Ohio State to Face CFU and Host Stetson Sat., Sun. – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/15/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 15, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Off to a 4-1 start, the Ohio State softball team travels to DeLand, Fla., this weekend to face host Stetson and 2005 NCAA tournament participant Central Florida. The Buckeyes will face UCF (2-2) at 10 a.m. Sat. and 11 a.m. Sun. and will take on Stetson (3-0) at 3 p.m. Sat. and 1 p.m. Sun.
GameTracker will have all five games live at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com and Stetson’s website will have an audio broadcast of at least one of the OSU-Stetson games. Their call can be heard at www.stetson.edu/athletics/softball/sportsnet.php.
Central Florida is the first of 16 opponents Ohio State will face this year that were in the 2005 NCAA tournament. The games will mark the second of five-consecutive tournaments Stetson will host to begin the season. The Hatters won their first event last weekend with a 4-1 win over No. 14 DePaul in the championship game. UCF hosts Bethune-Cookman Wed. before traveling the 35 miles to Stetson.
Ohio State is in the midst of six consecutive weekend tournaments, which include trips to Las Cruces, N.M, DeLand, Fla., Palm Springs, Calif., Tuscaloosa, Ala. and Evansville, Ind. before hosting the Buckeye Invitational March 17-18.
OHIO STATE AT A GLANCE
Ohio State (4-1) won its first four games of the season last weekend before falling to Texas-San Antonio in extra-innings in the championship game of the Hilton Las Cruces Invitational. The Buckeyes’ offense, which ranked No. 3 in the nation last year with a .321 batting average, picked up where it left off, batting .340 in the tournament and averaging nine runs per game.
Junior pitcher Jamee Juarez went 3-1 in the circle last weekend, while senior catcher Stacy Hibma batted .421 with seven RBI and was named the Big Ten Player of the Week Monday. Senior SS/3B Billie Carder also hit .421 and senior OF Chelsea Baker batted .412 and was named to the all-tournament team with Hibma.
OSU returns 11 letterwinners and welcomes four newcomers in 2006 for head coach Linda Kalafatis, who is in her tenth season. The Buckeyes were 32-17 overall in 2005 and finished fourth in the Big Ten with a 9-7 league mark. OSU ranked among the NCAA’s Top 13 in six categories, including scoring (8th, 5.8 runs/game). Five seniors departed off that 2005 squad, but the Buckeyes still return 84-percent of their run production and 86-percent of their extra-base hits.
7+ RUNS IN FIVE STRAIGHT A FIRST
The Buckeyes scored at least seven runs in all five games last weekend in Las Cruces, marking the first time in program history OSU has scored at least seven runs in five consecutive games. Ohio State had scored six or more runs in five consecutive games on two occasions previously (2002 and 2003) but during both streaks scored exactly six runs in at least one game.
Ohio State’s 9.0 run average over the five-game tournament is among the best in program history. The 1994 Buckeyes, who finished 40-20, averaged 10.4 runs per game over two five-game spans during a 17 game winning streak.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES
Ohio State and Stetson have never met, while the Buckeyes hold a 1-0 record against Central Florida. Their lone meeting came March 23, 2002 in the Georgia Tech/Buzz Classic, with OSU taking a 9-6 win.
SCOUTING STETSON
Stetson (3-0) has 12 returning letterwinners this season and five newcomers. The Hatters are coached by Frank Griffin, who is in his ninth season at Stetson and has an overall collegiate record of 534-274 in 16 seasons.
Top returnees include senior Melissa Wiggins (.556), who led the Hatters last year with a .431 batting average and was a first-team all-region and first-team all-conference pick. Senior Shawna Wiggs (.429) was named second-team all-region and first-team all conference. Freshman Erica Demers was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Softball Pitcher of the Week after she had 10 strikeouts and a 0.00 ERA in the tournament last weekend and beat No. 14 DePaul.
Stetson finished fifth in the Atlantic Sun Conference last year and was 35-20 overall. The Hatters lost in the first round of their conference tournament to Florida Atlantic and were eliminated in the second round by Jacksonville to miss NCAA postseason play.
A GLANCE AT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Central Florida (2-2) has eight returning letterwinners and is coached by Renee Luers-Gillispie, who is in her fifth year.
Junior Amber Lamb (.500) batted .282 last season and junior Kacie Feaster (.273, 1 HR) batted .264. Sophomore Ashley Baker, one of two returning pitchers this season, started 14 games last season and played in 40.
The Golden Knights won the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament last season and received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They were eliminated by the Southern Florida in the NCAA regionals. Their 47 wins for the season were the most for any squad in program history.
OSU-OPPONENT CONNECTIONS
Ohio State junior Lauren Daykin played Junior College softball last year at Manatee Community College in Bradenton, Fla., two hours southwest of Stetson.
Ohio State’s Liz Caputo, Nycole Koyano, Stacy Hibma and Jamee Juarez are all from suburbs of eastern Los Angeles, an hour south of Castaic, Calif., the hometown of Central Florida’s Breanne Javier. UCF assistant coach Tracy Rippenhoff, in her first year, is a native of Lima, Ohio. She played softball at Toledo and graduated 2002.
OHIO STATE QUICK HITS
The Buckeyes are 4-1 through their first five games for the second-consecutive season. OSU was 4-0 through four games, matching the best four-game start in program history (1979). OSU’s best 10-game start is 9-1 (2002).
Ohio State won back-to-back games in extra-innings last weekend for the first time among available records. The last time OSU played consecutive extra-inning games was when the Buckeyes played three straight extended contests in March of 2002 (2-1). OSU was 3-3 in extra-inning games last year.
The Buckeyes hit two grand slams last weekend after hitting three all of last season and one in 2004.
OSU leadoff hitter Nycole Koyano has walked to begin the game in all five contests thus far and has scored following three of those free passes. Freshman Courtney Pruner’s first collegiate hit was a home run. She is the all-time home run in Ohio high school history. Koyano, Jamee Juarez and Megan Schwab all moved up in the career record book last weekend (see later note). Billie Carder’s five-game hitting streak last weekend tied her career best hitting streak.
Head coach Linda Kalafatis is one win shy of her 300th victory at Ohio State. She is already the school’s all-time wins leader and owns 572 career victories.
JUNIORS MOVE UP IN RECORD BOOK
Junior Jamee Juarez won three games last weekend to increase her career total to 41 and move past current OSU assistant coach Belinda Quisenberry, who had 38 wins, and former Buckeye Genice Turley, who had 39, on the career wins list. Juarez is now tied for third all-time in wins with Jodi Dolan and ranks 10th on the innings pitched list with 392.2.
Junior Megan Schwab hit three home runs last weekend to increase her career total to 13, which ranks tied for fifth in OSU history. Ashley Cutcliff, a senior last year, ranks fourth with 14.
Junior Nycole Koyano moved up the career walks, stolen bases and runs scored lists last weekend. She now ranks seventh in OSU history with 63 walks, tied for seventh with 38 stolen bases and tied for 12th in runs scored with 82. She is already tied for ninth in career triples with seven and her next triple will tie her for fourth.
2005 OSU OFFENSE AMONG BEST
In the final national statistical report from the NCAA, Ohio State was ranked among the national leaders in six categories, including batting average (No. 3, .321), scoring (No. 8, 5.80 runs/gm.), doubles (No. 4, 1.69/gm.), triples (No. 8, .37/gm.), stolen bases (No. 13, 1.69/gm.) and slugging percentage (No. 12, .494).
BAKER, KOYANO 2006 OSU CAPTAINS
Senior Chelsea Baker and junior Nycole Koyano have been elected captains of the 2006 Buckeyes. Baker, an outfielder and pitcher, is a three-year letterwinner, while Koyano, a second baseman, has played in all 107 games the last two years. She is the first junior to be elected captain since All-American Anna Smith in 2002.
FAMILIAR FACES RETURN
Ohio State’s 11 returning letterwinners include four seniors, four juniors and three sophomores. Seniors are OF/P Chelsea Baker, INF Billie Carder, C Stacy Hibma and OF Nicole Lancaster, while the four juniors are 1B Christina Douglas, P/UT Jamee Juarez, 2B Nycole Koyano and OF Megan Schwab. Sophomores included OF Liz Caputo, OF Stephanie Hill and UT Brittany Vanderink.
OSU MOVES UP IN THE BIG TEN
Ohio State moved up five spots in the Big Ten standings in the last two weeks of the regular season last year to take sole possession of the fourth spot in the league standings. The Buckeyes made their fourth trip to the Big Ten tournament, all within the last five seasons under the direction of head coach Linda Kalafatis.
FALL SEASON RECAP
Ohio State averaged over six runs per game in its eight games during the fall season and posted a 4-4 record. The Buckeyes went 1-2 at the Kent State Fall Tournament Sept. 25, then went 3-1 as hosts of the Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic Oct. 1-2. OSU concluded its fall schedule with a 10-5 loss to Louisville Oct. 9 in Columbus.
FIVE BUCKEYES ALL-BIG TEN, CUTCLIFF ALSO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Five Ohio State players earned All-Big Ten honors last season. Then-sophomore Jamee Juarez (utility) and freshman Liz Caputo (OF) earned second-team honors, while being named to the third-team were sophomore Nycole Koyano (2B), senior Karisa Evans (OF) and senior Ashley Cutcliff (DP). In addition, Cutcliff was also named to the first-team of the CoSIDA ESPN The Magazine Academic-All-District IV team. The Academic All-America team will be announced June 2.
THREE BUCKEYES NAMED ALL-REGION
The National Fastpitch Coaches Association announced its 2005 All-Region softball teams May 18 and three Buckeyes were among those named to the All-Great Lakes Region team. Megan Schwab earned first-team honors, while Jamee Juarez and Liz Caputo earned a spot on the second-team.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
In the Big Ten regular season statistics, Ohio State ranked No. 2 in batting (.323) and No. 2 in scoring (5.90 runs/game). OSU was No. 8 in pitching (2.85 ERA) and fielding (.956), but those rankings improved in Big Ten games to No. 5 in pitching (2.95 ERA) and No. 3 in fielding (.968) in league contests. Despite having played the fewest games of all league teams, OSU ranked first in doubles (82) and triples (18) and was No. 2 in stolen bases (83). The Buckeyes also struck out the fewest times (184).
Ohio State had three of the conference’s Top 10 on base percentage leaders, as Karisa Evans ranked fifth (.482), Nycole Koyano ranked sixth (.476) and Jamee Juarez ranked ninth (.450). Megan Schwab owned the No. 10 batting average (.370) and No. 7 slugging percentage (.638). Koyano was tied for the Big Ten lead in triples (7), was No. 4 in walks (29) and was No. 9 in runs (41). Evans was No. 2 in sacrifice bunts (13) and Brittany Vanderink was No. 10 in stolen bases (14). Among Big Ten pitchers, Juarez ranked No. 3 in wins (25), No. 7 in strikeouts (187) and No. 4 in innings pitched (207.0).
KALAFATIS IN 10TH YEAR AT OHIO STATE
Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis enters her 10th season at the helm of the Buckeyes’ softball program in 2006. She is already OSU’s all-time wins leader with 299 victories in Columbus (299-210-0, .583), and her overall record stands at 572-325-2 (.639) in 18 years as a collegiate head coach. Kalafatis has guided Ohio State to the NCAA tournament twice and was named the 2002 Big Ten Coach of the Year. She is assisted by former Buckeyes Belinda Quisenberry and Kristi DeVries and former Nebraska All-American Ali Viola.
### GO BUCKS! ###
