Ohio State Softball Faces Kentucky Wed.; Illinois and Iowa This Weekend – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/20/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 20, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team (26-17; 3-7 Big Ten) has six games this week and the countdown is on for the senior class. Kristi DeVries, Beth McAbier and Breana Pozzi are just four wins why of becoming the winningest class in Ohio State softball history. The Buckeyes begin by playing host to Southeastern Conference opponent Kentucky in a doubleheader beginning at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Buckeye Field. Kentucky is 22-24-1 on the season and 5-19 in SEC play.
Ohio State then takes to the road to face Big Ten opponents Illinois and Iowa this weekend. The Buckeyes play the Fighting Illini at 7 p.m. EDT Friday and at 1 p.m. EDT Saturday. Both games will take place at Eichelberger Field in Champaign.
Ohio State plays Iowa in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. EDT Sunday at Pearl Field. Illinois is 29-15-1 and 7-3 in the conference, while the Hawkeyes are 29-17 overall and 8-2 in the league. The Hawkeyes are ranked second and Illinois is third among the current Big Ten leaders.
FIRST EXTRA INNING WIN
Ohio State won its first extra-inning game last Saturday when it beat Michigan State, 8-7, in eight innings. The Buckeyes dropped a nine-inning game vs. Massachusetts Feb. 29 at the NFCA Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga., and lost to Minnesota in 10 innings, 1-0, during the Big Ten opener April 2 at Buckeye Field in Columbus, Ohio.
LARGEST HOME CROWD
The Buckeyes played host to Northwestern in a doubleheader last weekend in front of the season’s largest home crowd of 462 people.
FOUR WINS SHY
The 2004 senior class of P/1B Kristi DeVries, 3B Breana Pozzi and 1B/DP Beth McAbier has been a part of 153 victories while wearing scarlet and gray, which is four 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.
JUAREZ REACHES 100
With seven strikeouts in the 8-7 Buckeye win over Michigan State last Saturday, freshman pitcher Jamee Juarez has tallied 102 total strikeouts this season. She is ranked No. 4 on the all-time rookie records list and is only the fourth freshman pitcher in Buckeye history to reach the 100 strikeouts milestone.
TRAVELING TEAM
The Ohio State softball team will finish Big Ten play on the road the next three weekends. The Buckeyes travel to Illinois and Iowa this weekend, Purdue and Indiana next weekend and finish up the regular-season Big Ten schedule at Penn State May 8-9.
BUCKEYE BATTING BITS
Chelsea Baker, Nycole Koyano, Karisa Evans and Megan Schwab are hitting .377, .345, .317 and .315, respectively, to aid the Buckeye offense. Baker has drastically improved lately, upping her average from .100 as of March 6 to her current .377 mark, including a .364 the last six games with eight hits, 2 doubles, four runs and 2 RBI.
THE BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
In overall Big Ten statistics as of April 15, Ohio State boasts the league’s third-best offense and pitching staff with a .284 batting average and 1.39 ERA, respectively. In addition, the Buckeyes were one of only five teams in the league with at least 20 home runs, ranked third in the Big Ten in slugging percentage (.407) and second in on-base percentage (.359). OSU was fourth in the Big Ten in stolen bases (54).
Individually, freshman Nycole Koyano is No. 3 the Big Ten in walks (22), ranked ninth in batting average (.356), third in on-base percentage (.468) and No. 7 in stolen bases (13). Juarez ranked fifth in RBI (29). Sophomore Chelsea Baker is No. 5 with a 0.84 ERA and senior Kristi DeVries ranked eighth in the league in ERA (1.32) and ninth in strikeouts (33).
KEEP YOUR EYE ON …
-With a stolen base vs. Dayton April 7, Nycole Koyano set an Ohio State record for stolen bases by a freshman with 13. She has 14 for the season. The previous record of 12 was set by Candace Kollen in 1995.
-Senior Kristi DeVries blanked Dayton April 7, 8-0, for her 24th career shutout, which is just two shutouts away from the Ohio State record of 26 held by Katie Chain (2000-03).
-Sophomore Stacy Hibma’s home runs April 6 and 7 were her first of the season. Her second homer, a two-run shot vs. Dayton, accounted for her first career multi-RBI game.
-Juarez owns a team-high 30 RBI, which is closing in on the Ohio State record for RBI by a freshman, held by Kristine Himes with 35 in 2000.
-Karisa Evans owns a team-best 12 multi-hit games this season. Koyano and Jamee Juarez each have 10 this year.
-With a homerun vs. Butler last Tuesday, Chelsea Baker extended her hitting streak to nine games, which ended a game later but ranks as the best on the team this season. Baker has improved her batting average from .100 (as of March 6) to .377 (as of April 19).
-Koyano has upped her average from .105 (as of Feb. 28) to .345 (as of April 19).
-Koyano (at second base) has started all 43 games this year.
-Juarez’s 12 pitching wins rank fifth in Ohio State history for wins by a freshman. The record is 16 and is held by senior Kristi DeVries (2001).
-The Buckeyes have out-scored their opponents 46-17 in the first inning of games this season.
BUCKEYE LEADERS
-Megan Schwab leads Ohio State in hits (41), followed by Nycole Koyano, who has 40 on the season. Jamee Juarez has nailed a team-high four homeruns, which leads OSU, followed by Karisa Evans, Ashley Cutcliff and Schwab, who all have hit three dingers this season.
-Koyano is batting .345 with eight RBI and a .450 on-base percentage and leads the team with 26 runs and 14 stolen bases (of 16 attempted). Her 26 runs scored are tied for No. 4 among Buckeye all-time freshmen leaders and her 14 stolen bases is a record for a rookie Buckeye softball player.
-Megan Schwab (.315) has 41 hits. Schwab has 11 doubles, best on the squad.
-Juarez owns a team-best 30 RBI, while Schwab is next with 21.
-Ashley Cutcliff (.412) and Chelsea Baker (.377) lead the Buckeyes in batting average and Cutcliff owns the best slugging percentage (.647) on the squad.
-Kristi DeVries (8-9, 1.71 ERA) owns a team-best 124 strikeouts in 102.1 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .178 against her, which is best of the team. Juarez (12-6, 1.79 ERA) owns 102 strikeouts and Baker is 6-2 with a 1.16 ERA.
A LOOK AT KENTUCKY
After splitting a doubleheader with in-state foe Western Kentucky April 14, the Kentucky Wildcats (22-24-1, 5-19 SEC) make a mid-week stop in Columbus. Entering her eighth season as the only head coach at Kentucky, Beth Pruitt’s squad has struggled this year and is in last place in the highly competitive Southeastern Conference’s Eastern Division. It has the highest team ERA (3.31) in the SEC, yet Crystalle Wolfe is pitching well this season with a 5-0 record and a 2.28 ERA. The workhorse of the pitching staff, Amy Kendall, has pitched the most innings on the team (129.0) and has an 8-13 record with a 3.04 ERA. A bright spot for the Wildcats offense, which ranks near the bottom of the league in team batting average (.248), is shortstop Rachel Friberg. Selected to the 2003 SEC Academic Honor Roll, a team goal emphasized by Pruitt, Friberg leads the team with a .345 batting average, hits (48) and doubles (10).
A LOOK AT ILLINOIS
The lone loss on No. 9 Michigan’s record came against Illinois (29-15-1, 7-3 Big Ten), who edged the Wolverines 3-2 April 17. It was the most monumental win in the Fighting Illini’s school history against a ranked opponent and also snapped Michigan’s 19-game winning streak. Terri Sullivan, who has been head coach since 1999, has her team in third place and playing its best softball where it counts the most: in the pitching circle. Illinois is second in the Big Ten with a team ERA of 1.10. The Fighting Illini rely on Amanda Fortune, who is sixth in conference pitching with a 5-1 record and 1.02 ERA. Sherri Taylor also boosts the staff, as she has posted a 1.59 ERA and an 8-7 record. When it comes to Big Ten hitting, Illinois is in the middle of the pack with a .229 batting average. Shortstop Lindsey Hamma is the team’s leading hitter, with a .353 batting average and tied for the most hits (48). First baseman Jenna Hall is second on the team in hitting with a .336 batting average and second in hits with 43.
A LOOK AT IOWA
Playing against conference leader and ninth-ranked Michigan, the Hawkeyes (29-17, 8-2 Big Ten) hung tough but suffered their first two conference losses of the season, both 3-1, in a doubleheader April 18. In her 17th season at the helm, head coach Gayle Blevins won her 1,000th career game with a 9-1, six-inning victory over Coe College April 16. She became just the third Division I coach to reach 1,000 wins, 115 wins short of the all-time wins leader. The Hawkeyes are a strong hitting, pitching and fielding team, as they bat .282 batting average, own a 1.22 ERA and tally a .982 fielding average. Infielder Kylie Murray is second on the team with a .319 batting average but has the most hits (46). Leading hitter Lisa Birocci, who is second in the Big Ten with a .438 batting average, is also the ace of the pitching staff. She has a .321 overall batting average, while posting a 0.97 ERA and a 16-9 record. Ali Arnold is the No. 2 pitcher with a 1.35 ERA and 13-8 record.
KALAFATIS WINS NO. 250 AT OSU
With the Buckeyes’ 8-0 win vs. Dayton in the first game of a double-header April 7, Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis collected her 250th win at the helm of the Buckeye softball program. Already Ohio State’s all-time wins leader, Kalafatis has improved to 254-184-2 in her eighth season at Ohio State and 527-299-2 overall in 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
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 527-299-2 (.644) in her 16th season as a collegiate head coach and 254-184-2 (.582) in her eighth season at the helm of the Ohio State program.
FOWLER ADDED TO OSU STAFF
Former Buckeye standout Chrissy Fowler has joined the Ohio State softball coaching staff. Fowler, a 2002 OSU graduate, was a three-year starter for the Buckeyes from 2000-02 in the outfield and was an integral part of Ohio State’s record-setting teams in 2001 and 2002 that finished 46-18 and 55-14, respectively. In 2000, she was named the team’s scholar athlete of the year and earned the Buckeye spirit award. In 2001 she was named the team’s most improved player.
Fowler, who graduated with degrees in sociology and women’s studies, is a native of Utica. Fowler will be coaching the Buckeye outfielders in place of Drema Neal, who is on medical leave.
DEVRIES STRIKES OUT NO. 500
Senior Kristi DeVries has lowered her ERA from 3.78 (as of Feb. 27) to her current 1.71 ERA. Her three-hit shutout of Wisconsin April 4 was her 23rd career shutout, which is three shutouts 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.
CUTCLIFF, JUAREZ 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. 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.
BAKER, SCHWAB EARN HONORS AR 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 home run.
Schwab batted .412 (7-for-17) during the weekend with two doubles, a home run and six RBI. Her home run, 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 March 6 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.
SEVEN STARTERS BACK
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.
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 home runs.
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 and strikeouts 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 left field last season, will shift to center field this season and will be joined by returning starter junior Karisa Evans, who batted a team-high .345 in 2003.
PERFECTION IN THE FALL
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
Next week is a the Buckeyes’ last mid-week game vs. Wright State at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Buckeye Field. It is also the last regular-season game at Buckeye Field. After the battle with the Raiders, Ohio State travels to face Purdue and Indiana. Games against the Boilermakers start at 4 p.m. Friday (April 30) and at noon Saturday (May 1) in West Lafayette, Ind., before a doubleheader with the Hoosiers beginning at noon Sunday (May 2) in Bloomington, Ind.
