Softball Opens Its Home Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/30/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 30, 1999
Columbus, Ohio – It’s Michigan Week for the Ohio State softball team (8-12 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten). The Buckeyes have their final tune-up for the Big Ten season with the 1999 home opener against Miami (O.) on Tuesday, followed by a home doubleheader against Cleveland State on Wednesday. But make no mistake, all thoughts will be on the No. 4-ranked Wolverines who begin a three-game series at Buckeye Field on Saturday.
OSU IN HOME OPENERS
Since its opening in 1988, OSU is 9-3 lifetime in home openers at Buckeye Field. Under head coach Linda Kalafatis, the Buckeyes are 1-1 in home openers.
OSU IN BIG TEN OPENERS
In the 90s, the Buckeyes are 8-1 in Big Ten openers. Under head coach Linda Kalafatis, OSU is 1-1.
PALAROAN BREAKS STOLEN BASE MARK
In last week’s first game against Long Beach State, Cheryl Palaroan broke the OSU all-time stolen base record with the 45th of her career. The old mark of 44 was held by Candace Kollen (1995-98).
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
Within the Big Ten Conference, Meaghan Robinson is third with a 1.14 earned run average. Jaime Chenevey ranks fifth with a .415 batting average.
STREAKING
Jaime Chenevey enters this week with a team high eleven-game hitting streak. Both Katie Wessendorf and Cheryl Palaroan are carrying five-game hitting streaks.
HEATING UP
Prior to Spring Break, Holly English was carrying a .259 batting average. But with a solid 7-for-18 showing last week, she has upped her season batting season average 55 points.
MODEL OF CONSISTENCY
Freshman Stacy Roth continues to impress this season. The outfielder is batting .340 with nine runs batted in and with runners in scoring position, she is hitting a blistering .526.
ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
For any questions or requests regarding the Ohio State softball team please contact Assistant Athletic Communications Director Pat Chun.
BUCKEYE FIELD INFORMATION
Buckeye Field, home of Ohio State softball, is located at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center. The press box phone number is (614) 292-0623.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
The Miami RedHawks enter this week with a 4-15 record. Over the weekend, they (along with OSU and Cleveland State) competed in the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic and finished with a 1-3 record. In their last game, they lost to Canisius, 4-2. Offensively, the team is led by Laura Fulton. She has a team high .436 batting average and is tied for the team lead with 10 runs batted in. Shawnda Moye leads the team with a pair of home runs and also has 10 RBI. Inside the circle, Abbey Arnold leads the team with a 2.43 earned run average and is 3-8 on the year.
BUCKEYES vs. REDHAWK HISTORY
Ohio State holds a 17-13-1 edge over Miami in the all-time series between the two schools. Last year, the schools split a doubleheader in Columbus, with MU winning the first game 4-1 and OSU winning the second game 6-1. The game one loss was the only to an Ohio school last season for OSU.
SCOUTING THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State enters this week with a 7-6 overall record. They played in last weekend’s Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic and finished with a 2-2 record. Offensively, the squad is led by Mary Deitrick. She has a .357 batting average along with five runs batted in. Jen Paul is chipping in with a .308 average with four RBI. Inside the circle, Kim Evans has a team low 1.86 earned run average and a team high four wins.
BUCKEYES vs. VIKINGS HISTORY
Ohio State is a perfect 10-0 in the all-time series against Cleveland State. Last season, OSU swept a doubleheader 8-0 and 9-4. Renae Weigel went 3-for-5 with three runs batted in that day.
SCOUTING THE WOLVERINES
The Michigan Wolverines are currently ranked No. 8 in the country and enter this week with a 22-5-1 record. UM has not lost in their last 21 contests (20 wins and 1 tie) and enter this week with a four game winning streak. Their last action was a 4-0 showing at the Sacramento State/Capital Classic on March 27-28. Offensively, the team is led by Catherine Davie’s .406 average, four home runs and 33 runs batted in. Melissa Taylor is second on the team with a .358 batting average. Kelsey Kollen leads the team with 12 stolen bases. Inside the circle, Marie Barda has a team low 0.90 earned run average and is 8-1 on the season. Kate Eiland leads the team with 10 wins and is carrying a 1.34 ERA. The Michigan head coach is Carol Hutchins. She is in her 15th year at the helm.
BUCKEYES vs. WOLVERINES
The Wolverines hold a 51-17 edge in the all-time series over OSU. Last year, UM swept the three-game series, but won by the narrow margins of 3-0, 5-3 and 4-3. Three Buckeyes batted over .400 in the series; Jaime Chenevey (.444), Renae Weigel (.429) and Cheryl Palaroan (.429).
THAT NAME SOUNDS FAMILIAR
Former OSU second baseman Candace Kollen’s (1995-98) younger sister Kelsey plays the same position for the Wolverines.
QUIET SPRING BREAK
The Buckeyes completed their Spring Break week with 1-6 record. At the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic, OSU finished 1-2. In the four-game swing through California OSU finished with a 0-4 record.
KENTUCKY INVITATIONAL CHAMPIONS
On March 6-7 in Lexington, Ky., the Buckeyes took home their second tournament championship in as many weekends. In frigid conditions, OSU pulled out a 3-0 tournament record with wins over Kentucky, Akron and Canisius. In the opener against UK, OSU jumped to a 4-0 lead before the Wildcats came back to tie the game in the top of the sixth inning. The Buckeyes secured the win when Stacy Roth scored on a ground out in the bottom of the sixth. That was followed by an 11-1 pummeling of Akron, with OSU getting home runs from Renae Weigel and Katie Wessendorf. With the championship game cancelled due to the temperatures below 30 degrees, OSU could secure the tournament title with a win in its final game against Canisius. The Buckeye attack awoke in the top of the third inning against the Golden Griffins, scoring twice and never relinquishing the lead. OSU would eventually win the game 3-0 led by the pitching of Toni Hileman. Fellow pitcher Meaghan Robinson continued to shine with a 2-0 record, 0.00 earned run average and 10 strikeouts.
GEORGIA STATE SOFTBALL CLASSIC CHAMPS
On the weekend Feb. 27-28, the Buckeyes took home their first tournament championship of the season at the Georgia State Softball Classic in Atlanta, Ga. OSU finished with a 3-1 record with wins over Indiana State, St. Louis and Georgia State. The 16-1 win over St. Louis was the largest margin of victory in school history. The only blemish of the weekend came a 7-4 loss to Tennessee Tech. Renae Weigel led the team with six runs batted in and chipped in with a .500 batting average. Jaime Chenevey led the Buckeyes with a .636 BA. Inside the circle, Meaghan Robinson was 2-0 with a 0.48 earned run average. PARADISE CLASSIC RECAP
In their first action of the 1999 season, the Buckeyes finished the Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii with a 1-5 record. The Buckeyes notched their first win of the season against Baylor (2/13) with a 4-2 win.
THE COACH
Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis is in 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.
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.
THE CAPTAINS
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.
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.
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.
MEDIA GUIDES ON SALE
Copies of the 1999 Ohio State Softball Media Guide are on sale at The Winning Schott, the gift shop inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Store hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. For more information, please call (614) 292-2073 or 1-800-678-6022. 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 travel to Bloomington, Ind. on Wednesday, April 7, for a doubleheader against Indiana.
00, Julie Darney,3B/P,Fr.
Made her college debut against Hawaii (2/12) as a pinch-hitter. Threw a shutout inning against Cal-State Fullerton (2/14). Academically ineligible for the remainder of the season.
1, Kristi Martin, P, So.
Is still recovering from offseason surgery on her right arm.
3, Cheryl Palaroan, CF, Sr.
Co-captain of this year’s team. Went 2-for-4 against Loyola Marymount. Had a career high three hits and four runs scored against St. Louis (2/27). Batted .300 at the Kentucky Invitational. Leads the team with 11 stolen bases in 11 attempts. Has started every game in centerfield and as the leadoff hitter. In the first inning against Long Beach State (3/21) she broke the OSU all-time career stolen base mark of 44. Batted .333 during the California trip. Continued the consistency with a .333 BA at the Georgia Tech/ Buzz Classic.
4, Natalie Kratzer, 3B, Sr.
Co-captain of this year’s team. Singled in first at bat of the season against Cal-State Fullerton (2/11). Has started every game at third base. Third on the team with three stolen bases in three attempts. Errorless streak is currently at 17 games and 42 chances.
6, Meaghan Robinson, P, Sr.
Opening day starter against Cal-State Fullerton. Second consecutive season she got the call on opening day. Recorded a career high seven strikeouts against Indiana State (2-27). Was 2-0 with a 0.00 earned run average at the Kentucky Invitational. Leads the team with a minuscule 0.77 ERA. Her 42 strikeouts has already surpassed last year’s total of 36 and is only two shy of her career high set in her sophomore season. Has yielded only one earned run in her last 33 innings of work. On a four-game winning streak. Did not play in California due to a strained pectoral muscle. Returned with a splendid complete game, 0 ER, 6 K win over Evansville (3/26). 7, Kelli Tom, P, Sr.
Will miss the remainder of the season due to chronic left knee pain.
8, Chrissy Fowler, UT, So.
Is out for the season with a torn ACL in her left knee.
9, Katie Wessendorf, 1B, So.
Started season opener against Cal-State Fullerton (2/11). Batted .556 at the Georgia State Softball Classic. Went 2-for-3 with an RBI against Indiana State (2/27). Blasted her first career home run in the first inning off Akron’s Tiffany McCoy (3/6). Led the team with a .385 BA during the California trip. Batted .364 at the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic.
10, Natalie Woods, 2B/SS, Jr.
Made her OSU debut with a starting assignment at second base against Hawaii (2/12). Recorded her first career hit and RBI against Loyola Marymount’s Jenny Hart (2/13). Went 2-for-4 with her first career triple against Akron (3/6). With miss the remainder of the season due to a torn ACL in her left knee.
11, Jaime Chenevey, C, Sr.
Co-captain of this year’s team. Batted .636 at Georgia State Softball Classic with a team high seven hits. Went 3-for-4 against Georgia State (2/27). Batted .545 at the Kentucky Invitational. Went 4-for-5 with an RBI against Akron. Drove in a pair of runs against Cal-State Fullerton (3/22). Hit an awesome .714 at the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic with a home run against Evansville.
17, Carrie Vanderpool, 2B, Sr.
Started season opener against Cal-State Fullerton (2/11). Recorded the first hit of her season against Baylor (2/13). Went 2-for-3 with an RBI against Tennessee Tech (2/28). Missed the Kentucky Invitational and the California trip with a second degree right ankle sprain. Returned in the Maryland (3/26) game.
18, Renae Weigel, SS, Jr.
Co-captain of this year’s team. Off to another awesome start. Led the team with a .333 batting average at the Paradise Classic. Batted .500 at the Georgia State Softball Classic. Blasted her first career triple, went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and scored 3 runs against St. Louis (2/28). Bombed her first home run of the year, a three-run shot, in the first inning of the Akron contest (3/6). Leads the team with 10 RBI.
20, Anna Smith, LF, Fr.
First career start came in season opener against Cal-State Fullerton. First career hit and RBI came in the third inning of the Oregon State (2/12) game off Tarrah Beyster. First career start at second base was against Long Beach State (3-21). Batted .364 at the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic. Went 2-for-4 with an RBI against Maryland (3/26). Had another 2-for-4 game against Campbell. Has played in every game.
21, Stacy Roth, OF/C, Fr.
Recorded the first hit of her first career in her very first plate appearance against Cal-State Fullerton’s Jana Oetgen (2/12). Also notched her first career RBI that game. Had a career high three walks against CSUF (2/14). Batted a robust .667 at the Kentucky Invitational. Batted .500 at the Georgia Tech/ Buzz Classic. Went 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI against Campbell (3/27).
23, Toni Hileman, P/1B, Jr.
Winning pitcher in OSUs first win of the season over Baylor (2/13). Went 2-for-3 at the plate against Oregon State (2/12). Winning pitcher in OSU’s 16-1 drubbing of St. Louis (2/27). Wining pitcher in OSUs first shutout of the season, a 3-0 win over Canisius (3/7). Recorded her first save of the season against Evansville with a perfect final inning of relief work.
24, Samantha Kimura, 1B/C, Fr.
Started season opener against Cal-State Fullerton (2/11). Recorded the first hit of her career against Baylor’s Carrie Arn (2/13). Finished that game 2-for-3 with a double. Belted the first home run of her career against St. Louis. Was on a team high nine-game hitting streak (2/13-3/6). Went 3-for-4 with an RBI against Akron (3/6). Batted .500 at the Kentucky Invitational. Has played in every game.
26, Sarah West, 1B, Fr.
Made career debut as a pinch-hitter against No. 17 Hawaii (2/12). Made first career start against Cal-State Fullerton (2/14). Notched her first career hit and RBI against St. Louis’ Jennifer Riva.
28, Holly English, OF, So.
Missed the first tournament of the season due to injury. Returned to the lineup at the Georgia State Classic. First hit of the year was a double against Georgia State (2/27). Scored three runs against St. Louis (2/27). Batted .300 at the Kentucky Invitational. Continued her steadiness with a .300 BA during the California trip. Batted .500 at the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic. Went 3-for-4 with two RBI against Campbell (3/27).
