Softball Heads To Miami, Fla., For Golden Panther Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team (7-4) travels to Miami, Fla., for the Golden Panther Invitational, hosted by Florida International Friday-Sunday, March 2-4.
INVITATIONAL SCHEDULE
OSU opens the tournament against host Florida International Friday at 4 p.m. The Buckeyes then face off with Arkansas that night at 8. Saturday, the Buckeyes go up against Florida Atlantic at 2 p.m. before playing Connecticut at 8 p.m. The Buckeyes will not face the other participant, Wichita State, in the first two days. Sunday will pit seeds No. 1 and No. 2 against each other at 10 a.m. Seeds No. 3 and No. 4 will play at noon. In the final game of the invitational, seeds No. 5 and No. 6 will face off at 2 p.m.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENTS
Florida International (12-4)
The Golden Panthers opened the season Jan. 27 with a doubleheader sweep of South Florida before taking a pair from Palm Beach Atlantic Feb. 2. FIU went 6-1 at the Florida State Tournament, defeating Tennessee-Chattanooga, Florida A&M (twice), Florida Atlantic and splitting with No. 17 host Florida State. At the UNLV Softball Classic in Las Vegas, Nev., the Golden Panthers dropped three of five, losing to No. 25 Utah (5-2), No. 16 Oregon State (4-0) and UCLA (10-0). FIU defeated Loyola Marymount and Portland State. Shortstop Jennifer Owens leads the Golden Panthers with a .422 batting average. Shannon Carey (.341), Kristen Perry (.316), Stephanie Wolter (.314) and Monica Pardo (.312) all are batting over the .300 mark. In the circle, Mia Nelson has a record of 5-3 with a 3.15 ERA. Vanessa Preston is 4-1with an ERA of 1.91.
Arkansas (9-7)
Under head coach Carie Dever-Boaz, the Razorbacks come to Miami with a 9-7 record. Three of their losses have been at the hands of No. 2 Oklahoma. No. 14 Notre Dame also defeated the Backs. Pitcher/first baseman Jessica Bottoms has a team-high batting average of .353. Middle infielder Lauren Hendrix has a .350 BA. Rachel Talley has a decieving win-loss record of 2-3. She has an ERA of 0.33, giving up just 31 hits in 43 innings of work. In 54.1 innings of work, Heather Schlichtm has an era of 1.85, giving up 39 hits.
Florida Atlantic (9-5)
The Owls, under head coach Joan Joyce, are coming off a 1-0 loss to then-No. 16 Florida State in the championship game of the Worth Invitational, which was hosted by Florida Atlantic. The loss snapped a season-high seven-game winning streak. Five of those wins came at the Worth Tournament, during which the Owls outscored opponents, 30-3. FAU’s Nicole Myers was named tournament MVP after batting .500 (9-18), with two home runs and eight RBI. Myer was the losing pitcher in the championship, throwing a wild pitch in the sixth inning with two outs and a runner on third. For the season, Meyers is batting .372 with 11 RBI. In the circle she has a record of 5-4 despite an impressive ERA of 0.74. ( 22 hits in 57 innings of work.) Kristie Picon has a 2-0 record with an ERA of 1.18. Outfielder Ninya Ybarra carries a batting average of .349.
Connecticut (2-3)
Now in her 17th season at the helm of the Connecticut program, head coach Karen Mullins collected her 550th victory at UConn with a 7-4 Huskie win over McNeese State Feb. 25 at the Arizona Wildcat Invitational in Tuscon, Ariz. The Huskies are now 2-3 on the season after opening their 2001 campaign in Arizona. Outfielder Nicole Dubovic leads Connecticut with a .467 batting average (7-15). At second base, Lisa Girolamo is batting .429 (6-14). Barb Cook has a record of 2-2 and an ERA of 8.47. Megan Biddle has a 0-1 record in two appearances with an ERA of .324. BUCKEYES STEP OUTSIDE The Buckeyes stepped out from under the ceiling of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center indoor facility to practice outside for the first time Wednesday. Infielders and outfielders traded turns taking fielding practice at Buckeye Field. Pitching and hitting drills remained inside. OSU is off to an impressive 7-4 start despite the Columbus weather keeping them inside while many of their opponents have had the luxury of practicing outside through the winter.
TWICE AS NICE
Through 11 games the Buckeyes have outscored their opponents by a two-to-one margin, putting up 42 runs compared to their opponents 21. OSU has scored eight runs three times (all wins). OSU has averaged nearly four runs a game (3.81).
FOWLER ON FIRE
Junior outfielder Chrissy Fowler was a force to be reckoned with at the Campbell Cartier Classic. Playing in five games and starting four, Fowler batted a team-high .545 (6-11) and led the team with five RBI. Fowler’s slugging percentage for the tournament was a startling .818. The trip to the West Coast brought Fowler’s batting average up to .438, second on the team. She leads the team with six RBI. Fowler had only one hit in five at bats at the opening tournament in Auburn, Ala. for a .200 batting average before the hitting clinic she put on in San Diego.
FIRST-TIME HOMERS
Five of Fowler’s six hits at the Campbell-Cartier Classic were singles. The other hit was a home run – the first of her career. In the bottom of the seventh inning in a 6-2 loss to San Diego State, Fowler hit a rope down the left field line. Fowler said it was her first long ball at any level. Freshman shortstop Breana Pozzi also went deep for the first time in her collegiate career, hitting a rocket that grazed the glove of the left fielder before falling over the fence in the second inning of an 8-4 win over Sacramento State.
SMITH SMACKS SAC. STATE
Junior outfielder Anna Smith went 4 for 4 in the win over Sacramento State, collecting three singles and a double to bring in two runs. Smith hit .353 (6-17) for the tournament to bring her season average to .297
HOMECOMING DEBUT
Freshman pitcher Wendy Allen, a Moreno Valley, Calif., native, made her first collegiate start at pitcher in her homestate. The southpaw went five innings in an 8-0 win over Utah State, allowing just one hit and striking out six. Allen also gained a save in the tournament, coming in to relieve Katie Chain in the bottom of the seventh to shut the door in a 8-4 win over Sacramento State
FIRST SAVE
Junior pitcher Jenn Elwell gained her first save of the season in the win over Utah State. She relieved Allen in the sixth inning to end the game, which was called on a mercy rule after the Hornets couldn’t chip away at the eight-run deficit.
400 CLUB
Freshman Kristi DeVries has a team-high .455 batting average (10 for 22) with a double and RBI. The Corona, Calif., native batted .500 (5 for 10) during her return trip to the West Coast. Chrissy Fowler (.435) also is comfortably above the .400 mark, thanks to her .545 effort at the Campbell-Cartier Classic.
K CHAIN
Sophomore pitcher Katie Chain picked up two wins and a loss in San Diego to run her record to 3-2. Chain is striking out nearly a batter per inning. In 32 innings of work, she has registered 31 strikeouts and given up just 16 hits and three earned runs (0.66 ERA)
RUNS HARD TO COME BY
Through 11 games, OSU pitchers have allowed just under three/fourths of a run per game. Collectively, Kristi DeVries, Katie Chain, Wendy Allen and Jenn Elwell have a miniscule earned run average of 0.74 over 76 innings. DeVries has given up six runs in 32.2 innings of work. Chain has allowed three in 32 innings. Allen has yet to give up an earned run in 10.1 innings of work, as has Elwell in one inning.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Through 11 games, the Buckeyes have belted 17 doubles. Kristine Himes leads the team with four two-baggers. Wendy Allen and Anna Smith have three apiece. Holly English and Stacy Roth have a pair each. Kristi DeVries, Jennifer Link and Sarah West have each contributed one double.
A PAIR OF THIEFS
Through 11 games, the Buckeyes have stolen 15 bases in 18 attempts. Outfielders Anna Smith and Holly English have each heisted a team-high four bases without being caught.
LEAPIN’ LIZZARD
With the bases loaded and two outs in the sixth inning, sophomore shorstop Liz Kacsanek made a diving snag of a hard grounder and managed to quickly set herself to flip the ball to Jennifer Link at second base to get the force out and end the game on account of the eight-run mercy rule.
OSU WINS AUBURN INVITE
OSU, seeded No. 3 at the Jameson Inn-Auburn Invitational after splitting doubleheaders Friday and Saturday, Feb. 16, 17, defeated previously unbeaten No. 1 seed and host Auburn, 4-0, Sunday Feb. 18 in extra innings to claim the invitational championship along with conference foe Purdue. After a 3-2 win over Syracuse Sunday morning – OSU’s second win over the Orangewomen in as many days – in the opening round of the single-elimination final day of the invitational, the Buckeyes faced off with Auburn a day after falling to the Tigers, 3-2. The nine-inning thriller lasted over three hours, pushing back the scheduled championship game that was to follow. Both the Buckeyes and Purdue had scheduled return flights, meaning there was not sufficient time for the Big Ten teams to square off for the invitational title. Instead, OSU and the Boilermakers were recognized as co-champions.
DeVRIES NAMED MVP
Kristi DeVries was recognized as the Most Valuable Pitcher of the Auburn Invitational after winning the first three games of her collegiate career in an overpowering fashion. DeVries averaged a strikeout per inning for the tournament, registering 23 Ks in 23 innings. Her ERA was .30 as she scattered just 12 hits over three appearences, allowing just one earned run.
ALL-INVITATIONAL TEAM
Including DeVries’ honor, four Buckeyes were named to the all-invitational team. Catcher Stacy Roth, Kristine Himes and pitcher Katie Chain also were named to the all-invitational team. OSU had the most selections of any of the five schools that participated at the invitational. Auburn was next with three selections.
HIMES GOES DEEP
Kristine Himes homered in the second win over Syracuse, parking a Heather Brown offering over the left field wall. Himes first long ball of the season gives her 11 for her career, two behind Renae Weigel, who set the career-record of 13 last season. Himes 10 home runs her freshman season are an OSU single-season record.
HIMES NAMED ALL-INVITE
While Himes’ weekend in Auburn was highlighted by her deep shot against Syracuse, her consistant offensive production thoughout the invitational garnered her a spot on the all-invitational team. Besides her first home run of the season, Himes also had a batting average of .417, second on the team, had three doubles and two RBI and team-best slugging percentage (.800) and on-base percentage (.526).
ALLEN EARNS FIRST SAVE
After an ACL injury caused Wendy Allen to miss her high school and summer seasons as well as the OSU fall season, the highly touted freshman was cleared to play in Auburn and had a fine collegiate debut. Offensively, Allen picked up two hits in five plate appearances (.313), including a double. Allen came in to relieve Katie Chain in the final day-first round win over Syracuse, striking out five and allowing just two hits to preserve the 2-1 Buckeye lead and earn her first save.
ALL-BIG TEN TRIO RETURNS
OSU returns three All-Big Ten selections from last season. Junior catcher Stacy Roth, a first team All-Great Lakes Region and second-team All-Big Ten selection is back behind the plate. Center fielder Anna Smith, a junior, is coming off consecutive All-Big Ten seasons. She was a third-team selection as a freshman and a second-team selection last season. At second base, Jennifer Link earned second-team conference honors as a freshman. Roth’s 36 RBI were the second most for a season in OSU history. Her 14 RBI in conference play were second most in the Big Ten. She was voted team MVP and offensive player of the year. Smith led OSU with 37 stolen bases and ranked seventh in conference play with seven steals. She also cracked the Big Ten Top 10 with a batting average of .339 (10th) and 19 hits (fifth) in conference play. Link had a batting average of .294 to go along with her fielding percentage of .959 and was named defensive player of the year.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will play host to Youngstown State at 1 p.m.Tuesday March 6. OSU then plays host to Oakland Thursday at 1 p.m. March 8.
