Aloha Means Goodbye – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/9/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
February 9, 1999
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio State begins its 28th season of varsity softball at the third annual Paradise Softball Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. The trip marks the first ever visit to the Aloha State for OSU. The Feb. 11 start also marks the earliest season opener in school history. The Buckeyes are guaranteed to play in six games with the possibility of playing up to eight. The five other teams competing are No. 17 Hawai’i, Cal-State Fullerton, Baylor, Loyola Marymount and Oregon State. Tournament play will begin on Thursday at 2 p.m. and conclude on Sunday at 4 p.m. with the championship game.
OSU TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Thursday, Feb. 11 – 4 p.m. vs. Cal-State Fullerton
Friday, Feb. 12 – 8 a.m. vs. Oregon State; 6 p.m. vs. No. 17 Hawai’i
Saturday, Feb. 13 – 10 a.m. vs. Baylor; 12 p.m. vs. Loyola-Marymount
Sunday, Feb. 14 based on seeding
THE PARADISE SOFTBALL CLASSIC
The 1999 Paradise Softball Classic is a six team, round robin tournament with single-elimination play. All games will be played at the Rainbow Wahine Softball Stadium. The capacity is 1,200. For any questions or requests regarding the tournament, please contact Brendan Sagara of the University of Hawai’i Sports Information Office at (808) 956-7506.
ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
For any questions or requests regarding the Ohio State softball team, assistant sports information director Pat Chun will represent the OSU Athletic Communications Office on the road.
TRAVEL ITINERARY
The Buckeyes will depart from Port Columbus International Airport on Wednesday at 9:10 a.m. They will arrive in Honolulu, Hawaii via Delta Airlines at 5:22 p.m. (local time). The team will stay in the Hawaii Waikiki Beach Hotel located at 2570 Kalakaua Ave. The phone number is (808) 922-2511 and the fax is (808) 925-3656.
SEASON OPENERS
The Buckeyes are 2-7 in season opening games in the 1990s. Under head coach Linda Kalafatis, the Buckeyes are 0-2. Last season, the Buckeyes opened their season with a 5-1 loss to Long Beach State at the Arizona State/Coca-Cola Classic.
SCOUTING THE TITANS
Cal-State Fullerton finished the 1998 season 32-29 overall and in fourth place in the Big West Conference with a 16-16 record. This year’s team is led by the play of second baseman Nikki Hart and the pitching of Jana Oetgen. Last year, Hart batted .329 with two home runs and a team high 34 runs batted in. Oetgen recorded an 11-13 record with a 2.81 earned run average. As a team, the Titans return eight starters after losing only two. In her 20th season at the helm is head coach Judy Garman. The two schools will play again on March 23, in Fullerton, Calif.
BUCKEYES vs. TITANS HISTORY
Last year, Ohio State took its first ever victory over Cal-State Fullerton, a 4-0 win at the Arizona State/Coca-Cola Classic. The win was not only the first ever over CSUF, but it was also OSUs first win of the 1998 season. In that game, pitcher Meaghan Robinson earned her first career save with 2.1 innings of shutout softball. Offensively, shortstop Renae Weigel paced the Buckeyes with a 2-for-2, one RBI performance. CSUF still leads the all-time series 7-1. OSU head coach Linda Kalafatis is 1-0 lifetime against CSUF.
SCOUTING THE BEAVERS
Oregon State finished the 1998 season with a 27-28 overall record and an eighth place finish in the Pac-10 with an 8-20 record. This year’s team is led by second team All-American Tarrah Beyster. A double threat at both first base and pitcher, her 1998 season saw her bat .391 with 12 home runs and 29 runs batted in. In the circle, she finished with a 21-16 record. Rightfielder Jodi Chmielewski chipped in with a .285 batting average and earned honorable mention all-Pac-10 honors. Also earning honorable mention all-Pac-10 honors was outfielder Courtney Stewart. She batted .262 with six RBI last year. In his fifth season at the helm is head coach Kirk Walker.
BUCKEYES vs. BEAVERS HISTORY
The only time these two schools have battled came in 1996 at the UCLA Easton/Reebok Invitational. Oregon State took both games winning 4-3 and 2-0. Pitcher Meaghan Robinson took the loss in the second game.
SCOUTING THE RAINBOW WAHINE
Hawai’i finished the 1998 season ranked No. 14 in the country with a 46-15 record. In the WAC, the Rainbow Wahine finished second behind national champion Fresno State with a 22-8 record. Offensively, UH is led by a trio of all-WAC selections. First baseman Joyce Lum batted .401 with 29 runs batted in. Catcher Dana Degen batted .362 with six home runs and 35 runs batted in. Infielder Melissa McGie batted .342 with six home runs and 38 RBI. Inside the circle, all-WAC selection Kelly Gentle returns after posting a 22-8 record with a 1.43 earned run average. In his seventh year at the helm is head coach Bob Coolen.
BUCKEYES vs. RAINBOW WAHINE HISTORY
The only time these two schools have matched up came in the 1997 Pony Invitational in Fullerton, Calif. Hawai’i won the contest 8-0.
SCOUTING THE LIONS
Loyola Marymount finished the 1998 season with a 26-41 record. Offensively, the Lions are led by leftfielder Meghan Dunbabin. She led the team with a .367 average with eight runs batted in. The centerfielder is Anna Trauernicht. She chipped in with a .324 average with 12 RBI. In the circle, Jenny Hart is the top returning pitcher. She finished last season with an 8-16 record and a 3.98 earned run average. In his fourth year at the helm is head coach Gary Ferrin.
BUCKEYES vs. LIONS HISTORY
Saturday’s game marks the first ever meeting between the two schools.
SCOUTING THE BEARS
Baylor finished the 1998 season with a 20-36-1 record. In the Big 12 conference, the Bears finished in tenth place with a 2-14-1 record. This year’s team is led by outfielders Naomi Fitzgerald and Michelle Sorrels. Last season, they batted .317 and .306 respectively. In the circle, Stacy Allison returns after posting a 12-15 record with a 1.69 earned run average. In her tenth season at the helm is Paula Young.
BUCKEYES vs. BEARS HISTORY
The two schools met for the first time last season at the Air Touch Cellular Capital Classic. In that game, Baylor came out ahead 4-1. Toni Hileman took the loss but the game did mark Jodi Dolan breaking the old OSU all-time career home run mark of nine with her fourth inning blast.
SOME NEW FACES
This year’s roster features seven new faces. The highly touted freshman class includes Anna Smith, Samantha Kimura, Stacy Roth, Julie Darney and Sarah West. Chrissy Fowler and Natalie Woods transferred from Wright State and South Mountain Community College, respectively.
CAPTAINS ARE NAMED
Jaime Chenevey, Natalie Kratzer, Cheryl Palaroan and Renae Weigel have been named captains for the 1999 Ohio State softball team. “I expect our captains to represent and reflect the ideals we want out of our student-athletes,” Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis said. “Natalie, Renae, Jaime and Cheryl all possess excellent work ethics, they are academically focused and are solid people. They characterize what our program stands for in every sense of the word.”
PAIR OF BUCKEYES DRAFTED
In December, Jaime Chenevey and Cheryl Palaroan, respectively, became the second and third Buckeyes ever to be drafted by the Women’s Professional Softball League. The Akron Racers selected Chenevey in the third round and Palaroan in the eighth round in the WPSL Senior Draft. Hawai’i pitcher Kelly Gentle was also selected by the Racers.
CLOSING IN ON SOME RECORDS
Several Buckeyes are close to breaking some OSU career records. Cheryl Palaroan is only eight stolen bases away from tying Candace Kollen’s career record of 44. Jaime Chenevey is three home runs away from tying Jodi Dolan’s record of 12.
THE 1999 SCHEDULE
Ohio State will travel 20,372 miles, visit nine states and five different time zones this season. The travel log features four tournaments and a four-game swing through Southern California. At home, Buckeye Field will play host to Michigan, Iowa, Bowling Green, Purdue, Butler, Dayton, Northwestern and Youngstown State.
HEAD COACH LINDA KALAFATIS
Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis is entering her third season at the helm. Last season’s 33-23 overall and 10-14 conference records speak for themselves.
The overall record marked the first winning season since 1995. The 33 wins marked only the fifth time in the school’s 27 year history that it had won at least 30 games. The .589 winning percentage was OSU’s third highest in the ’90s and highest since 1994. For the second consecutive year, Kalafatis improved the Buckeye winning percentage by over 100 points.
The Big Ten was also served notice with 12 of the 24 games decided by a one or two run margin. And with four days left in the season, the Buckeyes found themselves still alive for a tournament berth. Not bad for a team that won only four Big Ten games in 1997 and six in 1996. The 10-14 conference record was good enough for a sixth place finish.
A major part of winning are the awards and the Buckeyes earned their share.
After the season, the Buckeyes took home a second team all-Big Ten and two second team regional All-America selections.
During the season, Ohio State was one of six Big Ten schools to have a player named conference player of the week. In addition, four members of the OSU squad were named to the South Florida/Louisville Slugger all-tournament team and one Buckeye was named to the Air Touch Cellular Capital Classic all-tournament team.
Prior to the 1998 season, the Buckeyes had their first ever draft selection in the Women’s Professional Softball League with the fifth overall pick in the first round. Prior to this season, two more Buckeyes were selected in the draft.
And as always, Buckeye Softball took control in the classroom. Nine members of the 1998 squad were named OSU Scholar-Athletes and one member of the team was named to the GTE Academic All-America District team.
Kalafatis has proven over and over that reclamation projects are not a problem. Prior to Ohio State, she took over two troubled programs and built them into winners. At the University of Akron, she compiled a mark of 98-63-1. Prior to Akron, Kalafatis headed the coaching staff at California University of Pennsylvania, her alma mater. In five seasons, she posted a 175-53-1 record, winning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference every year. She graduated from California in 1988 with a bachelors degree in business administration and marketing and in 1991, she earned her masters degree in geography and regional planning.
In her career, Kalafatis has coached three All-Americans, 28 all-region and 36 all-conference players.
A native of Bethel Park, Pa., Kalafatis is an active member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and has served as a member of the Eastern Regional Softball Committee.
1998 SEASON REVIEW
The Buckeyes finished the 1998 season with a 33-23 overall and 10-14 Big Ten record. The overall record marked the first winning season since 1995. The 33 wins marked only the fifth time in school history that OSU has won at least 30 games. The .589 winning percentage was the school’s third highest in the 90s and the highest since 1994s .667. Within the conference, OSU finished in sixth place.
GETTING RESULTS
Results for the Buckeyes will be posted through www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com approximately two hours after the last game of each day. Results are also available through the Fax-on-demand service (The Big Ten passcode – 282; Release – 2665, Last Game Result – 2667).
ON DECK
The Buckeyes will resume competition on Feb. 27 when they travel to Atlanta, Ga. for the Georgia State Invitational. The Buckeyes are scheduled to play a minimum of five games. Other teams competing in the tournament are Georgia State, Kentucky, Tennessee-Martin, Indiana State and St. Louis.
QUICK FACTS
Location: Columbus, Ohio
Enrollment: 48,278
President: William E. Kirwan
Athletic Director: Andy Geiger
Nickname: Buckeyes
Colors: Scarlet & Gray
Mascot: Brutus Buckeye
Home Facility: Buckeye Field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center
Capacity: 800
Dimensions: 190-220-190
Conference: Big Ten Conference
1999 Record: 0-0 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten
Head Coach: Linda Kalafatis, California (Pa.), ’88
OSU Record: 53-54 (.495), Third Year
Career Record: 326-169-2 (.658), 10th Year
Assistants: Belinda Cernava, Drema Neal, Shauna Bowman Miller
Trainer: Daniel Hamilton
Athletic Communications: Pat Chun
Phone: (614) 292-6861
Fax: (614) 292-8547
Home: (614) 326-0193
E-mail: chun.18@osu.edu
Website: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Address:Room 124, St. John Arena 410 Woody Hayes Drive Columbus, Ohio 43210-1166
This Week
Feb. 11-14: Ohio State begins its 28th season of varsity softball at the Paradise Softball Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Next Week
The Buckeyes are idle until Feb. 27 when they head to Atlanta, Ga., for the Georgia State Invitational.
Slap Hits
“You need kids with talent,” Coach Linda Kalafatis said on NBC Channel 4 last week about the two-year turnaround of the softball program. “But it’s all the other things – the hard work, the commitment, the attitude – that make you succeed.
Coach Kalafatis will be the featured guest on the halftime radio show of the Feb. 18, OSU women’s basketball game against Michigan State. The game begins at 7:30 p.m. and will air on WBNS Radio (1460 AM).
