OSU Softball (14-11) Opens Home Season – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 29, 2000
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes open their Big Ten season in a doubleheader against the Miami (O.) RedHawks on Wednesday at 2 p.m. All home games will be played at the Buckeye Field.
BUCKEYE HOME OPENERS
Since its opening in 1988, OSU is 10-3 in home openers at Buckeye Field. Under head coach Linda Kalafatis, the Buckeyes are 2-1 in home openers.
SMITH BURGLARIZING THE BASES
Sophomore Anna Smith is tied for first place in conference standings with 19 stolen bases this season. She posted an OSU record of five thefts against UNC-Charlotte (March 18). She has now moved into sole possession of sixth on the single-season OSU ladder with 19.
STREAKIN’ STACY
Not only is she leading the team with a .355 batting average, all-Big Ten candidate Stacy Roth currently holds a team-high eight-game hitting streak.
SCOUTING THE REDHAWKS
The Miami (O.) Redhawks are on a four-game losing streak after falling to Iowa State (3-2), Bethune Cookman (5-3), Florida State (8-0) and Kansas (1-0) at the FSU Invitational, March 17-19. The Redhawks currently hold a 8-14 overall under second-year head coach Angie Jacobs. Inside the circle has been the strength for Miami (O.) as Amber Arnold has posted a 0.38 ERA, giving up only four earned runs and 39 hits in 73.1 innings of work.
THE ALL-TIME SERIES
Wednesday’s meeting will mark the 33rd and 34th meeting between the Buckeyes and the RedHawks. Ohio State has a 18-13-1 mark against Miami (O.), capturing a 3-2 win in Columbus last season. Head Coach Linda Kalafatis has a 10-7 all-time mark against Miami (O.).
LAST WEEK’S ACTION
After opening last week with a win over Depaul (2-1), the Buckeyes fell to No. 15-ranked Long Beach State and No. 11 Cal-State Fullerton (6-0) to open the non-conference schedule. In the three-game swing, Freshman Rogeanna Hottinger led the Buckeyes with a blazing .429 batting average, one double and one run batted in. BIG WINS FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State opened its spring break trip at the Winthrop Invitational (March 17-19) in Rock Hill, S.C and captured a 6-1 record. The Buckeyes defeated Tennessee State (13-0), UNC-Wilmington (2-0), UNC-Charlotte (15-5), North Carolina A&T (11-1) and Pittburgh (2-0) before falling to No. 11 Southern Mississippi (3-2). As a team, Ohio State posted a .337 batting average, 52 runs batted in, six home runs and a slugging percentage of .528.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Katie Chain, Stacy Roth and Renae Weigel were named to the Winthrop Invitational all-tournament team after a great weekend of play. Chain recorded her first no-hitter against Tennessee State (March 17), striking out 10 and giving up only one walk. Roth led the team in the tournament with a batting average of .450, six runs batted in and two home runs. Weigel blasted her first home run of the season against UNC-Charlotte (March 18), posted a tournament BA of .421 and a team-leading 10 RBI.
FIVE KEY FACTORS FOR THE BUCKEYES
* Anna Smith – Smith has 19 stolen bases on the season and a team-high on base percentage of .420.
* Stacy Roth – She is currently on an eight-game hitting streak and boasts a team-leading .579 slugging percentage and .355 batting average.
* Rogeanna Hottinger – Prior to spring break, Hottinger carried a .260 batting average. But with a solid 3-for-7 showing last week, she has upped her BA to .284.
* Kristi Martin – Martin has struck out 72 batters this season and only needs three more to capture seventh place on Ohio State single-season ladder for K’s.
* The Pitching Staff – With 25 games underway, Ohio State carries a 1.84 earned run average as a team. This time last year, the Ohio State pitching staff held a 3.20 ERA.
NEAR-PERFECT PITCHING
Heading into the 2000 season, coach Kalafatis challenged her pitchers for a good season and so far, Kristi Martin, Katie Chain, Toni Hileman and Jenn Elwell have lived up to it. Chain and Martin, accounting for most of the Buckeye pitching, have posted a 1.81 and 1.86 earned runs average. As a team, the Buckeyes have posted an overall 1.84 ERA, which compared to 1999 is almost a point and a half lower than last season’s 3.20 ERA. The pitching staff is also averaging over eight strikeouts per game this season.
MOVING UP THE LADDER
Kristi Martin, who leads the team with 72 strikeouts only needs three more to move into seventh place on Ohio State’s single-season record for strikeouts. Senior Toni Hileman currently holds seventh-place with 74 Ks’. Martin also only needs nine more strikeouts to break into the OSU career record ladder.
BIG TIME FOR CHAIN
With 69 strikeouts, Katie Chain has passed assistant coach Belinda Cernava for second place on the freshman pitching record for strikeouts. Kristi Martin is the record holder with 83. Chain has been stellar in her last four starts, posting a 3-1 record, and a team-leading 1.81 overall ERA.
GOING, GOING, GONE
In the 1999 season, Ohio State posted 15 home runs for the entire year. This season, the Buckeyes have already tallied 12 home runs. Sophomore Stacy Roth leads the team with four and Kristine Himes follows with three dingers this season.
HITTIN’ HIMES
Freshman Kristine Himes blasted two home runs at the Winthrop Invitational, now tying her with teammates Renae Weigel and Stacy Roth for the freshman single-season record of three home runs. She also only needs one more triple to tie Nicole Paloney (1994) and Natalie Tomoguchi (1995).
WEIGEL IS BACK
With 10 runs batted in over the weekend, Renae Weigel has now moved into sixth on the all-time list for RBI at Ohio State. She also blasted her 11th career home run against UNC Charlotte (March 18) to tie her with assistant coach Jaime Chenevey (1996-99). She only needs two more to clinch the home runs record held by Jodi Dolan (1995-98).
CONFERENCE STATS
Ohio State is ranked fourth with a batting average of .266 and fifth in pitching with a 1.84 earned runs average in the Big Ten Conference. Individually within the conference, Stacy Roth is seventh in batting (.355), fifth in runs batted in (19) and fifth with four home runs.
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
The Buckeyes open its six-game homestand against Miami but then will take onToledo, April 3, and Morehead State, April 4, before opening up Big Ten play against Purdue on April 7. Ohio State will also take on Indiana in a three-game series, April 8-9 at Buckeye Field.
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.
BIG TIME CONFERENCE
In the March 23, USATODAY/NFCA Polls, Big Ten Conference had two teams ranked in the Top 15. Michigan and Iowa are ranked No. 13 and No. 15, respectively.
LET’S CELEBRATE
Ohio State will celebrate its 10th-year anniversary of the 1990 Big Ten Championship this year. In 1990, Ohio State captured a 39-25 record, defeating Iowa to win the conference championship and head to the NCAA Tournament.
GETTING RESULTS
Results for the Buckeyes will be posted through ohiostatebuckeyes.com approximately two hours after the last game of each day.
