Ohio State Softball Travels to Winthrop Invitational – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/10/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 10, 2004
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team will travel to Rock Hill, S.C., March 12-14 for the Winthrop Invitational. The Buckeyes will face North Carolina A&T at 10 a.m. Friday, followed by an 8 p.m. contest vs. host Winthrop Friday night. Saturday Ohio State will meet North Carolina State at 2 p.m. and Furman at 6 p.m. The teams will then be seeded and placed in a bracket for tournament play Sunday.
Ohio State (7-6) has won four of its last six games and is coming off a pair of mercy rule wins March 6 at the University of Dayton Flyer Invitational. Saturday the Buckeyes defeated Dayton, 9-1, then Wright State, 8-0, as senior Kristi DeVries pitched a six-inning perfect game. The tournament’s final day was cancelled due to cold and windy weather. DeVries was named the Big Ten’s Pitcher of the Week for her efforts.
Of the Buckeyes’ first 10 opponents this season, all but one was selected for the NCAA tournament last season and eight are currently ranked or receiving votes in the national polls. Since then, however, Ohio State’s last two opponents and only one of its next nine opponents were postseason qualifiers last year and none currently appear in the national polls.
KALAFATIS ON THE WEEKEND “I had a feeling that our bats were ready to break out in a big way and they did so at the Dayton Tournament,” Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State head coach, said. “Our pitching was very good and Kristi was spectacular in her perfect game. The Wright State team swings an aggressive bat and Kristi was able to mix it enough to keep them guessing. I am hoping for the same kind of production from this team this weekend at the Winthrop Tournament. We’ll have a busy schedule and we’ll need to be very focused as finals week is right around the corner.”
BUCKEYES DOMINATE IN DAYTON Ohio State is coming off a dominating performance in the weather-shortened University of Dayton Flyer Invitational last weekend. Facing their first in-state opponents of the season, the Buckeyes defeated host Dayton, 9-1, and Wright State, 8-0, both in six innings. Highlighted by a perfect game from senior Kristi DeVries, Ohio State out-hit its two opponents 23-3 on the day to get back above the .500 mark for the second time this season.
BUCKEYE LEADERS Junior Karisa Evans, who led Ohio State last season with a .345 average, is again at the top of the Buckeye season box score with a .353 average (12-for-34). Her .471 slugging percentage and .463 on base percentage are also tops on the squad. Other offensive leaders include freshman Megan Schwab (.333, team-high 13 hits), freshman Nycole Koyano (.281), senior Breana Pozzi (.263) and junior Meghan Rowlands (.273). In addition, freshman Jamee Juarez leads the team with 10 RBI and four extra-base hits, including two homeruns. Junior Natalie Hales is tied for the team-lead in homeruns with two and ranks second in RBI with eight.
Juarez leads the pitching staff with seven starts, 43 innings pitched and 45 strikeouts. She has a 5-2 record with a 1.79 ERA. Senior Kristi DeVries (2-3, 2.60 ERA) has five starts and 28 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched, while sophomore Chelsea Baker (0-1, 0.46 ERA) has pitched 15.1 innings and totaled seven strikeouts.
DEVRIES PERFECT VS. WRIGHT STATE Senior Kristi DeVries tossed a six-inning perfect game in Ohio State’s 8-0 mercy rule win vs. Wright State last Saturday at the Dayton Flyer Invitational. DeVries set down all 18 Raider batters she faced, striking out a season-high 10 hitters and retiring the remaining eight batters with four ground outs and four pop outs.
“I knew my defense was behind me and when I have the support of everyone is really helps my confidence,” DeVries, who was named the Big Ten pitcher of the week, said. “We have been working really hard and it just feels great.”
The game marked DeVries’ 20th career shutout (ranked 2nd all-time) and second career no-hitter, with her first coming April 17, 2002 vs. Morehead State. She took a perfect game into the seventh inning vs. Robert Morris as a freshman (March 20, 2001) but allowed a hit in the seventh inning. DeVries currently ranks second in the Ohio State career record book in both wins (46) and strikeouts (454). Her season-high strikeout total vs. Wright State tops the eight K’s she racked up in her last outing, which was a 4-3 win vs. Florida Atlantic Feb. 28 in Georgia.
DAYTON INVITATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS With her perfect game vs. Wright State, senior Kristi DeVries has won her last two starts and lowered her ERA to 2.60. Opponents are hitting just .217 against her, which ranks best on the staff among pitchers with more than one decision.
Senior Beth McAbier collected her first two hits of the season, both of which were doubles.
Junior Natalie Hales collected two hits, including a double and a three-run homerun, vs. Wright State to mark her first multi-hit game of the season. Her three RBI vs. WSU established a new career high. Hales went a combined 3-for-4 during the two games in Dayton.
Sophomore Ashley Cutcliff went 3-for-5 during the tournament for her first hits of the season, which included her first homerun.
Freshman Jamee Juarez drove in five runs during the weekend to increase her team-leading total to 10 RBI on the season. She went 2-for-5 at the plate in the two games and notched seven strikeouts and allowed just three hits in picking up the win vs. Dayton.
Freshman Nycole Koyano has collected two hits in three of her last four games to raise her batting average to .281 (9-for-32) on the season.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA A&T Entering the 2004 season, North Carolina A&T’s expectations have risen after last year’s success. The Lady Aggies earned a 31-27 record last season, the best in the school’s eight-year history and topped it off with a third place finish in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Tournament. Seven starters return to North Carolina A&T (2-10), along with the team’s ace sophomore pitcher Latronda Anderson, who posted a 2.61 ERA last season.
SCOUTING WINTHROP After placing third in the Georgia Softball Classic Sunday, the Lady Eagles of Winthrop look to defend their home turf at the Winthrop Invitational in Rock Hill, S.C. this weekend. The Lady Eagles (9-9-1) are led by sophomore infielder Lindsey Merriman, who is boasting a team-best .436 batting average. With eight starters and 14 lettermen returning, Winthrop is geared up to improve upon last year’s record of 27-32 and sixth place finish in the Big South.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA STATE The Wolfpack of North Carolina State are in their first season of existence, but they are not playing like a newcomer. N.C. State spilt a doubleheader with Appalachian State last weekend, pushing its record to 5-10. Pitcher Abbie Sims, one of 14 freshmen on the team, struck out a Wolfpack-record 13 batters in a two-hit shutout to give her four wins on the season. Strong pitching looks to be the cornerstone of this young team, as Sims and juniors Shaina Ervin and Lee Hasper have the ability to lead this team not only this year but next season, as well.
SCOUTING FURMAN Despite a slow start to the 2004 season, the Lady Paladins of Furman hope last Friday’s 6-5 win against Florida A&M will get them back on track. This marks the first season for head coach Dana Jenkins, a 1996 Furman graduate. Furman finished sixth in the Southern Conference last year, but the Lady Paladins have five seniors in the hunt to end their respective careers on a positive note, such as winning a conference title for the first time in nine years.
OHIO STATE QUICK HITS The Buckeyes have out-scored their opponents 15-7 during the fourth and fifth innings this season. Ohio State is 3-1 when scoring the game’s first run and 6-0 when out-hitting its opponent. The Buckeyes are 6-1 when hitting at least one homerun, 6-1 when leading after five innings of play and 4-0 when entering the seventh inning with the lead.
BUCKEYES’ UNSUNG HEROES The middle of the Ohio State defense has been one of the team’s strengths this season. Junior SS Jennifer Johnson, freshman 2B second baseman Nycole Koyano and junior CF Meghan Rowlands have started all 13 games for the Buckeyes. That trio has committed just seven errors in their last 89 plays (92.1 fielding percentage) and rank 11th, fourth and sixth, respectively, on the team in on-base percentage.
Senior P/1B Kristi DeVries, freshman LF Megan Schwab and freshman P/3B Jamee Juarez have also started all 13 games and rank 10th, third and 9th, respectively, in hitting. Junior catcher Natalie Hales has been equally solid behind the plate. In her 12 games this season, she has yet to have a passed ball and has thrown out four would-be base stealers. In addition, she is second on the team in RBI with eight.
TRIO HAVE POWER SURGE Three Ohio State players put on a power display over the last two weeks in collecting their first hits of the season. Freshman RF/C Christina Douglas connected on a two-run homerun vs. UMass Feb. 29 for her first hit of the season and she followed that up with a double vs. Dayton last Saturday. Senior 1B Beth McAbier knocked two doubles, including one off the top of the wall, vs. Dayton last Saturday for her first hits of the season. Sophomore DP Ashley Cutcliff blasted a two-run homer vs. Dayton for her first hit of the season and finished the day with two more hits, including a game-ending RBI single vs. Wright State.
SEVEN STARTERS RETURN Seven starters return for the Buckeyes in 2004, including senior P/1B Kristi DeVries (.288, 15 RBI, 12-8, 1.33 ERA), junior OF Karisa Evans (.345, 13 2b, 17 RBI), junior 1B/DP Ashley Cutcliff (.280, 5 HR), sophomore SS Billie Jo Carder (.271), junior OF Meghan Rowlands (.192), senior 1B/DP Beth McAbier (.185) and junior IF Jennifer Johnson (.169). A total of 13 letterwinners return.
DEVRIES, POZZI NAMED CAPTAINS Senior P/1B Kristi DeVries and senior 3B Breana Pozzi have been selected as co-captains for the 2004 Buckeyes. DeVries is already near the top of most Ohio State pitching records and also has been a solid contributor at the plate for the Buckeyes, as well. Pozzi, who heads into the 2004 season as the starter at third base, has proven to be a spark at the plate for Ohio State. Nagging injuries hampered her junior season after she batted .329 with 12 RBI as a sophomore.
SENIORS AIMING FOR WINS RECORD The 2004 senior class of P/1B Kristi DeVries, 3B Breana Pozzi and 1B/DP Beth McAbier has been a part of 134 victories while wearing scarlet and gray, which is 23 wins shy of the Ohio State-record of 157 wins collected by the senior class of 2003. Should the 2004 seniors break the wins record, it would mark the third-consecutive season the Buckeye senior class has broken the school’s wins record.
A HAPPY BIRTHDAY FOR JUAREZ Freshman Jamee Juarez celebrated her 19th birthday Feb. 15 with an outstanding performance in Ohio State’s 6-3 win vs. then-No. 19 Arizona State. The La Puente, Calif., native pitched all seven innings, allowing just six hits, and got the job done at the plate, as well, with a grand slam homerun to put the Buckeyes on top, 5-0, in the fourth inning.
In the Arizona State Fiesta Bowl Tournament, which marked her collegiate debut, Juarez was 3-0 on the mound with a 1.00 ERA and 14 strikeouts in 21 innings of work. She was also Ohio State’s fourth-ranked hitter by batting average with a .188 mark (3-for-16).
KALAFATIS REACHES MILESTONES The 2003 season provided Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis with a pair of prestigious accomplishments. A 4-1 win vs. Toledo April 9 was Kalafatis’ school-record 221st while at Ohio State, surpassing the previous record of 220 set by Gail Davenport from 1989-1996. Then April 30 a 6-0 win vs. Marshall gave Kalafatis her 500th career victory as a collegiate head coach. Kalafatis is now 508-288-2 (.641) in her 16th season as a collegiate head coach and 235-173-2 (.578) in her eighth season at the helm of the Ohio State program.
LOSSES FROM 2003 SQUAD The 2003 senior class left Ohio State as the winningest class in the history of the program. 3B Kristine Himes, 2B Jennifer Link, IF Elizabeth Kacsanek, OF Rogeanna Hottinger, OF Amy Ellis, C Annie Dedic and P Katie Chain racked up 157 victories while wearing scarlet and gray. Chain set career records at Ohio State for innings pitched (677.1), wins (67), strikeouts (692) and shutouts (26). She and Link received All-America honors in 2002, while Himes belted a school-record 41 career homeruns.
2004 OUTLOOK The Ohio State softball program is looking to return to their winning ways under the direction of head coach Linda Kalafatis, who is in her eighth season at the helm of the Buckeye program. A combination of new talent, experienced leaders, versatility and lights at Buckeye Field for the first time in program history should prove to add up to an exciting softball season in Columbus. Ohio State finished 55-14 in 2002 but saw its record slip to 26-23 last season.
“We were not pleased with the second half of our season (last year) and I think that really has motivated our team,” Kalafatis said. “I think we have some very determined young ladies.”
In addition to a freshman class that will contribute immediately, Kalafatis is confident in her senior class, which consists of DeVries, McAbier and Pozzi.
“We have three seniors who are all capable of having their best seasons yet,” Kalafatis said. “So far they have provided good leadership for our team and they have the potential to leave as the winningest class in Ohio State softball history, like the two previous senior classes did.”
The pitching mound will have one of the Buckeyes’ leaders and all-time best pitchers this year in DeVries, who ranks second in career wins (44) and strikeouts (426) at Ohio State. The infield is perhaps where the most experience and the most versatility lies on the Buckeye squad. Returnees include DeVries, who doubles as a pitcher and first base player, McAbier, who led the team with 211 putouts last year at first base, Carder and Johnson, who shared time at shortstop last season, and Pozzi, who split time between third base and shortstop. A pair of catchers, junior Natalie Hales and sophomore Stacy Hibma, played in 16 and 28 games, respectively, last year. Rowlands, who played leftfield last season, will shift to centerfield this season and will be joined by returning starter junior Karisa Evans, who batted a team-high .345 in 2003.
BUCKEYES PERFECT IN FALL BALL Ohio State fashioned a perfect 9-0 record during the fall over two weekends of tournament play. Once again Ohio State hosted the Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic, which raised nearly $10,000 for breast cancer research. Kalafatis’ squad won the event with a 5-0 record for the third consecutive year. A week later, the Buckeyes were a flawless 4-0 at the Wright State Fall Tournament in Dayton, Ohio.
NEXT UP Following the Winthrop Invitational, Ohio State will see its first home action of the season as host of the Buckeye Invitational, March 19-21. Visiting teams include Loyola-Chicago, Robert Morris, Northern Illinois and Oakland.
