Morehead State at Ohio State
April 29, 2011 – 5 p.m.
Buckeye Field
Columbus, Ohio
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team welcomes Morehead State at 5 p.m. Friday for a doubleheader at Buckeye Field. The Buckeyes (11-29, 2-10 Big Ten) return to action after dropping two games at Northwestern April 23-24. The Eagles (19-29, 10-14 OVC) travel to Columbus after dropping two of three games at Tennessee Tech April 22-23.
BUCKEYES TO HOST SOLES4SOULS UNIVERSITY RV TOUR
The Buckeyes will host the Soles4Souls University RV Tour when they host Penn State at 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 11 during their last home games of the 2011 campaign. Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects new and used shoes to distribute to people in need around the world. Ohio State is one of eight universities the charity is visiting to help spread word about Soles4Souls and to get college students involved in the mission.
The Soles4Souls University RV Tour will be available outside the gates of Buckeye Field, home of Ohio State softball, at the start of the doubleheader. Soles4Souls accepts all types of shoes in all sizes: athletic, running, dress, sandals, pumps, heels, work boots, cleats, dance, flip flops, just as long as they are new or gently worn.
FOLLOWING FROM HOME
Buckeye Vision
Both games vs. the Eagles will be streamed live on Buckeye Vision at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
Live Stats
Live stats for both games will be available on the schedule page of Ohio State softball on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
QUICK HITS
COLETTA IN THE CLUTCH
Sophomore Megan Coletta has come up with some big hits this season for the Buckeyes. Most recently, the native of Fullerton, Ohio, claimed the gamewinning hit vs. Youngstown State April 21 in Columbus when she posted a two-out double to give the team a 2-1 victory in eight innings.
At Minnesota April 2, the Buckeye third baseman posted a two-run home run in the top of the seventh of game two to cap a six-run seventh inning comeback. Coletta also notched a double in the bottom of the sixth in a 4-3 win vs. Pittsburgh in game one April 6 and scored the eventual game-winning run later that inning.
HERRON’S HITTING
Junior co-captain Alicia Herron is leading the team with a .368 batting average through 40 games this season. The Cypress, Calif., native hit .583 at the Holiday Inn Tulsa-City Center Festival, recording six RBI with two doubles and a home run. Herron recorded a season-high four RBI in the 10-4 loss vs. Drake March 5 – the big offensive game was the second time this year she has claimed at least four RBI in a single game.
At Minnesota, Herron went 2-for-5 with a double and three runs and three walks in the doubleheader against Minnesota. Most recently, the Buckeye shortstop notched a 3-for-4 performance vs. Purdue April 17 with a home run, double, two runs and two RBI. She also lead off game one at Indiana April 13 with a solo homerun off starting pitcher Morgan Melloh. She leads the team with 12 multi-hit performances this season.
SENIOR SUCCESS
Senior Brittany Goodchild has continued her success in her final season as a Buckeye after her breakout year in 2010. The Buckeye outfielder is second on the team in hitting with a .336 batting average, 37 hits and a .423 on base percentage. She led Ohio State at the plate in the two wins at Minnesota April 2, going 4-for-8 with three runs and an RBI. At the Tulsa Tournament, she guided the Buckeyes in the box, batting .600 with six hits, a double and two walks. She is batting .400 the last three games.
The native of West Hills, Calif., Goodchild also has become a key component to the pitching staff as a relief specialist. She is 1-1 this season in 12 appearances, pitching 18.1 innings. Before this season, Goodchild had just 0.1 innings pitched in her Buckeye career.
CARRILLO’S 11-GAME HIT STREAK
Freshman Evelyn Carrillo, a native of Corona, Calif., began her Buckeye career with a team-high 11-game hit streak from Feb. 12-Feb. 26. During the streak, the Buckeye first baseman collected a .359 batting average with 14 hits and 11 RBI.
Currently batting .274 this season, Carrillo has played in all 40 games and leads the team with 26 RBI and tied for first with six home runs. She is third on the team with 34 hits and second with a .460 slugging percentage.
BIG TEN CO-FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Melissa Rennie, a freshman catcher, was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced Feb. 21. The native of Wellington, Ohio, claimed the weekly laurel along with freshman pitcher Cassee Layne of Michigan State.
In three games at the South Alabama Tournament, Rennie totaled seven hits, including three home runs with six RBI in her second career collegiate event.
Overall, Rennie has started in 31 games this season, batting .300 at the plate with 21 hits, 13 runs and three home runs with a .457 slugging percentage.
KALAFATIS CLAIMS 500 WINS
Head coach Linda Kalafatis claimed her 500th career victory at the helm of the Buckeyes last week in the 4-1 win vs. Harvard March 18 in San Diego, Calif.
In her 15th season at Ohio State, Kalafatis is one of the most successful coaches in the Big Ten and the NCAA. She is one of four conference coaches with more than 700 career wins, placing her among the Top 30 active coaches in the country.
The Buckeyes have won 30 or more games in nine of Kalafatis’ 14 seasons in Columbus and in each of the last seven seasons. Also the Big Ten coach of the year in 2002, she has guided Ohio State to six of the program’s seven NCAA tournament appearances (2002, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’09, ’10), including its first trip to the NCAA Super Regional in 2009.
Kalafatis entered the 2011 campaign with a 493-298 (.623) record in 14 years at Ohio State, which marks the best win total and winning percentage in program history. In 22 years as a collegiate head coach, including stops at her alma mater California (Pa.) and Akron, she owns a record of 776-437-2 (.639).
UP NEXT
Ohio State travels to Ann Arbor to face conference rival Michigan in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. May 4. Both games will be broadcast live on the Big Ten Network.
