Spring is in the air, or at least it feels like it with the Ohio State softball team kicking off its 2023 campaign down in Orlando, Florida.
The Buckeyes are taking part in a multi-team, multi-game format at the UCF Softball Complex to start the year. Their first opponent was the No. 15 Georgia Bulldogs, and it started off promising for OSU, but ended on a sour note, with Georgia eventually winning 11-4.
Tegan Cortelletti led off the game for Ohio State with a stand-up triple to the left-center gap and was brought home just one batter later when Melina Wilkson hit a sacrifice fly to give the Buckeyes the early 1-0 lead. Georgia would answer with two runs of its own in the bottom half, but OSU would regain the lead 3-2 in the top half of the second on a two-run single by Kaitlyn Farley.
Each team would add to the score to make it 4-4 after four innings, but that’s when things got away. Georgia put together a five-run inning in the 5th to gain separation and never look back.
Ohio State freshman Kennedy Kay earned the start in the circle and went 1.1 innings before Allison Smith took over for 3.1 innings. Ohio State used four pitchers in total to try and stem the tide.
Georgia’s Jayda Kearney was the star of the contest, going 4-for-4 with three home runs and six RBI.
Tough one to open the 2023 campaign but we'll be back tomorrow for two more. Reap, stats, notes, etc. ⬇️#GoBucks https://t.co/SY2y1A5CM0
— Ohio State Softball (@OhioStateSB) February 10, 2023
The Buckeyes will be back at it on Saturday with a two-game set at UCF again. Game 1 will take place at 2:30 p.m. ET against Boise State, with a game vs. No. 18 UCF at approximately 5 p.m.
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