Ohio State Softball to Host Minnesota and Wisconsin – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/31/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 31, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Big Ten season opens this weekend at Buckeye Field in Columbus as the Ohio State softball team hosts Minnesota and Wisconsin. The Buckeyes and Golden Gophers will meet at 6 p.m. Friday and at noon Saturday, while Ohio State and the Badgers will hook up for a double-header at noon Sunday.
Ohio State (17-10, 0-0 Big Ten) is 3-0 at home this season and plays 18 of its next 20 games at Buckeye Field. OSU went 12-4 in the month of March, with three of those losses coming last weekend at No. 18 Pacific and No. 15 Fresno State to close out the Buckeyes’ spring break trip through central California.
As Big Ten play commences, the Buckeyes aim to take advantage of the lessons learned from a tough early season schedule, which included nine games against ranked opponents. Ohio State aspires to turn around a 5-11 league record from a year ago that included an 0-4 mark at Minnesota and Wisconsin over the last weekend in April.
BUCKEYES AMONG BEST IN BIG TEN
In overall Big Ten statistics as of March 29, Ohio State boasts the league’s third-best offense and fourth-best pitching staff. The Buckeyes’ .293 average is No. 3 and their 1.54 ERA is No. 4 in the conference, as is their .401 slugging percentage. OSU’s .363 on-base percentage is No. 3. In addition, Ohio State ranks as the toughest team in the Big Ten to strike out, as the Buckeyes have been fanned just 110 times in 696 at bats for a Big Ten-low .158 strikeout average. Individually, freshman Nycole Koyano ranks sixth in batting average (.386) and second in both walks (15) and on-base percentage (.488). Junior Karisa Evans ranks ninth in on-base percentage (.435), while freshman Jamee Juarez ranks seventh in RBI (20). Juarez and senior Kristi DeVries both rank among the Big Ten’s Top 15 pitchers with 74 strikeouts each, while sophomore Chelsea Baker ranks among the Top 5 in both ERA (0.84) and opponent’s low batting average (.154).
DEVRIES STRIKES OUT NO. 500
Senior Kristi DeVries has lowered her ERA from 3.78 (as of Feb. 27) to 1.62 in her last eight starts, in which she is 6-2 with 64 strikeouts. Her one-hit shutout of Saint Mary’s March 23 was her 22nd career shutout, which is four shy of the Ohio State record of 26 held by Katie Chain. Her ninth and final strikeout at No. 15 Fresno State March 26 was her 500th career strikeout, making her just the second pitcher in Ohio State history to reach the 500 strikeout plateau. Katie Chain holds the record with 692 from 2000-03.
NOTING THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State has out-scored its opponents 26-7 in the first inning this season, which marks the team’s highest run producing inning. The Buckeyes are 16-1 when out-hitting their opponents and 13-2 when scoring first. In the month of March, Ohio State out-hit its opponents, 150-69, and out-scored them, 87-33. Of the Buckeyes’ first 10 opponents this season, all but one was selected for the NCAA tournament last season and six are currently ranked or receiving votes in the national polls.
Junior Natalie Hales has raised her batting average from .059 (as of Feb. 28) to .275. Freshman Jamee Juarez has driven in 20 runs this season, which leads the team and is moving up the charts for RBI in a season by a freshman (the record is 35 by Kristine Himes in 2000). The last time a freshman led Ohio State in RBI was Stacy Roth in 1999 with 31. Freshman Nycole Koyano has raised her batting average from .105 (as of Feb. 28) to .386. Over that period, she has hit safely in 16-of-18 games and fashioned a team-best eight-game hitting streak. Junior Meghan Rowlands has hit safely in eight of her last 11 games to raise her batting average to .327.
BUCKEYE LEADERS
Three Buckeyes share the team-lead in base hits this season with 27, including junior Karisa Evans and freshmen Nycole Koyano and Megan Schwab. Junior Ashley Cutcliff leads Ohio State in batting average (.462, 18-for-39), slugging percentage (.692) and on-base percentage (.553). Koyano ranks second in average (.386) and on-base percentage (.488) and leads Ohio State with 15 walks and 10 stolen bases. Evans is batting .360 and Schwab is batting .329 with a team-high six doubles. Freshman Jamee Juarez (.288) leads the Buckeyes in RBI with 20. Other offensive leaders include juniors Chelsea Baker (.346), Meghan Rowlands (.327) and Natalie Hales (.275). Senior Breana Pozzi is hitting .250 and senior Beth McAbier ranks second on the team with five doubles.
Juarez leads the pitching staff in innings pitched (79.2), and wins (8) and owns a 1.85 ERA. Juarez and senior Kristi DeVries (6-5, 1.62 ERA) share the team-lead in strikeouts with 74 apiece. Baker leads the staff in ERA at 0.84 in 33.1 innings pitched.
A LOOK AT MINNESOTA
The 2004 softball campaign is sure to be a memorable one as it is Minnesota’s 30th year of existence. With eleven letterwinners, four starters, two starting pitchers and a promising freshman class, the Golden Gophers hope to challenge for the Big Ten title and earn a third straight trip to the NCAA Tournament. In her 13th season as co-head coach, Lisa Bernstein’s team has earned a 19-10 record and already has some hardware to go with it, taking home the honor of co-championship at the Georgia Tech Buzz Classic March 21. A talented pitching staff leads the way for Minnesota, most notably senior Piper Marten, who was awarded All-Big Ten First Team and All-Mideast Second Team honors last season en route to setting a new single-season school record with 311 strikeouts. In addition to Marten, junior Lyn Peyer and freshmen Mandy Valadez and Reno Konderik have compiled an impressive 1.84 team ERA, while the opponents’ ERA is 3.27. Senior first baseman Hailee Nanchy will look to carry the Golden Gopher offense once again, as she had 27 RBI and a.347 batting average while making the All-Mideast Region Second Team last year.
LAST YEAR VS. THE GOLDEN GOPHERS
Ohio State dropped a pair of games at Minnesota last season in Minneapolis by scores of 2-1 and 5-1. The first contest went 13 innings before the Gophers pulled out the win to spoil a 15-strikeout effort by Ohio State’s Kristi DeVries, who pitched 12.2 innings in the contest. Karisa Evans notched two hits in the game, while DeVries and Ashley Cutcliff also collected a hit. In the second game vs. Minnesota, the Buckeyes led 1-0 going into the fifth inning, but the Gophers scored four runs in the fifth and added another in the sixth to prevail, 5-1. Evans and Stacy Hibma both hit safely for Ohio State.
A LOOK AT WISCONSIN
Not even the defending Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, Lisa Birocci of Iowa, could tame the pesky Badgers earlier this season, as they clipped the Hawkeyes in a non-conference battle, 2-1, in the final game of the Hawkeye Classic March 28. Freshman third baseman Athena Vasquez belted her first collegiate homerun to help power the Badgers past Iowa for the second time this season, which improved Wisconsin’s overall record to 18-13 and 3-1 for the tournament. Entering her ninth season as head coach, Karen Gallagher’s team features six starters and 11 letter winners returning from last year’s squad that finished eighth in the Big Ten. One of the key returnees is junior catcher Boo Gillette, who was named third team All-Big Ten and led the Badgers with a .296 batting average in 2003. Wisconsin will rely on a young pitching staff that includes two freshmen, one sophomore and one junior. Freshman Eden Brock looks to be the team’s ace as she has been rock-solid on the mound, compiling an 8-5 record along with a 1.38 ERA. The Badgers begin Big Ten play April 2 and 3 at Penn State before coming to Ohio State for a doubleheader April 4.
LAST YEAR VS. THE BADGERS
Ohio State and Wisconsin met four times last season, with the Badgers winning all four contests. These two teams met for a pair of non-conference games in Honolulu in March, with Wisconsin winning 1-0 and then 3-1 in eight innings. Evans and DeVries both produced base hits for OSU, while DeVries struck out seven batters in the second game. The Badgers then swept a Big Ten double-header in Madison, Wis., April 27, taking the first game, 5-4, and the second game, 6-0. Ohio State led 4-3 in game one but Wisconsin came back to claim the one-run win. Chelsea Baker smacked a base hit in the opener, while Beth McAbier notched two hits in game-two and Stacy Hibma had one hit.
OHIO STATE PERFECT IN BUCKEYE INVITATIONAL
With a 3-0 record at the Buckeye Invitational March 19-20, Ohio State improved to 16-0 all-time in their early-season tournament, which is in its fourth year. The Buckeyes defeated Loyola-Chicago, 3-0, and Robert Morris, 8-1, Friday and topped Northern Illinois, 11-3, Saturday before cold weather forced the cancellation of Sunday’s slate of games. Past teams that the Buckeyes have defeated in the tournament include Buffalo (2001), Cleveland State (2001), IUPUI (2001), Robert Morris (2002), Kent State (2002), Seton Hall (2002), Oakland (2003) and Morehead State (2003).
CUTCLIFF, JUAREZ NAMED BUCKEYE INVITATIONAL ALL-STARS
Ohio State junior Ashley Cutcliff and freshman Jamee Juarez both were named to the nine-member Buckeye Invitational All-Tournament Team last weekend. Cutcliff batted .833 (5-for-6) during the weekend with three RBI, while Juarez batted .556 (5-for-9) with a double, triple and four RBI. Juarez also went 1-0 on the mound with a 0.00 ERA in nine innings pitched.
WINTHROP INVITATIONAL RECAP
Ohio State traveled to Rock Hill, S.C., March 12-14 and placed second at the Winthrop Invitational. The Buckeyes went 4-0 in pool play then defeated Jacksonville State, 10-1, in the semifinals. Ohio State was defeated by Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 6-0, in the tournament championship game.
The Buckeyes batted .395 during the tournament, compared to .189 for their opponents, and in their five wins OSU out-scored the opposition, 38-6. Twelve different players batted .300 or better during the weekend, led by Nycole Koyano (.562, 9-for-16), Ashley Cutcliff (.500, 6-for-12) and Chelsea Baker (.467, 7-for-15).
BAKER, SCHWAB RECEIVE HONORS AT WINTHROP INVITATIONAL
Ohio State’s Chelsea Baker and Megan Schwab both were named to the all-tournament team of the Winthrop Invitational March 12-14. Baker went 2-0 with a 0.00 ERA in 15.0 innings during the tournament and tossed a one-hit shutout vs. Furman Saturday. She also was impressive with the bat, hitting .467 (7-for-15) with a double and homerun. Schwab batted .412 (7-for-17) during the weekend with two doubles, a homerun and six RBI. Her homerun, a leadoff homer vs. Jacksonville State, was her second of the season and her 4-for-4 performance vs. tournament host Winthrop was her second such perfect effort of the season.
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. The Big Ten named her the league’s Pitcher of the Week for her efforts.
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 (50) and strikeouts (500).
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 144 victories while wearing scarlet and gray, which is 13 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.
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 518-292-2 (.643) in her 16th season as a collegiate head coach and 245-177-2 (.581) 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.
NEXT UP
Ohio State will host a pair of non-conference double-headers next week at Buckeye Field as Butler travels to Columbus Tuesday and Dayton comes calling Wednesday. Both double-headers begin at 5 p.m. The Buckeyes will then travel to Michigan Friday and Saturday before playing their next 10 games at Buckeye Field.
### Go Bucks! ###
