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LEESBURG, Fla. – Ohio State and No. 22 Minnesota played 18 innings of softball on Saturday over the course of six hours and when it ended, the Buckeyes and Gophers had split a doubleheader in Leesburg, Fla. Ohio State is 2-2 on the year and closes out in opening-weekend with two games tomorrow vs. Nebraska (3:30 p.m. and 6:15 p.m.).
The first game of the day featured an 11-inning marathon that resulted in a 2-1 Ohio State win. Senior Payton Buresch went 10.1 innings without giving up an earned run and Kaitlyn Coffman plated what proved to be the winning run on a RBI double in the top of the 11th. Freshman Allison Smith closed out the game with the first save of her young career.
Buckeyes Split Season-Opening Doubleheader with Iowa ohiostatebuckeyes.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ohiostatebuckeyes.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Briefly on the Buckeyes
When Friday’s first pitch is thrown against the Hawkeyes, 354 days – almost a full calendar year – will have passed since the last time the Buckeyes took the field. They were 9-9 last season before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the remainder of the season on March 12.
Ohio State returns its top five hitters and three of its starting pitchers from last season. They also added eight freshmen to the 2021 roster.
The player with the most game experience heading into the season is senior Niki Carver, who has started 107 of the 114 career games that she’s played in.