Buckeyes Back on the Road for Bevo Classic This Weekend​

2/11/2026 3:10:00 PM | Softball

Share:
Ohio State will face defending national champion Texas twice
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After a split in Boca Raton, the Ohio State softball team (2-2) will travel to Austin, Texas this weekend looking to extend their two-game winning streak. The Buckeyes will face Northern Illinois, No. 2 Texas (4-1), Abeline Christian (0-5) and Syracuse (3-2) at the Bevo Classic, which is hosted by the University of Texas.

Coverage Plans
Ohio State's games vs. Texas (Friday, 6 p.m. ET and Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET) will be broadcast live on SEC Network+. Coverage of the other three games will come via live stats, which are available on the schedule page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
In-game updates will also be available on the team's official X account @OhioStateSB.

Basics on the Buckeyes: By the Numbers

• The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a team batting average of .337, a mark that is fifth best among Big Ten teams.
• The team slugging percentage of .653 ranks even higher at third in the conference.
• Just like last year, that slugging translated into home runs, with Ohio State already sending seven out of the yard this season. Taylor Cruse and Hadley Parisien lead the way in that category with two apiece.

The Basics
Ohio State vs. Northern Illinois | Friday, Feb. 13 | 1 p.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Live Stats
Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas | Friday, Feb. 13 | 6 p.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
Ohio State vs. Abilene Christian | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 10:30 a.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Live Stats
Ohio State vs. No. 2 Texas | Saturday, Feb. 14 | 3:30 p.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Watch | Live Stats
Ohio State vs. Syracuse | Sunday, Feb. 15 | 10:30 a.m. ET | Austin, Texas
Live Stats

Next-Level Newcomers
While the Buckeyes tout a strong returning core, the newcomers carried their weight to open the 2026 season:

• Freshman Izzy Neal currently holds the highest batting average on the team, swinging .625 and slugging .750. Neal appeared in all four games in Boca Raton, starting in three.
• Abbie Wilhelm, a sophomore transfer from Missouri, was a major asset to the Buckeye offense, starting in all four games and tying Hadley Parisien for most at-bats. Wilhelm stayed on base, batting .462 with six hits and a walk. Wilhelm also launched a home run against Florida Atlantic in only her third plate appearance as a Buckeye.
• Freshman pitcher Jenna Molk etched herself into the Ohio State record books, tossing a no-hitter in an 11-0 win over Army, becoming only the third freshman in the last 12 years to do so. Molk leads the Ohio State pitching stable in both ERA (3.36) and strikeouts (seven). Molk's no-no became only the 24th in program history and the second against Army.
• Freshman Sara Tarr also got in on the action, starting in all four games. Tarr dropped four hits, one of which being a grand slam against Army for her first collegiate home run. She finished the weekend batting .400.

On the Opponents

• Northern Illinois will play its first game of the 2026 season just prior to their matchup with Ohio State in a 10:30 a.m. ET bout with Abilene Chrisitian. NIU went 21-30 in the 2025 season. Four Huskies were named to the All-Mac team in 2025, with three of those honorees returning in 2026. The Buckeyes are 6-0 all-time against NIU. This will be the first game against the two teams since February 11, 2022.
• No. 2 Texas hosts the Bevo Classic with a record of 4-1; their lone loss came last weekend against No. 9 Nebraska. Texas put up 46 runs over its first five games, while allowing 24. The defending national champions have three players batting over .500, with the team hitting a cumulative .361. Five different players went yard in week one, good for a team total of 11 home runs. The Buckeyes are 1-3 in competition with Texas, falling in a close 4-2 loss last year in front of a sold-out crowd at Buckeye Field.
• Abilene Christian is currently 0-5 and will play a double header on Feb. 11 before heading to the Bevo Classic. The Wildcats will face Texas, Northern Illinois, and Syracuse before meeting Ohio State. The offense is led by Erianna Garcia and her .429 batting average, with Ella Beeman (ERA: .332) at the helm of the Wildcat pitching stable. Saturday's game will be the first ever meeting between Ohio State and Abilene Chrisitian.
• Syracuse travels to Austin with a record of 3-2, coming off three straight wins. The Orange are batting .288 as a team, holding competition to an average of .255. Four Syracuse sluggers hold an average above .300, by Madison Knight's mark of .556. Knight likewise leads the Orange pitching corps in strikeouts, with 11, though Jackie Pengel holds the leading ERA of 2.52. Ohio State is 0-2 against Syracuse, with the upcoming match being the first in 10 years. The last meeting between the two teams on Feb. 21, 2016, ended in a 3-2 Ohio State loss

Ladies are in Austin, TX this weekend for 5 games at the BEVO Classic

Friday
vs. Northern Ill at 1pm
vs. #2 Texas at 6pm

Saturday
vs. Abilene Christian at 1030am
vs. #2 Texas at 330pm

Sunday
vs. Syracuse at 1030am

Opening Day!!!

good luck to the Tigers!

DZ83CK said:

They can't worry about what other teams do, but otherwise I agree. A 2-3 minimum in these next 5 games is critical. If you look at ESPN analytics, the Wisconsin home game is the only one OSU is expected to win, but even that one is dicey because Wisconsin has already won on the road at UM and Illinois, and of course OSU was unable to stop their offense in the first matchup. The Virginia game is the second-most likely according to ESPN, but that one could be tougher than meets the eye as well because OSU tends to be offense-heavy and defense-poor, and a matchup against a team like UVA who's defense-oriented and somewhat offensively challenged doesn't tend to work. I do think that they could have a chance in a couple of the other games but it's not looking good if I'm being perfectly honest.

Click to expand...

Iowa just lost to Maryland so I think that game is winnable even though it's on the road.

This team is just so up and down though, they gotta figure out a way to put more complete games together down the stretch. You cant have these long stretches of sloppy play against these types of teams.

bigdog3300 said:

Bummer that Cannon won't be in the lineup,

Click to expand...

Agreed, but we've known for a couple weeks. Birden instead of Kharch is a surprise though...

OPENING DAY!!!!!!

Login to view embedded media

Tanner said:

They might as well try to sign Castellanos. He isn't good but he also wouldn't be their worst outfielder

Click to expand...

And the memes

I will help fund a trip for somebody wearing it to SEC media days, though

To add a quick scouting report on the Buckeyes opening round match…
SMU is playing on their home courts.
Their number one player is pro level and #1 ranked singles player in the ncaa.
Last year Bucks were upset in first round by underdog UCF.
other than those concerns, Bucks should roll over SMU and advance to the round of 8.

Login to view embedded media

buckeyemania11 said:

With the 5 game stretch starting Saturday I think they are gonna need a lot of help in terms of the other bubble teams losing, unless they can manage a couple of upsets. They probably need to go no worse than 2-3 in these 5 to keep the hope alive without a deep B1G tournament run.

Click to expand...

They can't worry about what other teams do, but otherwise I agree. A 2-3 minimum in these next 5 games is critical. If you look at ESPN analytics, the Wisconsin home game is the only one OSU is expected to win, but even that one is dicey because Wisconsin has already won on the road at UM and Illinois, and of course OSU was unable to stop their offense in the first matchup. The Virginia game is the second-most likely according to ESPN, but that one could be tougher than meets the eye as well because OSU tends to be offense-heavy and defense-poor, and a matchup against a team like UVA who's defense-oriented and somewhat offensively challenged doesn't tend to work. I do think that they could have a chance in a couple of the other games but it's not looking good if I'm being perfectly honest.

They might as well try to sign Castellanos. He isn't good but he also wouldn't be their worst outfielder

Jaxbuck said:

Don't forget Matt ".220/.221 whatever it takes" McLain

He's been about as useful as a cock flavored lollypop.

Click to expand...

Don't remind me. He cost me a fantasy baseball championship last year. Thought I got a steal. Jokes on me. Rat bastard