Ohio State Softball Hands Out Awards at Postseason Banquet – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Softball
June 5, 2005
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Sophomore Jamee Juarez was named Ohio State’s 2005 Most Valuable Player as the Buckeye softball team held its annual postseason banquet Sunday evening in Ohio Stadium’s recruiting center. Head coach Linda Kalafatis and her staff handed out 11 team awards and recognized Ohio State’s five-member senior class as OSU reflected on a season that was the school’s ninth 30-win season and saw the Buckeyes finish fourth in the Big Ten.
Ohio State’s five seniors were honored for their years of service to the Ohio State program that included 149 wins, which ranks third on OSU’s list for wins by one class. Ashley Cutcliff (Zionsville, Ind./U. of Florida), Karisa Evans (Franklin, Ohio/Franklin), Natalie Hales (Canton, Ohio/Eastern Michigan), Jennifer Johnson (La Mirada, Calif./La Mirada) and Meghan Rowlands (Hilliard, Ohio/Bishop Ready) also helped lead Ohio State to two of the school’s three NCAA tournament appearances (2002, 2004).
Juarez (La Puente, Calif./Wilson) also took home the OSU Pitcher of the Year Award after setting an Ohio State single-season wins record with 25 and entering the Top 3 lists for strikeouts (193), innings pitched (213) and shutouts (10).
Evans and sophomore Megan Schwab (Glendale, Ariz./Sunrise Mountain) shared the Offensive Most Valuable Player Award. Evans, who won sole possession of the same award as a sophomore and junior, batted .357 as a senior and ended her Ohio State career with a .338 batting average, which ranks No. 6 in the history of the program. Schwab, a first-team NFCA All-Great Lakes Region selection, batted .362 this season with a team-best seven home runs and 33 RBI.
Johnson took home the Defensive Player of the Year Award. A four-year starter at shortstop, Johnson committed just one error in Big Ten games this season in 58 fielding chances and leaves Ohio State with 249 putouts and 275 assists.
Freshman Liz Caputo (Riverside, Calif./Riverside Poly) was named the Rookie of Year after batting .367, which ranks as the second-best average ever by an OSU freshman. She raised her average to a team-best .516 in Big Ten games and was named second-team All-Big Ten and second-team All-Region.
Evans and Hales shared the Coaches Award and Hales also took home the Buckeye Spirit Award.
Two Buckeyes earned academic awards as junior Nicole Lancaster (Magnolia, Ohio/Sandy Valley) was named the team’s Most Improved Scholar-Athlete and junior Andrea Tribuzi (Plano, Texas/Plano East) earned her second-consecutive Scholar-Athlete Award.
The Buckeye Power Club Award, given by the strength and conditioning staff, was won by sophomore Christina Douglas (Mesa, Ariz./Dobson), who was also named the team’s Most Improved Player.
The Buckeyes have already begun preparations for the 2005-06 season, which will begin with fall ball in September and conclude with the Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic Oct. 1-2.
2005 Ohio State Softball Award Winners:
Offensive Player of the Year – Karisa Evans and Megan Schwab
Defensive Player of the Year – Jennifer Johnson
Pitcher of the Year – Jamee Juarez
Most Valuable Player – Jamee Juarez
Most Improved Player – Christina Douglas
Buckeye Spirit Award – Natalie Hales
Rookie of the Year – Liz Caputo
Scholar-Athlete of the Year – Andrea Tribuzi
Most Improved Scholar-Athlete – Nicole Lancaster
Coaches’ Award – Natalie Hales and Karisa Evans
Buckeye Power Club Award – Christina Douglas
### GO BUCKS! ###
