Penn State Prepares for Series with Ohio State in Columbus
Nittany Lions hit the road for the first time in the month of April, renew series with Buckeyes
Follow the Action
Penn State’s Big Ten Conference road trip to face the Ohio State Buckeyes will feature live streaming for games one and two to a worldwide audience of authenticated subscribers via B1G+ and the B1G+ app on connected devices via the link here. Game three of the weekend series will air to a national television audience via the Big Ten Network with streaming available on the FOX Sports App. Admission for all three games of the weekend series from Buckeye Field is ticketed, with tickets available for purchase through Ohio State’s ticketing vendor, Ticketmaster, at the link here. Live stats provided by the Ohio State University and StatBroadcast are available via Penn State’s StatBroadcast hub at the link here.
QUICK HITS
The Nittany Lions return to action following a dominant midweek performance against the in-state rival Bucknell Bison this Tuesday, April 14, with the Blue & White mustering an 11-3 decision in five innings of play from Nittany Lion Softball Park & Beard Field. PSU matched its second-highest hit total of the campaign with 14, managing the program’s 10th win via the run-rule in the 2026 campaign. Three student-athletes hit home runs in the game, highlighted by a four-RBI night from freshman left fielder Breanna Hanik, who went 2-for-3 with a three-run homer rounding out an all-around impressive showing. Penn State’s offense has been a major point of success for sixth-year head coach Clarisa Crowell, with the Nittany Lions boasting the fourth-highest ranked scoring offense in the Big Ten Conference and 26th-best offense nationally. PSU sits as the No. 2 team nationally in walks drawn with 226, trailing only fellow Big Ten member UCLA’s total of 239. Freshman infielder Allison Oneacre has been on a tear offensively since the start of her rookie campaign in February, with the first-year sensation picking up the No. 1 ranking at the third base position in March, followed by recognition as the nation’s No. 5 shortstop at the midseason mark according to Softball America. Oneacre already boasts the Penn State freshman home run record with 14 and sits one RBI shy of tying and two short of breaking the program’s single-season record in that statistic set by junior teammate Brooke Klosowicz a season ago.
WALK THIS WAY…
The 2026 Penn State offense has developed a reputation as one of the strongest in the nation this year, due in large part to a disciplined approach in the batter’s box. Penn State owns the second-highest walk total in all of college softball entering the weekend series against Ohio State, drawing 226 bases on balls through this point in the campaign. Only fellow Big Ten Conference rival UCLA boasts a higher walk total this season, reaching first via walks on 239 occasions as a team. PSU’s astronomical walk total has correlated with one of the best on-base percentages in the country this year, with the Blue & White logging a .429 OBP. The Nittany Lions rank 24th nationally in the statistic and maintain the fourth-highest on-base percentage in the Big Ten. On an individual basis, 10 different student-athletes have worked double-digit walks this season, headlined by junior infielder Michela Barbanente’s team-leading total of 36. The Itasca, Illinois, native is narrowly trailed by freshman infielder Allison Oneacre, who has walked on 34 occasions this season. The duo currently rank tied for second and standalone fifth, respectively, in terms of walks drawn in a single season at Penn State. First Team NFCA All-American Cassidy Bell owns the Penn State record for a single season with 42, accomplished during her senior year in 2013.
Penn State at Ohio State
Record | 27-15 | 7-8 B1G
Record | 21-21 | 8-7 B1G
Introducing Ohio State
ABOUT THE BUCKEYES
Under the direction of head coach Kirin Kumar, the Ohio State Buckeyes enter this weekend’s series carrying a 21-21 overall record alongside an 8-7 mark in Big Ten Conference play. The Buckeyes have hovered around the .500 mark for much of the season, finding most of their success at home with a 12-4 record. Ohio State opened the year with a balanced showing in tournament play before transitioning into conference competition, where the Buckeyes have remained competitive despite some uneven stretches. They own a +57 run differential on the year, outscoring opponents 288-231, while allowing a .313 opposing batting average. Offensively, Ohio State has been one of the more productive lineups in the conference, hitting .325 as a team with 100 home runs. Hadley Parisien has been a standout, batting .396 with 18 home runs and 37 RBI, while Abbie Wilhelm has provided significant power with a team-high 19 home runs and 39 RBI to go along with a .368 average. Taylor Cruse (.365, 17 HR, 39 RBI) and Sami Bewick (.381, 31 RBI) have anchored the middle of the lineup, while Skylar Limon (.381) and Izzy Neal (.365) add depth and on-base ability. In the circle, Ohio State is led by Jenna Molk, who holds a 15-12 record with a 3.23 ERA across 132.0 innings while striking out 116 batters. She has been the primary workhorse for a staff that owns a 4.86 ERA collectively. Lorin Boutte (3-5) and Kennedy Kay (3-4) have provided additional innings in key spots, while Lexi Paulsen has contributed in relief appearances.
STORY OF THE SERIES
One of Penn State’s longest-running active series against a Big Ten Conference opponent will be renewed on Friday evening, with PSU set to participate in the 103rd, 104th and 105th all-time meetings since the inaugural matchup in Columbus in 1975. Recent series history has favored Ohio State, with the Buckeyes taking six of the last seven matchups and eight of the last 10 overall. Over the course of the last 10 meetings, Penn State has secured victories in both 2022 and 2025, with one win apiece taking place in Columbus and University Park over that span. The most recent pair of contests in Columbus came during Penn State’s 2024 NCAA Regional campaign, with the Nittany Lions dropping a pair of hard-fought, back-and-forth contests from Buckeye Field. Offenses surged in the opening matchup, with Ohio State able to pick up a 16-8 victory despite a game-extending grand slam from Maddie Gordon. Game two went OSU’s way via a 2-1 score in an all-out pitcher’s duel. Last year marked the first three-game series between the two programs in Big Ten Conference play for the first time since 2021 and just the second time since 2013. Prior to that, the teams typically squared off in midweek doubleheaders. The 2025 series in Happy Valley went to OSU by a 2-1 margin, but the Blue & White were able to mash their way to the first run-rule ranked win in program history in game two with an 11-2 decision in five innings of play.
Penn State at Ohio State
Record | 27-15 | 7-8 B1G
Record | 21-21 | 8-7 B1G
Penn State at Ohio State
Record | 27-15 | 7-8 B1G
Record | 21-21 | 8-7 B1G
Follow the Nittany Lions
Visit GoPSUsports.com for more information on Penn State softball. Fans can keep up to date with the Nittany Lion softball team on Facebook at /pennstatesoftball as well as Instagram and X @PennStateSB.
The 2026 Penn State softball season is presented by Highmark.