Softball Travels South To Buzz Classic In Atlanta – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 20, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team returns to the road for several games this weekend with a trip to Georgia Tech and Tennessee-Chattanooga. The Buckeyes (20-5 overall, 0-0 Big Ten) will play in the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic Friday through Sunday with pool play running Friday and Saturday and bracket play Sunday. OSU also will play the Mocs of UT-Chattanooga at 6 p.m. Monday.
RUNNING UP THE SCORE
Anna Smith scored 12 runs in eight games last week to bring her career total of runs scored to 130 and break the existing Ohio State record. The previous record of 129 was held by Candace Kollen (1995-98).
ANOTHER WIN FOR CHAIN
Katie Chain also had a great week for the Buckeyes. She appeared in four games, starting three, winning all three and earning a save. Chain struck out 24 in the four games to help her break the all-time wins record at Ohio State. The previous mark was 41 and held by Jodi Dolan (1995-98).
CHASING MORE RECORDS
Anna Smith, with one record broken this year, has her sights set on another entry in the Buckeye books. Smith has been the all-time stolen base leader for some time and that has been a result of reaching base. She has walked 84 times in her career, the second-most in Ohio State annals. Though she will not reach the all-time mark of 188 set by Krinon Clark (1991-94), the walks will only add her chances to add to the stolen base ledger.
Stacy Roth has collected 27 hits this year to move to ninth all-time with 177 and trails Candace Kollen’s program mark of 232. Seven of Roth’s hits went for doubles to bring her to No. 3 all-time with 36, 22 behind Clark’s mark of 58.
Roth is not done there. She had scored 77 runs entering 2002 and has added 10 so far this year to move into seventh-place all-time with 87. ALLEN GETTING IT DONE
Wendy Allen had a monster week for the Buckeyes and earned the most valuable player honors at the Buckeye Invitational. Allen went 12-for-21 from the plate with five doubles, two home runs and seven runs scored to lead Ohio State to a 6-1 record. She also pitched 13 innings in three appearances with 16 strikeouts and a no-hitter thrown against Robert Morris at the Buckeye Invitational. It was Allen’s first no-hitter in her short career with the Scarlet and Gray.
MILESTONES
Several milestones for the Ohio State program have or will be reached this year. The Buckeyes need one more win this year to reach 650. The program has secured 649 wins in its 32 years of play including 20 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.
TOURNAMENT HONORS
Ohio State tore through their competition at the Buckeye Invitational and was rewarded with several of its players garnering tournament honors. Wendy Allen led the selections as the tournament MVP and teammates Anna Smith, Stacy Roth, Jennifer Link and Katie Chain were members of the all-tournament team.
CAN’T BE CONTAINED
A trio of Buckeyes have been firmly entrenched in a battle for the career home run lead at Ohio State. Kristine Himes entered the 2002 campaign with the all-time mark of 16 and has retained the lead with 21. Stacy Roth is closely behind her with five on the year to reach 19. Her next homer will make her just the second Buckeye to break the 20-home run barrier. Sarah West also is in contention for the record. She has four on the year to raise her career total to 15. Here is the up-to-date scoreboard for home run supremacy:
1. Kristine Himes 2000-02 21 2. Stacy Roth 1999-02 19 3. Sarah West 1999-02 15
THIEVES
Anna Smith is the all-time stolen base leader at Ohio State with 84 and is 16-for-17 this year. Jennifer Link is climbing the records ladder in the same category with an 12-for-14 performance in 2002. Her career total is up to 38, the seventh-most in Ohio State history.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
The softball team has logged quite few miles on the road this year. Upon their return from Atlanta and Chattanooga, Tenn., the Buckeyes will have flown and driven 12,555.95 miles to compete. OSU’s road trips have included such far away destinations as Los Angeles, twice, Houston, Atlanta, Chattanooga and Dayton, Ohio.
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 4-3 lifetime against Ohio State’s opponents this weekend and 1-2 versus to the same teams while at the head of the Buckeye program. With OSU, Kalafatis is 1-1 against the Camels of Campbell and 0-1 against Florida State. Overall, a Kalafatis-led squad is 4-1 against Campbell and 0-1 against both Princeton and FSU. Her teams have not faced Tennessee-Chattanooga or UCF (Central Florida) before.
SCOUTING REPORT: BUZZ CLASSIC
The field for the 2002 Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic consists of 24 teams in four pools and is hosted by Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Ga. Five fields will play host to five games each Friday, six games each on Saturday and four fields in use for bracket play Sunday. Here are the pools with half of the teams listed, based upon their pool records, making the bracket portion of the event:
Pool 1: Mercer, Charleston Southern, Illinois, Tennessee Tech, Georgia Tech and Harvard.
Pool 2: Florida State, Campbell, OHIO STATE, Princeton, UCF (Central Florida) and North Carolina-Greensboro.
Pool 3: Troy State, Belmont, Nichols State, Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina and Middle Tennessee State.
Pool 4: Georgia State, Western Kentucky, North Carolina, Elon College, Michigan State and Maryland.
SCOUTING REPORT: CAMPBELL
The Camels are 16-14 on the year and 0-4 in the Atlantic Sun Conference but are winners of their last five games in a row and six of the last seven following a seven game losing streak. Leslie Standiford leads the CU attack with a .408 batting average on 29-of-71 hitting. Pitcher Holly Harris leads the squad with a 2.01 ERA and a 5-4 record.
SCOUTING REPORT: PRINCETON
The Tigers are 6-8 on the year and are led by Brie Galicinao on offense. Galicinao is hitting at a .413 clip with 19 hits and four doubles. She also is the pitching leader with a 2.59 ERA and 37 strikeouts.
SCOUTING REPORT: NO. 20 FLORIDA STATE
The Seminoles are the No. 20 team in the nation with a 25-11 record. Brandi Stuart is the offensive leader for FSU with a .390 average and leads the team in numerous statistical categories. She is tops in hits (41), runs (28) and home runs (four). Pitcher Leslie Malerich is the staff ace with a 16-8 record and a 1.24 ERA.
SCOUTING REPORT: UCF (CENTRAL FLORIDA)
Renee Gillispie and the Knights of UCF are off to a 26-4 start in the first year of the program. Jania Shinhoster leads the team in batting with a .402 mark with team-highs in at bats (102), hits (41), runs (25), doubles (nine), home runs (six) and RBI (29). From the circle, Dottie Cupp has posted a 15-2 record this year with a 0.93 ERA. She has struck out 102 of the 124 ‘Ks’ the staff has recorded and winning half of her games by shutout.
SCOUTING REPORT: CHATTANOOGA
The Mocs are 17-7 on the year and are 2- in the Southern Conference. Melissa Ramirez leads the team with a .415 batting average on 25 hits with two doubles and triples, one home run and 10 RBI. Beth Alexander is 7-2 from the circle with a 1.13 ERA and 41 strikeouts.
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 opens conference action with four games on the road in the state of Michigan next weekend. The Buckeyes will battle the Michigan State Spartans with single games in East Lansing, Mich., Friday and Saturday before heading to Ann Arbor, Mich., for a doubleheader with the Wolverines Sunday.
