Buckeye Softball Opens Spring Break in Rock Hill, S.C. – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 16, 2000
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes (5-4) take on Tennessee State, North Carolina-Wilmington and North Carolina-Charlotte, March 17-19. Ohio State opens the tournament against Tennessee State at 2 p.m.and North Carolina-Wilmington at 8 p.m. Friday at the Cherry Field in Rock Hill, S.C. The Buckeyes will then compete against North Carolina-Charlotte at 3 p.m. on Saturday. Sunday’s games will be based on seeding.
ATHLETICS COMMUNICATIONS
For any questions or requests regarding the Ohio State softball team, please contact Robin Jentes of the Ohio State Athletics Communications staff. The team will be staying at the Country Inn & Suites (803-329-5151) in Rock Hill, S.C., Thursday until Sunday.
FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR THE BUCKEYES
Anna Smith – Smith has 10 stolen bases on the season and ateam-high on base percentage of .468. Stacy Roth – She blasted hersecond home run of the season against Florida A&M. She alsoboasts a .500 slugging percentage and a .359 BA. Natalie Woods -After missing 42 games last season because of a torn ACL, Woods isback in the lineup as a designated hitter and possibly competingfor a starting field position. Katie Chain – She posted aseason-high seven strike outs against Robert Morris and holds theteam’s best record inside the circle, 3-2. The Pitching Staff -Toni Hileman, Kristi Martin and Katie Chain have held opponents toa 2.01 ERA in 101 innings pitched.
SCOUTING THE SEAHAWKS
The UNC-Wilmington Seahawks have an 9-15 overall record this season under head coach Maggie St. Ledger. UNC-Wilmington split the series against Campbell on Tuesday after falling, 1-0, in the first game, but coming back in the second game to wi, 4-3. Seahawks’ Raena Jones leads the team with a .295 batting average and a .426 slugging average.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Friday’s meeting will mark the first time the Buckeyes have met UNC-Wilimington in tournament action.
SCOUTING THE 49ERS
Under the helm of sixth-year head coach Aimee DeVos, the North Carolina-Charlotte 49ers are looking to snap an eight-game losing streak at this weekend’s tournament. Most recently, the 49ers fell to UNC-Greensboro, 5-1, on March 11 and have posted an 8-13 overall record.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Friday’s meeting will mark the first time the Buckeyes have met UNC-Charlotte in tournament action.
LAST WEEKEND
The Buckeyes (7-8) lost in the consolation finals last week at the Florida International Tournament to Bowling Green, 2-0. The Buckeyes shut out Robert Morris, 7-0, to advance to the finals, but only captured two hits against Bowling Green to fall to 7-8 for the season. Ohio State narrowly dropped three other games against Florida Atlantic (2-1), Arkansas (2-0) and Florida A&M (4-3) but defeated Pittsburgh (8-4).
Ohio State will open its first weekend of Spring Break at the Winthrop Invitational, March 17-18, in Rock Hill, S.C. The Buckeyes will then head to Southern California for what looks to be their toughest tests of the season with games against No. 22 DePaul, No. 20 Long Beach State and No. 11 Cal-State Fullerton.
“We certainly didn’t play our best ball of the young season in Miami, but the team has responded well in the last week and a half in practice,” head coach Linda Kalafatis said. “We’re very young and I don’t believe my team showed a whole lot of fight, so I’m anxious to see how we respond in Winthrop then in California. I’m confident that we’ll get our bats back and be the confident, patient, yet attacking offense we can be. They’ve worked hard so there’s no reason to believe we won’t be successful. Because it’s our last trip before opening up at home, we’re looking for them to have a lot of energy and put the whole game together.”
BACK TO BACK HOMERS
Sarah West had her best performance of the season, blasting two home runs in the 7-0 win over Robert Morris (March 5). In the top of the second, West notched her first home run over the centerfielder. She followed again in the third inning with another blast over the centerfield wall to give her a career-first two home run game. She is now tied for the team high of two home runs with Stacy Roth and is sixth on the team with a batting average of .220.
STEALIN’ SMITH
Sophomore Anna Smith stole two more bases in the Florida International Tournament and now has one more than her season total from last year (9). Smith also leads the team with a batting average of .359, six runs batted in, one triple and a double recorded this season. She also is the most reliable to get on base with a team-high .468 on base percentage.
SHE’S BACK
After two torn ACLs last season, sophomore Natalie Woods made an early return to the Buckeyes’ lineup against Robert Morris as the designated hitter. After West’s home run blast, Woods followed with a grounder into left field, giving her her first hit of the 2000 season. “I don’t know many players that could take the many challenges Natalie has had to endure since she has been with us,” Kalafatis said. “She is a special part of this program and we are very happy that she is back competing for us.”
PITCHING COMES UP STRONG
In the Florida International Tournament, sophomore Kristi Martin struck out a total of 22 batters. Against Florida Atlantic, Martin recorded a season-high 10 strikeouts and now leads the team with 40.
Freshman Katie Chain leds the team with a winning record of 3-2, after posting two wins in last week’s tournament. In 34.2 innings pitched, Chain posted a 2.42 ERA and has struck out 30 batters.
As a pitching staff, the Buckeyes have held their opponents to a 2.01 ERA and struck out 79.
BIG TIME ROTH
All-Big Ten candidate Stacy Roth is off to a great start for the Buckeyes. Roth currently leads the team with 12 runs batted in and a slugging percentage of .500. She is also carrying a .313 batting average.
CAPTAIN WEIGEL
Senior Renae Weigel was named by her teammates as captain of the 2000 softball team. As the only Buckeye who has been at Ohio State all four seasons, Weigel will resume her role as Ohio State’s top hitter and leader of the squad. Last season, the Coldwater, Ohio native had another breakout season, posting a single-season home run mark with six and finishing third overall in both batting average (.301) and conference BA (.324).
ADDITION TO THE COACHING STAFF
Jaime Cheveney returns to the Buckeyes this season as an assistant coach. Cheveney was a four-time letterwinner and was selected as a second-team all-Big Ten selection as the Buckeyes’ catcher. Cheveney still holds the No. 2 spot on the Ohio State career home run ladder with nine. Last summer, Cheveney competed on the Akron Racers of the Women’s Professional Softball League with former Buckeye Jodi Dolan. Cheveney is a graduate student of Ohio State in education.
UP NEXT FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State will end their Spring Break in Fullerton, Calif. where they will take on No. 22 DePaul on March 21, No. 20 Long Beach State on March 22 and No. 11 Cal-State Fullerton on March 23.
ON DECK IN 2001
Coach Kalafatis signed one of the best recruiting classes in the nation to be added next season. Wendy Allen (Moreno Valley, Calif.), Kristi DeVries (Corona Calif.) and Beth McAbier (Carrollton, Ohio) all signed letters of intents to attend Ohio State in 2001. Allen, a left-hand pitcher, was one-of-16 players in the nation to be named a National Fastpitch Coaches’ Association All-American. DeVries is a high school All-American pitcher who notched a 24-6 record last season with 321 strikeouts and 23 walks. McAbier, a shortstop, was a two-time all-conference pick and three-sport student-athlete at Carrollton High School.
GETTING RESULTS
Results for the Buckeyes will be posted through www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com approximately two hours after the last game of each day.
