Meet Softball’s Upcoming Opponents – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/18/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 18, 1999
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes (7-6 overall, 0-0 in the Big Ten) will travel to Southern California for what looks to be their toughest tests of this young season. The Buckeyes are scheduled to play four games in three days against Long Beach State, No. 4 Washington and Cal-State Fullerton.
%^$”This trip to California is important to us,” head coach Linda Kalafatis said. “We have a great deal of respect for the teams we are playing against and we know the games will be challenging. But as long as we play within ourselves and have some fun, we will be okay.
%^$”Our team is playing well right now but we know we can still be get better. Winning back-to-back tournaments, we have some momentum going into California. It will be interesting to see how these games play out.”
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%^$GAMES SCHEDULE
%^$ Sunday, March 21%^$ 1 p.m. at Long Beach State%^$ (doubleheader)%^$ Monday, March 22%^$ Noon vs. No. 4 Washington%^$ (at Cal-State Fullerton)%^$ Tuesday, March 23%^$ 5 p.m. at Cal-State Fullerton%^$%^$SCOUTING THE 49ERS
%^$The Long Beach State 49ers enter this week with a 10-10 record but swept a doubleheader over Southern Utah on March 11, 8-0 and 6-0. On Saturday, they will travel to San Luis Obispo for a doubleheader against Cal Poly. Ohio State will be the only Big Ten school they will face this season. Offensively, the team is led by outfielder Melanie Muniz. She leads the team with a .371 batting average and is tied for second with six runs batted in. Inside the circle, Kelly Nasrawi has a team low 1.64 earned run average and is 2-0 on the year. The head coach is Pete Manarino. He is in his 15th year at the helm.
%^$BUCKEYES vs. 49ERS HISTORY
%^$The Long Beach State 49ers hold a 7-1 edge in the all-time series. The two schools last met on opening day of the 1997 season. At the Arizona State Coca-Cola Classic, LBSU downed OSU 5-1. Jaime Chenevey drove in OSU’s only run of the game.
%^$SCOUTING THE HUSKIES
%^$The Washington Huskies are ranked-No. 4 in the country and enter this week with a 18-3 record. They will arrive in California on Tuesday and begin play at the Kia Classic in Fullerton on Wednesday. They are scheduled to face Oklahoma, Florida and UNLV. Offensively, the Huskies have six players hitting over .300. Leading the way is Becky Newbry with a .492 batting average and 23 runs batted in. Jenny Topping has a team high three dingers and is chipping in with a .375 BA. All three of the Washington pitchers are putting up great number combining for a 0.57 earned run average and 113 strikeouts. Jaime Graves has a team low 0.35 ERA and a team best 9-3 record. But Jenifer Spediacci is 8-0 with a 0.85 ERA and a team high 63 strikeouts. Bridget Graves is also pitching will with a 0.40 ERA. Teresa Wilson is the UW head coach. She is in her seventh year at the helm.
%^$BUCKEYES vs. HUSKIES HISTORY
%^$The Washington Huskies hold a 5-1 edge in the all-time series with Ohio State. The two school last met at the 1996 Arizona Classic. UW won both meetings 6-3 and 3-2. Meaghan Robinson pitched the first game going the distance but gave up six runs. In the 3-2 loss, Jaime Chenevey and Cheryl Palaroan both went 1-for-3.
%^$SCOUTING THE TITANS
%^$The Cal-State Fullerton Titans are 13-9 on the season. Last their conference opener last weekend, they lost two out of three games to Sacramento State. On Wednesday, they will play host to the KIA Klassic. The tournament field features nine of the top 20 teams in the nation and the last three national champions (Fresno State -1998 and Arizona – 1996, ’97). Offensively, the squad is led by Stephenie Little. She is carrying a .375 batting average with six home runs and 19 runs batted in. Nikki Hart is second on the team with .333 BA. Inside the circle, Kati Frank is 2-2 on the year with 0.29 earned run average. Christy Robitaille is 3-3 with a 1.43 ERA. The CSUF head coach is Judy Garman. She is in her 20th year at the helm.
%^$BUCKEYES vs. TITANS
%^$Cal-State Fullerton holds a 9-1 edge in the all-time series against Ohio State. The two schools met twice this season at the Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. In the season opener for both schools, CSUF squeaked out a 4-3 win. In the second matchup, the Titans shut down the OSU bats with a 4-0 blanking of the Buckeyes. In those games, Stacy Roth went 2-for-3 with a double and Renae Weigel went 3-for-6 with a double.
