Parisien’s Grand Slam Punctuates Weekend Sweep over Michigan

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Not all Big Ten Conference series sweeps are created equal. For Ohio State, it’s three wins over Michigan were historic and Sunday’s 15-7 six-inning victory was punctuated by a walk-off grand slam from Hadley Parisien.

The win for Ohio State (37-10-1, 11-5 Big Ten) marked its first-ever series sweep of Michigan (31-15, 9-7 Big Ten). The weekend was highlighted by two wins via walk-off home runs – both by Parisien – and a come-from-behind series-opening win on Friday afternoon. Additionally, two long-standing individual records fell: Jasmyn Burns set the single-season home run record on Friday and then followed by on Sunday by establishing a new single-season RBI record with a grand slam in the fifth inning.

The Buckeyes also enjoyed three scarlet and gray clad crowds this weekend. Ohio State had sellouts in each game of its doubleheader on Friday and over 1,000 packed Buckeye Field on Sunday. Ohio State improved to 16-3 at home and will play its final three regular season home games next weekend when it hosts Purdue Friday-Sunday.

How It Happened

• Michigan took an early 4-0 lead on a one-out grand slam off the bat of Lilly Vallimont.
• The Buckeyes cut into the lead in a big way in the bottom half of the inning, when Sami Bewick sent a three-run bomb, her ninth of the season, over the left field wall.
• The bats remained quiet until the top of the fourth inning when the Wolverines tacked on another run, courtesy of a Lauren Putz sac-fly.
• The Buckeye offense responded in the bottom half, with back-to-back RBI doubles courtesy of Taylor Cruse and Hadley Parisien to take the 6-5 lead.
• Cruse would send more runs home in the fifth inning with a bases-loaded sac-fly to score Kaitlyn Farley. 
• The bases would load up again for Burns’ 22nd homer of the season, a grand slam to center that put the Buckeyes up 11-5.
• The blast gave Burns her 68th RBI of the year, breaking the program record for single-season RBIs. The record was previously set at 66 by Stacy Roth (2002). The milestone marks the second program record Burns has broken this weekend alone.
• The Wolverines would tack on two runs in the top of the sixth on a RBI ground out and sac fly.
• With the bases loaded again, it was Parisien who answered the call with a grand slam of her own to put the Buckeyes up 15-7 and end the game in six.
• Kennedy Kay went six innings on Sunday, recording her 11th win of the season while allowing seven runs and striking out three.
• Lauren Derkowski got the start and the loss for Michigan, going 3.1 innings and allowing five earned runs, six total.

The Weekend That Was

• With three more home runs, the Buckeyes have 118 on the season, which is tied for the most-ever by a Big Ten team. The 2015 Michigan Wolverines also hit 118.
• Hadley Parisien’s game-ending grand slam was her 17th homer of the year, good for second on the Buckeye roster.
• Parisien his .300 in three games against the Wolverines with eight RBI and a .462 on-base percentage.
• Senior Kaitlyn Farley had herself a weekend as well, hitting .429 with a home run.
• Today’s game is Ohio State’s 35th game this season with multiple home runs, which accounts for 73 percent of its games played.
• Ohio State has won four of its six conference series and split one.
• The Buckeyes have won series’ from the Wolverines in three consecutive seasons and are 7-2 against Michigan over the last nine games in the series.

What’s Next

The Buckeyes will hit the road again on Tuesday and head to Athens, Ohio for their final midweek game of the season against the Ohio Bobcats (31-12), who are likewise fresh off a conference sweep over the Miami Redhawks. Ohio State will then return home Friday for their final home stand of the season to host conference opponent Purdue.