Eric Boggs
The Ohio State softball team couldn’t have scripted a better way to close its 2025 home schedule, sweeping Purdue in dominant fashion over the weekend and finishing with a 19-3 record at Buckeye Field. In front of a sold-out crowd on Senior Day, the Buckeyes rode solo home runs from Hadley Parisien and Taylor Cruse, plus a combined shutout effort from Lorin Boutté and Kennedy Kay, to a 2-0 victory Sunday afternoon.
The Buckeyes, now riding a nine-game winning streak, celebrated seniors Kami Kortokrax, Kaitlyn Farley, and Morgan Frye with a fitting performance — but it was the talented underclassmen who carried much of the load. Cruse and Parisien each blasted solo shots to left field, while the Buckeye pitching staff silenced Purdue’s bats, allowing only three hits on the day. Boutté, who started and picked up her 18th win of the season, worked five scoreless innings before handing the ball to Kay, who calmly closed out the final two frames.
Sunday’s win capped a weekend that saw Ohio State thoroughly outclass Purdue in a Saturday doubleheader sweep. After falling behind early in both games, the Buckeyes responded like a team on a mission, winning the opener 10-3 and the nightcap 13-4 in six innings. Game one saw Purdue jump out to a 3-0 lead, but Ohio State quickly erased the deficit, sparked by a Taylor Cruse sacrifice fly and a Hadley Parisien RBI double. From there, it was all Buckeyes. A bases-clearing triple by Cruse highlighted a massive five-run fifth inning, and a couple of bases-loaded walks helped Ohio State reach double digits. Boutté was outstanding once again, going the distance and allowing just four hits and one earned run to notch her 17th win of the season.
In game two, it was Morgan Frye’s towering home run that set the tone, followed closely by another blast from Parisien, who has now reached base in 12 straight games. Taylor Cruse continued her ridiculous weekend by working a bases-loaded walk and legging out an inside-the-park home run. As if that wasn’t enough, Kami Kortokrax and Frye each hit no-doubt homers late in the game to enforce the run rule and end things early. Kennedy Kay started and earned the win, battling through some Purdue offense but staying composed and finishing strong.
The Buckeyes’ offense was relentless all weekend, with players like Skylar Limon reaching base seemingly every time up and raising her average to a team-second-best .392. Taylor Cruse finished the day with eight RBI, and Kaitlyn Farley extended her own on-base streak to nine games. It was a full-team effort that any Buckeye fan could be proud of.
With the home schedule complete, Ohio State (41-10-1, 14-5 Big Ten) now turns its attention to the final series of the regular season in Urbana, Illinois against the Fighting Illini. Illinois sits below .500, and the Buckeyes will be looking to carry their momentum into the postseason, with Big Ten Tournament aspirations fully alive. Every game matters now — and if this weekend showed anything, it’s that this Buckeye team knows how to rise to the occasion.
