Buckeye Softball Opens Home Schedule This Week – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 11, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team will open its home schedule this week with games slated against Kentucky and Oakland and the Buckeye Invitational at Buckeye Field. The Buckeyes (13-4, 0-0 Big Ten) and Wildcats (13-8, 0-0 SEC) meet in a doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. Tuesday. OSU and OU (3-10, 0-0 Mid-Con) meet at 3 p.m. Thursday. The Buckeye Invitational features OSU, Kent State (5-6, 0-0 MAC), Seton Hall (6-4, 0-0 Big East) and Robert Morris (6-8, 0-0 NEC). Round-robin play runs Friday through Sunday with the championship game a 2 p.m. Sunday and the consolation at 4 p.m.
HOME OPENERS
Ohio State is 9-6 in home openers since 1986 but have dropped the last two lid-lifters played at Buckeye Field. The Buckeyes fell, 4-2, to Oakland in the first of two games March 8, 2001 and lost to Miami (OH), 6-5, a year earlier.
OSU and its opponents have each scored 54 runs in the opener for the Buckeyes. OSU’s largest margin of victory is 11 when it handed the Wright State Raiders an 11-0 defeat in 1993. It largest defeat came in 1998 when the Minnesota Golden Gophers came to Columbus and defeated the host Buckeyes, 14-5.
The home opener with Kentucky Tuesday will be the second-earliest played for the program right behind the 2001 opener with OU. Traditionally, the Buckeyes would open their home slate the final week of March or the first week in April.
LEAVING THE YARD
Sarah West added her name to the list contestants for what originally started out as two-player race for the title of most prolific home run hitter in Ohio State history. Prior to the Buckeyes’ road trip to Dayton March 6, West was third on the career home run list with 13 while Kristine Himes led the way with 18 and Stacy Roth close behind with 17. West moved to within four of the leader with a pair of blasts over the center field fence while Himes went deep once. The updated marks are listed below:
1. Kristine Himes 2000-02 19 2. Stacy Roth 1999-02 17 3. Sarah West 1999-02 15 ALMOST THERE
Katie Chain went seven innings in Ohio State’s 6-1 win at Dayton March 6 to move to 4-2 on the year and raise her career win total to 39. She had been tied with current Buckeye assistant Belinda Cernava (1990-93) for the No. 3 spot with 38 and now is tied with Genice Turley (1994-95) for second on the ledger with 39. Jodi Dolan (1995-98) leads the way with 41.
MORE RECORD BREAKING
Seniors Anna Smith and Stacy Roth have not only helped pace Ohio State to some of the more memorable seasons in Buckeye history, they have helped etch their names higher and higher up the ladder of many career categories.
Smith has been the all-time stolen base leader for some time now and is close to establishing new marks in both walks and runs scored. She opened the year No. 2 on the walks ledger with 79 and is up to 83 now. Krinon Clark (1991-94) leads the way with 188 base-on-balls. Smith’s 98 runs scored to open the year was the fifth most but she has crossed home plate a team-high 20 times this year to jump to No. 2 with 118. Candace Kollen (1995-98) is the program leader with 129.
Roth has collected 18 hits this year to move to ninth all-time with 168 and trails Kollen’s program mark of 232. Four of Roth’s hits went for doubles to bring her to No. 5 all-time with 35, 13 behind Clark’s mark of 58.
Roth is not done there. She also has scored 77 runs entering the 2002 season and has added six so far this year to move to a tie for No. 7 with Shauna Bowman (1988-91) with 83.
THIEVES
Anna Smith is the all-time stolen base leader at Ohio State with 79 and is a perfect 11-for-11 this year. Jennifer Link is climbing the records ladder in the same category with an 11-for-12 performance in 2002. Her career total is up to 37 and ties her for seven all-time with Tara Alexander (1994-95) and Julie Bauman (1995-98).
MILESTONES
Several milestones for the Ohio State program have or will be reached this year. The Buckeyes need eight more wins this year to reach 650. The program has secured 642 wins in its 32 years of play including 13 this season. Win No. 600 came a year ago in an 8-0 defeat of Robert Morris in the second game of a doubleheader.
Stacy Roth hit a three-run, walk-off home run in the bottom of the seventh inning against Cal State Northridge to open the year with a win and give Buckeye coach Linda Kalafatis the 150th victory in her OSU coaching career. Eighteen more wins for the Buckeyes also means the 450th win Kalafatis’ coaching career.
ALL-BIG TEN RETURNEES
The Buckeyes had six All-Big Ten selections last season, the most in program history. Katie Chain, after setting several single-season and career records, earned first team honors. Wendy Allen was tabbed as Big Ten Freshman of the Year and was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection along with Anna Smith and Stacy Roth. Jennifer Link and Kristi DeVries also earned Big Ten honors as members of the third team.
MANY HAPPY RETURNS
Seventeen of the 18 members of the roster last year return to give Ohio State one of its more veteran lineups. OSU has five seniors, seven juniors, five sophomores and three freshmen this year.
KALAFATIS ENTERS HER SIXTH YEAR
Linda Kalafatis is in her sixth season with the Scarlet and Gray and has complied a 147-130 (.531) record in five seasons leading the Buckeyes. In her 13 years in the collegiate coaching ranks, Kalafatis has posted a 420-245-2 (.630) mark including stints with her alma mater California (Pa.) and Akron. At California, Kalafatis led her teams to five Pennsylvania State Athletics Conference titles and a 175-53-1 (.764) record. With the Zips, her teams went 98-62-1 (.608) in three years. Kalafatis earned her degree in business administration and marketing from CU in 1988 and added a master’s degree in geography and regional planning in 1991.
KALAFATIS VS. OPPONENTS THIS WEEK
Linda Kalafatis is 6-0 against Ohio State’s opponents for the week while at the helm of the Buckeye program and stands 13-4-1 all-time in games coached against the same teams. In her 12-plus years of coaching, Kalafatis is 1-0 against Kentucky, 2-0 against Oakland and has not met Seton Hall. She is 6-2 all-time and 3-0 at OSU against Robert Morris and 4-2-1 all-time and 0-0 with the Buckeyes against Kent State.
CONQUEST OF OHIO
In the 32 years of Ohio State softball, the Buckeyes have battled 14 different instate opponents and compiled a 183-72-2 record all-time. The series between Ohio U. and the Buckeyes is the most contested with OSU holding a 32-20 advantage. The closest race is between the Buckeyes and the Golden Flashes at 15-13 in favor of OSU.
SCOUTING REPORT: KENTUCKY
The Wildcats and coach Beth Kirchner are 13-8 this year are coming in off an 8-5 loss to Kent State Sunday. UK has gone to extra innings five times this year (4-1 record) and have played in 9 two-run games.
Nikki Jones leads the team with a .394 average on 28 hits and leads the team with two triples. Pitcher Meghan Cooper is the staff ace with a 6-2 record and 1.67 ERA in 12 appearances.
SCOUTING REPORT: OAKLAND
Steve Ogg, in his third year at the helm of the Oakland program, has guided the Golden Grizzlies to a 3-10 record this year including a 3-2 win at Alabama. OSU and OU share three common opponents with the Golden Grizzlies going 1-2. OU lost to San Diego State (8-1) and Baylor (1-0) before defeating Stephen F. Austin (5-2).
Ericka Burns is batting .439 to lead the offense that is only hitting a combined .194. She has 18 hits and four doubles on the year. Jaymie Voss holds a 1.48 ERA with a 2-3 record for OU with a team-high 17 strikeouts.
SCOUTING REPORT: SETON HALL
Ray Vander May and the Pirates are 6-4 this year but have dropped their last two decisions. McKenzie Richards and Laura Taylor lead the offense each holding a .481 average. Both have 13 hits and Taylor has added 11 RBI.
Vermillion, Ohio, native Megan Meyer leads the squad with a 2-1 record and 1.29 ERA with 14 strikeouts.
SCOUTING REPORT: ROBERT MORRIS
The Colonials are 6-8 on the year under coach Craig Coleman and won their last game, 4-3, over Fairfield. Senior pitcher Lauren Dickinson recorded 13 strikeouts over the weekend to claim the top spot on the career strikeout list, surpassing the previous mark of 688.
SCOUTING REPORT: KENT STATE
Kent State stands 5-6 on the year after an early stretch of four losses in a row in games with Nebraska, California, Portland State and Oregon. Kelly Maehl has collected 12 hits and a .353 average with a team-high eight runs.
Kate Leary is second in the rotation with a 3.23 ERA and a perfect 3-0 record. She leads the team with 22 strikeouts in 26 innings pitched.
LAST TIME OUT: OSU 6, DAYTON 1
Ohio State clubbed three home runs and pounded out 16 hits to defeat hosts Dayton, 6-1, March 6. It was the first game for either team played in Ohio this year. Sarah West hit two deep and Kristine Himes added the third to help Katie Chain tie for second all-time in career wins with 39 while moving to 4-2 on the year.
BUCKEYE FIELD
Buckeye Field, the outdoor home of the Ohio State softball team, stands as one of the more picturesque yards in the Big Ten. The all-dirt infield gives way to a well-kept outfield and warning track with fences at 190 feet in left and right field and 220 to straight away center. Equipped with field tarps, a press box, two spacious dugouts and full sound capabilities, the field comfortably seats 500 fans.
ON DECK
Ohio State begins a two week stretch on the road when it travels to Atlanta, Ga., March 22-24 for the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic. The Buckeyes have games slated with Campbell, Princeton, Florida State and Central Florida and a chance for more games in bracket play on the 24th. From there, the Buckeyes head north to battle Chattanooga at 6 p.m. March 25 before opening Big Ten action March 29-30 at Michigan State and March 31 with Michigan in a doubleheader.
