Buckeyes Travel to Big Ten Co-Leader, No. 10 Michigan – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/8/2004 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 8, 2004
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team travels to Big Ten co-leader and 10th-ranked Michigan this weekend. The Buckeyes (23-12, 2-2 Big Ten) and Wolverines (29-6, 4-0 Big Ten) will meet at 4 p.m. Friday and 1 p.m. Saturday at Alumni Field in Ann Arbor, Mich. Live scoring will be available at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Ohio State is already on its way to turning around last season’s 5-11 Big Ten record, which included a 1-1 record vs. Michigan. The Buckeyes are 2-2 in the conference this season against teams that swept Ohio State a year ago. The Buckeyes have won six of their last seven games and went 4-0 in non-league action vs. Butler April 6 and Dayton April 7.
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 improved to 250-179-2 in her eighth season at Ohio State and 523-294-2 overall in 16 seasons as a collegiate head coach.
BUCKEYES AMONG BEST IN BIG TEN
In overall Big Ten statistics as of April 5, Ohio State boasts the league’s third-best offense and fourth-best pitching staff. The Buckeyes’ .284 average (currently .297) was No. 3 and their 1.55 ERA (currently 1.43) was No. 4 in the conference. OSU’s .361 on-base percentage was No. 2 (currently .375). In addition, Ohio State ranks as the second-toughest team in the Big Ten to strike out, as the Buckeyes were fanned just 126 times in 805 at bats for a .157 strikeout average (currently 133 strikeouts in 893 at bats for .149 strikeout average). Individually, freshman Nycole Koyano ranked seventh in batting average (.361, currently .378) and third in walks (17, currently 21) and on-base percentage (.465, currently .491). Junior Karisa Evans ranked ninth in on-base percentage (.426, currently .418), while freshman Jamee Juarez ranked seventh in RBI (21, currently 28). Senior Kristi DeVries ranked ninth in the league in ERA (1.26, currently 1.17) and among the Top 15 in strikeouts (95, currently 106). Chelsea Baker’s 1.05 ERA (currently 0.96) ranked fifth in the Big Ten. Jamee Juarez ranked tenth in wins (9, currently 10).
NOTING THE BUCKEYES
With a stolen base vs. Dayton last Wednesday, her 13th of the season, Nycole Koyano set an Ohio State record for stolen bases by a freshman. The previous record of 12 was set by Candace Kollen in 1995. Senior Kristi DeVries blanked Dayton Wednesday, 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 belted a homerun last Tuesday and Wednesday, her first two 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 28 RBI, which is closing in on the Ohio State record for RBI by a freshman, held by Kristine Himes with 35 in 2000. Juarez is batting .533 (8-for-15) with runners on third and less than two outs. Schwab leads the team in two-out RBI with 11. Junior Natalie Hales is batting 1.000 (2-for-2) with the bases loaded. Evans owns a team-best 10 multi-hit games this season. Koyano and Juarez both have nine. 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 .417. Koyano has upped her average from .105 (as of Feb. 28) to .378. Juarez’s 10 pitching wins rank fifth in Ohio State history for wins by a freshman. Schwab and Koyano have started all 35 games for Ohio State so far this season, all in leftfield and at second base, respectively.
The Buckeyes have out-scored their opponents 42-10 in the first inning of games this season. Ohio State combined for six homeruns last Tuesday and Wednesday to improve its record to 14-1 this season when hitting at least one homerun. In addition, Ohio State is 22-3 when out-hitting their opponents, 18-2 when scoring first and 22-1 when leading after five innings of play.
BUCKEYE LEADERS
Three Buckeyes share the team-lead in base hits with 34, including Nycole Koyano (.378), Karisa Evans (.347) and Megan Schwab (.318). Evans and Schwab along with Jamee Juarez are all tied for the team-lead in homeruns with three, along with Ashley Cutcliff, who is batting .408 (20-for-49). Juarez leads the team in RBI with 28, while Schwab ranks second with 18. Koyano has stolen a team-best 13 bases and scored 24 runs. Chelsea Baker leads the team in batting average at .417 (15-for-36) and on-base percentage (.571). Juarez and Schwab continue to joust for the team-lead in doubles as both have nine. Evans and Meghan Rowlands share the team-lead in triples with two.
Kristi DeVries (8-6, 1.17 ERA) owns a team-best 106 strikeouts in 83.2 innings pitched. Opponents are hitting just .160 against her. Juarez (10-5, 2.02 ERA) owns 81 strikeouts, while Baker has won her last five consecutive starts to improve to 5-1 with a 0.96 ERA.
A LOOK AT MICHIGAN
The No. 10 Wolverines (29-6, 4-0 Big Ten) are at the top of the Big Ten at 4-0, along with Iowa, after sweeping Indiana and Purdue to open up league play. Head coach Carol Hutchins enters her 20th season hoping to capture her ninth conference title after finishing second in both the Big Ten regular season and NCAA Regional Championship. Michigan returns eight starters, including junior shortstop Jessica Merchant, who has gotten off to a fast start this year. She currently leads the league in slugging percentage, RBI, home runs and total bases. Along with Merchant, seniors Jennifer Olds and Meghan Doe have helped the Wolverines produce a .299 batting average, second in the Big Ten. To balance out Michigan’s explosive offense, the Wolverines are dominant in the circle, leading the conference with a 0.73 team ERA. Three Michigan pitchers rank in the upper half of the Big Ten, including freshman Lorilyn Wilson (0.50), junior Nicole Motycka (0.61) and sophomore Jennie Ritter (0.93).
LAST YEAR VS. THE WOLVERINES
Ohio State spilt a pair of games with Michigan last year at Buckeye Field. The first contest went to the Wolverines 4-0 as All-America pitcher Marissa Young threw a complete-game one-hitter. Buckeye Jenn Link broke up the no-hitter in the seventh when she lined a single into left field.
In the second game, the Buckeyes upset the No.13/15 Wolverines 4-0 in front of 682 fans. Ohio State’s win was the first vs. the Wolverines since April 22, 2001, and it ended Michigan’s season-best 14-game winning streak. The Buckeyes scored all four runs in the sixth inning. Meghan Rowlands singled and scored on a double by Karisa Evans, who then scored on an RBI by Kristine Himes. Link singled and scored on an RBI single by Annie Dedic, which was followed by a double-steal by Dedic and Himes, who scored from third. Ohio State’s Katie Chain kept Michigan at bay as she hurled a complete-game.
BUCKEYES SPLIT WITH GOPHERS, BADGERS
Ohio State opened Big Ten play April 2-4 as Minnesota and Wisconsin visited Buckeye Field. The Buckeyes dropped a 1-0 decision in 10 innings to the Golden Gophers Friday night, then took a 9-6 win vs. Minnesota Saturday. Against Wisconsin Sunday, Ohio State took game one, 2-0, but fell in the nightcap, 3-1.
The Buckeyes out-hit the Badgers in both games and the Gophers in one game and finished the weekend with a 25-21 advantage in base hits. Ohio State averaged just one error per game over the three days and its pitchers notched 29 strikeouts compared to 16 for Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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 150 victories while wearing scarlet and gray, which is seven 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.
BUCKEYES DOMINANT AT HOME
Ohio State’s 9-2 record at Buckeye Field this season has been accompanied by some impressive statistics. As a team, the Buckeyes are hitting .324 in Columbus, compared to .170 for their opponents. Ohio State has slugged 33 extra-base hits, including nine homeruns, compared to six extra-base hits and no homeruns for the opposition. OSU pitchers sport a 1.07 ERA at Buckeye Field, while opposing hurlers own a 5.73 ERA.
Individually, offensive leaders at Buckeye Field include Chelsea Baker (.636, 1 HR), Ashley Cutcliff (.438, 1 HR), Jamee Juarez (.433, 1 HR, 12 RBI), Christina Douglas (.400), Nycole Koyano (.385) and Karisa Evans (.323, 2 HR). Among the pitchers, Kristi DeVries is 3-1 with a 0.00 ERA and 43 strikeouts in 30 innings pitched, while Jamee Juarez is 3-1 (1.81 ERA) and Chelsea Baker is 3-0 (2.03 ERA).
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 524-294-2 (.644) in her 16th season as a collegiate head coach and 251-179-2 (.582) in her eighth season at the helm of the Ohio State program.
DEVRIES STRIKES OUT NO. 500
Senior Kristi DeVries has lowered her ERA from 3.78 (as of Feb. 27) to 1.17 in her last 11 starts, in which she is 8-3 with 96 strikeouts. 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.
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.
NEXT UP
Following the two-game Michigan series, Ohio State will play its next nine games at Buckeye Field in Columbus, beginning with a double-header vs. IUPU-Ft. Wayne at 5 p.m. Monday. The Buckeyes will take on Pittsburgh Wednesday and then get back into Big Ten play this weekend vs. Michigan State and Northwestern.
### Go Bucks! ###
