Softball Travels to Face the Bobcats – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 14, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team (19-16; 2-4 Big Ten) will travel to Athens, Ohio, to face the Bobcats of Ohio University (6-20-1; 2-12-1 MAC) in a doubleheader beginning at 3 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, on Ohio Softball Field.
ABOUT OHIO
The Bobcats are 6-20-1 overall and 2-12-1 in the Mid-American Conference. Erin Chapman is leading the offense for Ohio with a .432 clip. Candy Warden and Katie Davis are also solid for the Bobcats with a .333 and .308 average, respectively.
OHIO’ ROANNA BRAZIER
Head coach Roanna Brazier is in her seventh season at the helm of Ohio’s softball program, where she was initially hired in 1997 after spending three years as an assistant under former head coach Tracy Bunge.
In six seasons at Ohio, Brazier compiled a 155-169 overall record and 81-75 mark in the Mid-American Conference. Last season, her Bobcats finished 29-24 overall with a 15-9 mark in the league. The team set a new record for postseason victories by winning three games in the MAC Tournament.
From 1987-90, Brazier was an All-Big Eight Conference performer at the University of Kansas. Pitching and playing first base, the three-time all-conference selection set six Jayhawk season and career records, including innings pitched (960.2) and victories (86). In 1990, she earned All-Midwest Region accolades after posting a 28-7 record with a 0.93 ERA.
THE OHIO STATE-OHIO SERIES
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Ohio 33-20 and Buckeye head coach Linda Kalafatis holds an all-time 4-1 record while with the Buckeyes. Kalafatis’ all-time career record against Ohio is 11-5.
ANSWER: 24
Question: How many Ohio natives will be competing in the Ohio State vs. Ohio games Wednesday? The Buckeyes have 11 Ohioans and Ohio’s roster holds 13 players from the state of Ohio.
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.
Himes is batting .341 with a team-leading eight home runs and 27 RBI’s to compliment her .765 slugging percentage.
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 by 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.
BUCKEYES ARE DUE
Ohio State looks to break a four-game scoring drought vs. Ohio. While accruing 22 hits the last four games, the Buckeyes have been unable to cross home.
IOWA RECAP
Ohio State dropped two Big Ten contests to Iowa last weekend. It took 10 innings in game one for a score to get on the board as Iowa tallied seven runs to beat the Buckeyes 7-0. Pitcher Kristi DeVries continued to be solid for the Buckeyes from the mound by striking out six Iowa batters.
Ohio State lost 3-0 in game two vs. the Hawkeyes. Buckeye pitcher Katie Chain moved to 8-9 overall and struck out eight Iowa batters. Senior Kristine Himes was 2-for-2 and classmate Jenn Link went 2-for-3, but the Buckeyes struggled to cross the plate.
AKRON RECAP
While Ohio State’s pitching was excellent at Akron April 10, 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. 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 653, 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 RUN DERBY
The Buckeyes have been a tear recently, having hit 13 home runs in 25 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 eight. 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 92 of their 134 runs this year in the first three innings, 70 of which have been in the second and third innings. The Buckeyes are outscoring the opposition 134-83 and are averaging 3.8 runs per contest.
CLOSE CALLS
The Buckeyes are no strangers to close contests as 16 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 4-6 against ranked opponents.
CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY, CONSISTENCY
Karisa Evans and Kristine Himes are the only two Buckeyes to have started all 35 games this season. Kristi DeVries and Rogeanna Hottinger have each started all of the 33 games in which they have played.
TEAM EFFORT
The Buckeyes’ offense is a team effort this season. Karisa Evans, Annie Dedic, Ashley Cutcliff and Kristine Himes are leading the way for Ohio State.
Evans is batting .360 on the year and has recorded at least one hit in 26 of the 39 games, including 13 multiple hit games. She has one home run, one triple, six doubles and 13 RBI’s to her credit and leads the team in runs scored with 27.
Dedic is batting 24-for-69 (.348) with 11 RBI’s and four doubles. Himes, the Big Ten player of the Week March 3,14 and April 1, is batting .324 and leads the team in home runs (8) and RBI’s (28). She also has two triples, eight doubles and 15 runs scored. Cutcliff is hitting .316 this season with seven RBI’s, three home runs and three doubles.
Fresh off a wrist injury sustained early in the season is third team All-American Jennifer Link. In her first weekend back at Northwestern, Link batted .333 with two hits and a run scored. She is batting .291 on the year and is leading the team with seven stolen bases (in eight attempts). Meghan Rowlands has seven stolen bases to lead the Buckeye base thieves.
Chain and DeVries are leading the way in the circle as they have combined for 214 of the teams’ 254 strikeouts. Chain is 8-9 with a 1.40 ERA and 122 K’s in 20 appearances. DeVries is 8-6 with a 1.29 ERA and 92 K’s.
NEXT UP
Ohio State plays host to both Big Ten state of Michigan teams April 18, 19 and 20
