The Ohio State softball team began NCAA tournament play putting themselves behind the eight ball. The North Carolina Tar Heels took a 3-0 lead after an inning of play in Knoxville, Tenn. Friday. The Buckeyes’ nationally-leading power offense reponded with five home runs to win the game, 9-6.

The last time that Ohio State and North Carolina met in the NCAA tourney, in 2019, the Tar Heels topped the Bucks in Knoxville’s regional and went on to play host Tennessee It looked as though the Heels might do the same thing Friday at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium. A Kiannah Pierce double brought in three unearned runs in the first inning.

In the bottom of the second, OSU cut the Tar Heels’ lead to 3-1 on a solo shot from Reagan Milliken. The Buckeyes trimmed another run off the UNC lead in the third inning when Kaitlyn Farley singled to bring home Kami Kortokrax from second base. Ohio State tied the score at 3-3 in the fourth on a Taylor Cruse home run.

North Carolina retook the lead in the fifth inning on a solo homer from Sanaa Thomson. The Buckeyes added four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Jasmyn Burns led off the inning with a long ball. Later in the inning, Morgan Frye homered with two aboard and the Bucks took a 7-4 lead. 

Ohio State’s attack wasn’t done. In the sixth, Hadley Parisien and Burns hit back-to-back home runs to go up 9-4. Burns’ second long ball of the game traveled 275 feet over the center field wall. Shelby Barbee pulled the Tar Heels closer in the top of the seventh with a two-out, two-run blast but that was all and OSU posted a 9-6 victory.

Freshman Lorin Boutte went all the way for the win for Ohio State. She gave up six runs, three earned, allowing seven hits and seven walks, while striking out three. The Buckeyes take on host Tennessee in the regional final Saturday at noon. The Volunteers beat Miami (Ohio) Friday, 17-0.