No. 25 Softball Plays Host to No. 25 Iowa – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 11, 2003
The No. 25 Ohio State softball team (19-14, 2-2 Big Ten) return to Big Ten action this weekend by playing host to Iowa Sunday. The doubleheader will begin at noon Sunday.
ABOUT IOWA
As of April 11, Iowa is 25-8 overall, 4-1 in Big Ten competition and leading the Big Ten (tied with Michigan State). Prior to playing Ohio State, the Hawkeyes will travel to Penn State to take on the Nittany Lions Friday and Saturday.
Iowa is led by Christi Schmaltz, Kristin Johnson, Lindsey Bashor and Stacy May, who are hitting .375, .362, .354 and .327, respectively. Johnson is leading the team in runs (22) and hits (38).
Lisa Birocci is 14-5 and Ali Arnold is 10-3 from the mound for the Hawkeyes.
IOWA’S GAYLE BLEVINS
Gayle Blevins entered the 2003 season as the third winningest coach in Division I history with a record of 927-433-5 and a 627-288-3 mark at Iowa.
Blevins is the Big Ten’s winningest coach with 392 victories in league play. On April 18, 1999, Blevins won her 200th conference game at the helm of the Iowa program. Three days later she coached her 500th career Big Ten game. Blevins became the sixth coach to reach 800 victories (300 came while at Indiana) May 14, 1999, when the Hawkeyes defeated Michigan State, 5-3, in the Big Ten Tournament.
Blevins, a native of Dayton, Ohio, is a 1973 graduate of the University of Dayton. After graduating cum laude with a degree in health and physical education, she taught and coached at Dayton’s Stebbins High School. Five years later she went on to Indiana University where she earned her master’s degree in administration while serving as IU’s assistant softball coach. She was named Indiana’s head coach for the 1979-80 school year.
THE IOWA SERIES
The Buckeyes are 29-49 all-time vs. Iowa and head coach Linda Kalafatis owns a 3-12 all-time record vs. the Hawkeyes. During this exact weekend last season, Ohio State captured two wins at then-No. 20 (2-0 and 4-2) Iowa, which gave OSU a series sweep for the first time since 1987.
KALAFATIS ON IOWA
“Iowa and Coach Blevins have a long history of success, but right now our focus is on our team and what we have to do to play better softball. We have some areas that we are going to concentrate on before the doubleheader, but I think my team will be ready to take on the Hawkeyes. We’re looking forward to a good match up.”
BOTH NO. 25
Both Ohio State and Iowa are ranked No. 25 this week. The Buckeyes hold the spot in the USAToday/NFCA poll, while the Hawkeyes hold the rank in the ESPN.com/USA Softball poll.
T-MINUS TWO WINS
The 2003 senior class is two wins away from recording more wins than any other class in the history of Ohio State softball. The 2002 seniors set the mark last season, recording 149 wins over the last four years. The class of 2003 currently has 148 wins.
SIX MORE WINS TO 500
Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis needs six more wins to reach 500 career victories. Currently, Kalafatis is 494-273-2 (14 years) overall and 220-159-0 (seven years) with the Buckeyes.
HIMES HONORED
Kristine Himes was named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week April 1 for her performance against Indiana. The weekly honor is the third this season for Himes and the fourth overall for the Buckeyes.
Himes, Ohio State’s career home run leader (40), batted .667 in two conference victories against Indiana (8-1, 9-0) March 28-29. Himes went 4-for-6 with a double, one home run (a two-run shot) and six RBI’s in the two games. She recorded eight total bases for a 1.333 slugging percentage and also stole a base in the Saturday win. The Buckeyes outscored the Hoosiers 17-1 in the two games.
AKRON RECAP
While Ohio State’s pitching was excellent at Akron Thursday afternoon, the Buckeyes struggled offensively and were not able to convert a run against the Zips. Akron won both contests, 1-0.
It took 12 innings and nearly four hours for the No. 25 Ohio State softball team to fall at Akron, 1-0, in game one of a doubleheader at Butchel Field Thursday afternoon. Junior pitcher Kristi DeVries did not allow a hit until the 10th inning and struck out 11-of-12 batters, including a string of nine in a row, beginning in the second inning. DeVries dished out 14 total strikeouts and moved to 8-5. Despite racking up seven hits, the Buckeyes were unable to convert a run.
The second game was another defensive battle with Akron taking the win, 1-0. Senior pitcher Katie Chain (North Canton, Ohio/Hoover), who is 8-8 this season, struck out seven Akron batters.
AND THE STRIKES JUST KEEP ON COMING …
Katie Chain, Ohio State’s career strikeout leader with 651, is the first Buckeye to reach 600 strikeouts.
Chain reached her latest pitching milestone as she recorded her 600th career strikeout in a 4-2 win over Oakland March 15. She recorded nine strikeouts in the complete game and gave up only three hits over the seven innings.
HOME IS WHERE THE WINS ARE
Ohio State is a perfect 8-0 at home this season, with two wins over Toledo (8-0; 4-1), Indiana (8-1; 9-0), Oakland (7-1; 4-2) and Morehead State (6-1; 14-0).
HOME RUN DERBY
The Buckeyes have been a tear recently, having hit 13 home runs in 19 games. Senior Amy Ellis hit the most recent long ball, the first of her career, in the 10-3 loss at Northwestern Saturday. Leading the way in the homer category is senior Kristine Himes with nine. Sophomore Ashley Cutcliff is next with three followed by Rogeanna Hottinger with two. Ellis, Karisa Evans, Jennifer Johnson and Beth McAbier each have one.
EARLY OFFENSE
The Buckeyes have done a majority of their damage offensively early in games. They have scored 86 of their 131 runs this year in the first three innings, 66 of which have been in the second and third innings. The Buckeyes are outscoring the opposition 131-72 and are averaging 4.0 runs per contest.
NAIL BITERS
The Buckeyes are no strangers to close contests as 14 games this season have been decided by one run. Ohio State is 5-9 in one-run games, 2-2 in two-run games and 4-4 against ranked opponents.
CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY
Karisa Evans and Kristine Himes are the only two Buckeyes to have started all 33 games this season. Kristi DeVries and Rogeanna Hottinger have each started all of the 31 games in which they have played.
NEXT UP
Ohio State travels to Athens, Ohio, to face the Bobcats in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. April 16 before continuing Big Ten play vs. both state of Michigan teams April 18, 19 and 20. The games Friday (3 p.m.) and Saturday (noon) will be vs. the Wolverines of Michigan and the Buckeyes take on the Spartans of Michigan State Sunday afternoon (noon) in a doubleheader.
