Ohio State’s softball team is making history with a 41-10-1 record, setting a tremendous pace that the team has not seen in over a decade.

The Buckeyes are on an eight-game win streak, looking to go nine, and they lead the country in critical stats: number of homeruns, RBIs, slugging and total runs.

They also broke the Big Ten record of single-season home runs in their game against Ohio University on Tuesday, April 22.

Facing Purdue at Buckeye Stadium for a double header on Saturday, April 26, the Buckeyes won 10-3 and then 13-4.

On Sunday as the Bucks headed into their final game against Purdue in this series, they were looking for the sweep.

Ohio State right fielder Taylor Cruse bumped the Buckeyes up one in the third with a solo blast to left field.

“In the box, I’m just trying to stay calm and be on time,” she said. “[I’m trying not to] get too ahead of myself and not make the moment bigger than it is. I’m just trying to hit line drives and doubles every time.”

A notable component of their performance on the field was the cohesiveness and strength of their pitchers.

“I think we’re together as one unit,” she added. “Our pitchers have been amazing and I think our defense was really working today. We had a lot of good plays and a lot of communication.”

First year Coach Kirin Kumar compliments her team’s ability to complete strong defensive plays when the pitchers need them to.

“We know [the pitchers] have it in them,” she said. “It’s just giving us a chance on defense, and that’s what they did, and we made some great defensive plays. Things that you can’t defend are walks and home runs, and they did a great job.”

The Buckeyes had a prime opportunity to extend their lead when Purdue second baseman Alivia Meeks dropped a routine flyball, allowing Kami Kortokrax to reach base with no outs.

However, Ohio State failed to raise their number, leaving two runners stranded on base.

In the bottom of the fifth, left fielder Hadley Parisien crushed one over the fence in left field, raising the Buckeyes’ number by one.

Following that hit, the Buckeyes were fired up.

Jasmyn Burns solidified another base with a ground ball straight up the middle and Reagan Miliken walked, but the Buckeyes fell short of another run.

Ultimately, the two runs scored from solo home runs were enough for the Bucks to shut out Purdue in this series.

Coach Kumar elaborated on the drastic difference between runs scored in this game compared to Saturday’s double header.

“It’s a multifaceted team,” she said. “You have to have the pitching, the defense and the hitting. Sometimes there are days when the hitting is on and we’ll score fifteen runs and sometimes we’ll score two.”

Moving into the rest of their season, Ohio State softball will face Illinois for a three-game series next weekend and then enter the Big Ten tournament with the hopes of going far.