Softball Plays Host to In-State Opponent Toledo – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 27, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After having a record-setting 12-game win streak ended last Sunday at the Buzz Classic, the Ohio State Softball (21-9 overall) team plays host to in-state Mid-American Conference foe Toledo at 2 p.m. Wednesday at Buckeye Field. OSU then opens Big Ten play Friday, playing host to Iowa in a doubleheader at Buckeye Field. Saturday and Sunday, OSU plays host to Northwestern.
BIG WEEK FOR WEST
The Big Ten Conference announced Ohio State first baseman Sarah West has been named the softball player of the week. After missing six games because of strained ligaments in her left shoulder as a result of a home plate collision in a win over Cleveland State (3/16), West made her presence in the lineup felt upon her return, hitting three home runs in five games at the Buzz Classic in Atlanta. In her first game back, a 2-0 win over Campbell, West provided half the OSU offense when she broke a scoreless tie with her fifth-inning shot. West also cleared the fence in an 8-0 win over Charleston Southern in the second game of opening day at the Buzz Classic and again the next day when she tied the score at one in the third inning of an eventual 2-1 OSU win over North Carolina. Batting .545 (6-for11), West tallied four runs batted in and helped OSU to a 4-1 record and a No. 1 seed as the 25-team field was narrowed to 12. For her efforts in Atlanta, West was named an all-invitational selection. West is tied with third baseman Kristine Himes with a team-high four home runs on the season. She is batting .281 with four doubles and 10 RBI.
WIN STREAK REACHES 12
By winning their first four contests of the Buzz Classic before falling to North Carolina in a rematch last Sunday, the Ohio State softball team extended its win streak to 12. The streak ended as the second-longest in recorded history of the program. In 1994, the Buckeyes ran off 17 victories between April 12 and May 3 en route to a 40-20 finish, the best in school history.
BEST START
OSU returned from the Buzz Classic with a record of 21-9, the best in recorded program history after 30 games. OSU has the most wins in its history entering Big Ten play. Last season, OSU entered conference play with a record of 13-10.
HIMES HITS THE HARDEST
Sophomore third baseman Kristine Himes became the most prolific home run hitter in OSU history against Southern Charleston, smacking an offering from Buccanneer pitcher Erin Lambert over the wall in the third inning to give her 14 for her career and pass Ranae Wiegel (1997-2000, who was the previous record holder with 13. Himes is tied for the team lead with four home runs on the season.
CHAIN COLLECTS FIRST HIT
Sophomore pitcher Katie Chain collected the first hit and run batted in of her career in the 8-0 win over Charleston Southern. Pinch hitting for Stacy Roth, she hit a grounder to second base that scored Kari Crandell to end the game on the eight-run mercy rule.
LINK LIGHTS EM’UP
During the 12-game win streak, Jenn Link hit .514 (19-for-37) with three doubles and nine runs batted in. Link’s 19 hits were four more than the next Buckeye, Stacy Roth. Link scored nearly once a game, crossing home plate 10 times during the streak and collecting 22 total bases. Link also stole four bases on five attempts.
BIG NUMBERS
A look at the stats makes clear how OSU put together a 12-game win streak. During the stretch, OSU batted a collective .385, with 120 hits, 75 runs, 64 runs batted in, 21 doubles, two triples and eight home runs.
LITTLE NUMBERS
While the offense has been racking up the big numbers, the pitching staff shut out the opposition. Collectively, OSU pitchers had an earned run average of 0.78 during the win streak, registering eight shutouts and allowing a mere four hits. Katie Chain did not allow a run while going 4-0 and tossing three shutouts. In 26 innings of work she gave up just 12 hits. Kristi DeVries registered four shutouts while going 5-0. She allowed just one earned run and 10 hits in 34.2 innings. Wendy Allen went 3-0 with one shutout, giving up two earned runs and nine hits to give her a 0.78 ERA.
K IS FOR KRISTI
Kristi DeVries was nothing short of overpowering during the 12-game win streak. While accounting five wins and tossing four shutouts, DeVries pitched three one-hitters and struck out an alarming 61 batters, more than half of the 114 she faced. Against Buffalo (March 16), she gave up just one hit and struck out 18, including 12 in a row at one point. Against Robert Morris (March 20) she nearly threw a perfect game, giving up her only hit of the afternoon with one out in the seventh inning. She registered 13 strikouts during the effort. In OSU’s first game at the Buzz Classic she struck out 15 against Campbell while giving up one hit. She struck out five and allowed five hits in the win over North Carolina.
McABIER RACKS UP RBIs
Making the most of her playing time, freshman third baseman Beth McAbier averaged one run batted in a game during the games she played during the 12-game win streak. Playing in seven games and starting two, McAbier tallied seven RBI on two home runs (including a grand slam) and a double. McAbier had five hits and scored three times.
GOING YARD
Through 30 games this season, OSU has hit 13 home runs. The Buckeyes hit eight homers during their recent 12-game win streak. Kristine Himes and Sarah West are tied with a team-high four long balls. Beth McAbier has two homers and Stacy Roth, Chrissy Fowler and Breana Pozzi each have knocked one out of the park. Last season, OSU set a school-record with 28 homeruns. With 32 games remaining this season the record is in jeopardy.
OSU VS. THE BUCKEYE STATE
OSU’s doubleheader against Toledo Wednesday marks the first of 12 games the Buckeyes will play against in-state rivals this season. The Buckeyes travel to Oxford, Ohio, to face Miami (Ohio) next Tuesday. April 10, OSU travels to Dayton to face the Dayton Flyers in a doubleheader. OSU will play host to Bowling Green (April 25) and travel to Wright State (May 1) for doubleheaders. The Buckeyes’ final matchup with an in-state opponent is May 2 at Akron, where head coach Linda Kalafatis and assistant coaches Belinda Cernava and Drema Neal coached before taking over the OSU program in 1997.
LAST TIME WITH TOLEDO
OSU swept a doubleheader in the last meeting with the Rockets, winning 11-10 and 8-0 at Buckeye Field April 9, 1997, Kalafatis’ first year at OSU. A doubleheader scheduled for last April 3 was cancelled.
ALL-TIME SERIES
OSU holds a 9-1 advantage in the all-time series with Toledo. The Buckeyes’ lone loss to the Rockets came in the 1995 season finale.
SCOUTING TOLEDO
Toledo comes to Columbus with a record of 10-9. The Rockets, who have yet to play a game at home, are coached by second-year head coach Michelle Fagnant. The Rockets have two batters batting better than .400 for the season. Junior shortstop Laurie Linton and junior outfielder Jenny Schaaf are both batting .405. Linton has four runs batted in with a home run, a triple and three doubles. Schaaf has accounted for 11 RBI on a home run, two triples and three doubles. In the pitching circle, senior Tracy Riepenhoff has a record of 2-2 with an earned run average of 4.42. Kristy Kassotis is 3-4 with a 2.72 ERA. Cortney Winslow is 2-0 with a 4.58 and Colett McMasters is 3-3 with a 5.64 ERA.
YSU RESCHEDULED
The doubleheader between OSU and Youngstown State that was to be the home opener and was canceled because of weather March 6, has been rescheduled for Tuesday, April 24, at 2 p.m.
EIGHT IS ENOUGH
The 8-0 win over Charleston Southern in the second game at day one of the Buzz Classic marked the eighth time OSU has tallied eight or more runs in a game this season. The Buckeyes have won every contest in which they hit the eight-run barrier.The Buckeyes defeated Robert Morris 8-0 in game two of a doubleheader (March 20). OSU scored eight or more runs three times at the Buckeye Invitational, defeating Cleveland State, 12-1, IUPUI, 8-1, and Buffalo, 10-1. The Buckeyes opened the season with an 8-1 win over Northern Illinois at the Jameson Inn – Tiger Invitational (Feb.9). OSU reached the eight-run mark twice at the Campbell-Cartier Classic in San Diego, Calif., defeating Utah State, 8-0 (Feb. 17) and Sacramento State, 8-4 (Feb. 18).
HAVE MERCY
OSU’s 8-0 win over Charleston Southern marked the fifth time the Buckeyes have earned a win in less than seven innings because of the eight-run mercy rule. Four of those mercy rulings came during the Buckeyes’ 12-game win streak. OSU blanked Utah State, 8-0, at the Campbell-Cartier Classic in San Diego (Feb. 27). OSU defeated Cleveland State, 12-1, (March 16) and Buffalo, 10-1 (March 17) at the Buckeye Invitational.
DeVRIES ALL-INVITE AGAIN
Freshman pitcher Kristi DeVries earned all-invitational honors for the third time this season when she was named Most Valuable Player of the Buckeye Invitational. In the opening game of the invitational, DeVries tossed a one-hitter against Buffalo, striking out an eye-opening 18 batters in the process, including 12 in a row at one point, a streak that saw her strike out the side in the second, third and fourth innings. At the plate, DeVries batted .357 (5-for-14) with a single and two RBI. At the Golden Panther Invitational in Miami, Fla., DeVries hit .313 (5-for-16) with two runs batted in for the five-game invitational. In the pitching circle, DeVries posted an earned run average of 0.95, allowing just two earned runs and six hits in 14.2 innings of work, while striking out 19. DeVries also was named to the all-invitational team at the Jameson Inn-Tiger Invitational, held Feb. 9-11 in Auburn, Ala.
DeVRIES ALMOST PERFECT
Pitcher Kristi DeVries was nearly perfect in game one of the doubleheader with Robert Morris. DeVries, who struck out 18 batters and allowed just one hit in her last outing last Friday, carried a perfect game into the seventh inning. With one out in the inning, Robert Morris rightfielder Natalie Aloi became the first Colonial to reach base, hitting a single to left field. DeVries then retired the final two batters on a foul out and strikeout, respectively. DeVries struck out 13 of 22 batter she faced and did not give up a walk.
OSU HAS SIX SELECTED
Including DeVries, there were six Buckeyes named to the all-invitational team at the Buckeye Invitational. Katie Chain, who posted a 0.00 earned run average and won two games was selected as a pitcher. Four other Buckeyes were selected for their prowess at the plate. Chrissy Fowler hit .667 (6-for-9), Jenn Link hit .588 (10-for-17), Stacy Roth hit .556 (10-for-18) and Kristine Himes hit .400 (6-for-14).
DEDIC COLLECTS FIRST HIT
Sophomore transfer Annie Dedic collected her first hit as a Buckeye, smacking a double to center field in the sixth inning of the semifinal win of the Buckeye Invitational over Buffalo (March 18). Dedic also grounded out to first in the sixth inning of the championship game to score Kristi DeVries from third and give OSU its fifth and final run of the game. Dedic also collected a single in game game one of the doubleheader with Robert Morris.
ELLIS COLLECTS FIRST HIT
Amy Ellis, a sophomore transfer from Ball State, collected her first hit as a Buckeye, singling to right center in the sixth inning of the 8-1 win over Indiana-Purdue (March 17). Ellis also collected a single in game two of the doubleheader with Robert Morris.
ENGLISH STILL RECOVERING
Outfielder Holly English, the lone senior on the OSU roster, who has been out the past two weeks, is expected to miss the next two weeks while she recovers from abdominal surgery.
ON DECK
OSU opens Big Ten play Friday, playing host to Northwestern in a doubleheader starting at 2 p.m. at Buckeye Field. OSU faces Iowa Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
