1.87 ERA in 15.0 innings of action.
• Melina Wilkison continued to swing a hot bat, going 4-for-5 with three runs scored, an RBI, and two stolen bases.
• Wilkison was one of five players who had multiple hits. Overall, the Buckeyes’ 14-hit attack was the second-highest output of the season.
• Kaitlyn Farley went 4-for-6 on the day with two doubles and two runs scored.
• Mariah Rodriguez also had four hits on the day while Wilkison had five.