No. 4 Seed Ohio State Travels to Big Ten Tournament at Northwestern – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/10/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 10, 2006
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SETTING THE SCENE
For the second-consecutive year the Ohio State softball team has earned the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten tournament, which gets underway Thursday at league regular-season champion Northwestern. The Buckeyes (37-20, 11-7 Big Ten) face No. 5 seed Penn State (37-14, 10-10 Big Ten) in a quarterfinal game at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) Friday, with the winner advancing to a semifinal game Friday at 5:30 p.m.
The Big Ten title for 12th-ranked Northwestern is its first since 1987. Defending national champion and 13th-ranked Michigan (37-13, 14-4) is the No. 2 seed, while Iowa (39-19, 12-7) moved up to the No. 3 seed, switching places with Ohio State after the Buckeyes were swept at Penn State last weekend.
Ohio State enters the tournament with the Big Ten’s best offense, hitting .288 overall and .307 in league games despite 4-2 and 1-0 losses at Penn State last weekend, which snapped OSU’s school-record streak for consecutive games without being shutout at 28.
A Big Ten tournament title for the Buckeyes would be their first and would mark the second time OSU advanced to the championship game (2002).
LIVE COVERAGE ON THE WEB
The Big Ten tournament championship game at 1 p.m. EDT Saturday will be televised live by CSTV, with Carter Blackburn and Ann Schatz bringing the call. GameTracker will have live stats of all OSU games at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com and Northwestern’s Web site, www.NUsports.com, will offer a live video stream of all games.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN TOURNAMENT
Ohio State is making its fifth appearance in the Big Ten tournament, which annually takes the Top 8 teams in the league’s regular-season standings and is hosted by the regular-season champion. The Buckeyes are 3-6 all-time in the event, with their last win coming in 2004. 2001 (No. 3 seed) in Ann Arbor: lost to No. 6 Wisconsin 2-1, lost to No. 5 Penn State 5-4
2002 (No. 2 seed) in Ann Arbor: beat No. 6 Illinois 5-0, lost to No. 1 Michigan 5-0, beat No. 5 Penn State 4-3, lost to No. 1 Michigan 2-1
2004 (No. 6 seed) in Ann Arbor: beat No. 3 Iowa 5-1, lost to No. 2 Illinois 5-0
2005 (No. 4 seed) in Ann Arbor: lost to No. 5 Wisconsin 6-1
A LOOK AT THE TOURNEY BRACKET
Northwestern won its first Big Ten title since 1987 to host the conference tournament this weekend. The tournament begins Thursday when the top two seeds, Northwestern and Michigan, play their quarterfinal games against No. 8 seed Illinois and No. 7 seed Michigan State. The other two quarterfinal games will be played Friday, beginning with the 9 a.m. (CDT) game between No. 3 seed Iowa and No. 6 seed Indiana, followed by the OSU-PSU game.
The two semifinal games will be played Friday afternoon, beginning with the semifinal on Michigan’s side of the bracket at 2 p.m. (CDT) followed by the semifinal on Northwestern’s side of the bracket at 4:30 p.m..
OSU-PSU MEET FOR THIRD TIME IN SEVEN DAYS
Three of the four quarterfinal games, including the OSU-PSU game, involve teams who are playing their regular-season Big Ten travel partner, which they just faced last weekend. All three of those series were sweeps, as Michigan swept Michigan State, Northwestern swept Illinois and Penn State swept Ohio State.
The Nittany Lions won 4-2 Saturday and 1-0 Sunday as PSU’s pitching staff, ranked No. 10 in the nation in ERA entering last weekend, held the Buckeyes’ high-powered offense to 10 hits on the weekend. Ohio State had not been shut out since March 25 and had collected at least 10 hits in 11 of its last 20 games.
OHIO STATE AT A GLANCE
Ohio State has finished fourth in the Big Ten the last two years, but the 2006 Buckeyes consider themselves a better team considering they have four wins over ranked teams, including a win at now-No. 4 Alabama and a sweep of Big Ten champ and 12th-ranked Northwestern.
A year ago, Ohio State ranked seventh in the nation in team batting average at .321, but it was not until April this season that the Buckeyes’ offense got fully on track. In April, OSU had a 12-game winning streak, went 19-5 overall and batted .333 to rise to the top of the Big Ten in that department (now .288 overall, .307 Big Ten).
Ohio State’s offensive leaders include Brittany Vanderink (.350, .459 in Big Ten games), Megan Schwab (.333, 4 HR, 28 RBI) and Billie Carder (.298, 34 RBI). Nycole Koyano (.291) leads the Big Ten in stolen bases (26), while Courtney Pruner (.246, 31 RBI) is tied for the team-lead in home runs (7) with Chelsea Baker (.248).
The pitching staff includes Jamee Juarez (16-10, 2.56 ERA), Kim Reeder (16-9, 1.69 ERA) and Pruner (5-1, 2.79 ERA). Juarez threw her 18th career shutout May 3 in OSU’s 8-0 win over Oakland, while Reeder is closing in on most OSU freshman pitching records.
OSU returns 11 letterwinners and welcomes four newcomers in 2006 for 600-game winner head coach Linda Kalafatis, who is in her 10th 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).
OSU-PENN STATE ALL-TIME SERIES
Ohio State leads the all-time series against Penn State, 34-25. The Nittany Lions’ sweep of OSU last weekend was their first since 2000, which followed the Buckeyes’ sweep of PSU last year in Columbus. These two teams have met twice in the Big Ten tournament, both in Ann Arbor, with OSU winning 4-3 in 2002 and Penn State winning 5-4 in 2001.
Year Location Winner Scores 2006 University Park PSU 4-2, 1-0 2005 Columbus OSU 3-0, 3-0 2004 University Park split 4-1, 2-4 2003 Columbus split 4-1, 2-6 2002 Ann Arbor OSU 4-3 2002 University Park split 0-1, 4-1
A LOOK AT PENN STATE
In the circle, Penn State senior Missy Beseres and sophomore Jenn Reynolds held down Ohio State last weekend and, along with sophomore Ashley Esparza, comprise one of the top pitching staffs in the nation (No. 10, 1.16 ERA). Beseres (19-7, 1.13 ERA) struck out nine Buckeyes Saturday and gave up only Nycole Koyano’s two-run homer, while Reynolds (9-3, 1.13 ERA) had the save Saturday and pitched a three-hit shutout Sunday. Esparza (9-4, 1.23 ERA) did not pitch against OSU last weekend but threw 3.2 innings and allowed two earned runs in a 3-0 OSU win last year.
Offensive leaders include Esparza (.321, 3 HR, 16 RBI), Jen Williams (.305), Danielle Kinley (.302, 3 HR, 21 RBI) and Jen Acunto (.297, 4 HR, 25 RBI, 11 doubles), who drove in three of PSU’s runs in the series opener. Sunday, Williams had the only run-producing hit of the game. Box scores of the two OSU-PSU games from last weekend are on page 13 of this release. If OSU advances in the Big Ten tournament, box scores of past games against that opponent will be available in the press box.
A LOOK TO THE SEMIFINALS
If the Buckeyes advance to the semifinals, they will face a team they swept earlier this season whether it be Illinois or Northwestern. Ohio State topped Illinois 8-7 (April 7) and 5-3 (April 8) before sweeping Northwestern 2-1 and 3-2 (April 9). All four of those games were at Buckeye Field and came during a 12-game OSU winning streak.
A possible match-up with Northwestern would bring into play Ohio State’s 10-9 record on opponent’s home fields this season, which includes a win at then-No. 6 Alabama (now No. 4) March 3, which was OSU’s first over a Top 10 team since March 2, 2003 and ended Alabama’s 16-game home winning streak. Other road wins include Stetson (41-13), Loyola Marymount (29-21), Long Beach State (28-19) and New Mexico State (25-21).
SHORT HOPS…
The Buckeyes are 30-1 when leading after four innings and 23-0 when taking a lead into the seventh inning. When OSU scores at least three runs, it owns a 31-4 record. The last time the Buckeyes won a game 1-0 was April 23, 2004, at Illinois. Ohio State is hitting .396 (21-for-53) with the bases loaded with five grand slams.
Four Buckeyes are hitting better in Big Ten games than they are all overall, including Brittany Vanderink (.350 overall, up to .459), Billie Carder (.298 up to .358), Lauren Daykin (.271 up to .275) and Chelsea Baker (.248 up to .250).
Vanderink’s current 12-game hitting streak is tied for the fourth-best at Ohio State since 1998. All-American Anna Smith’s 18-game hitting streak is the school record. During her 12-game streak, Vanderink is hitting .548 (23-for-42) and picked up a Big Ten Player of the Week honor.
Megan Schwab owns a team-best 15 multiple-hit games, while three own 14-multiple hit games (Vanderink, Carder and Nycole Koyano). Jamee Juarez owns a team-best nine multiple-RBI games, followed by Koyano and Courtney Pruner with eight.
See page 4 of this release for player bios.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
In Big Ten statistics as of May 8, Ohio State ranked first in the Big Ten in overall batting (.288 avg.), fourth in pitching (2.21 ERA) and 10th in fielding (.949 pct.). OSU ranked third in the conference in scoring (4.6 rpg), first in hits (7.6 hpg), first in triples (14), fourth in home runs (.7 hrpg), second in stolen bases (1.3 sbpg) and was the third-toughest team to strikeout (4.8 kpg).
Individually, Brittany Vanderink ranked seventh in batting (.350) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (16). Nycole Koyano ranked first in stolen bases (26), fourth in runs (39) and sixth in walks (27). Courtney Pruner ranked second in triples (4), while Billie Carder tied for third in triples (3), tied for ninth in RBI (34) and tied for ninth in fielding assists (102). Among Big Ten pitchers, Kim Reeder ranked eighth in both ERA (1.69) and strikeouts (151), while Jamee Juarez ranked seventh in strikeouts (185) and tied for fourth in games started (28).
In final Big Ten regular season statistics, Vanderink’s .459 average and 28 hits were second and her .476 on-base percentage ranked sixth. Her six stolen bases tied for second with Koyano, who tied for fifth in runs scored (14). Pruner (1.53 ERA) and Reeder (1.56 ERA) ranked fifth and sixth, respectively, among league pitchers in conference games.
KALAFATIS IN 10TH YEAR AT OSU
Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis is in her 10th season at the helm of the Buckeyes’ softball program in 2006. She is already OSU’s all-time wins leader with 332 victories in Columbus (332-229-0, .592), and her overall record stands at 605-344-2 (.637) in 18 years as a collegiate head coach. She is assisted by former Buckeyes Belinda Quisenberry and Kristi DeVries and former Nebraska All-American Ali Viola.
IN THE OSU RECORD BOOK
Junior Jamee Juarez has 16 wins this season to increase her career total to 54, which ranks third all-time. She ranks fifth on the career innings pitched list (543.1) and third on the strikeouts list (496). Offensively, Juarez is tied for fourth on the career RBI list (94).
Junior Megan Schwab and senior Chelsea Baker have 14 career home runs, which ranks tied for fourth-most in OSU history with Ashley Cutcliff (2003-05). Schwab also ranks seventh in doubles (35) and eighth in runs (90). Junior Nycole Koyano ranks second in OSU history with 84 walks, third in stolen bases with 58 and fifth in runs scored with 113. Her 26 stolen bases this season are fourth-most at OSU in a single season. She is tied for fourth in career triples with eight.
Among Ohio State freshmen, Pruner’s four triples are tied for first, her seven homers are second, her 31 RBI are tied for third and her 28 runs are tied for fourth. Kim Reeder ranks third in innings pitched (169.1), tied for first in wins (16), second in strikeouts (151), tied for third in shutouts (4).
Player Notes
Chelsea Baker (.248, 7 HR, 24 RBI)
Co-captain … hitting .250 in Big Ten games with 2 HR … 7 HR tied for team lead … 14 career HR tied for 4th all-time at OSU … has started all but one game (28 RF, 23 CF, 2 LF, 1 DP) … 34 runs scored 2nd on team … hit walk-off game-winning HR to beat #15 Northwestern 4/9 … hit grand slam, 6 RBI vs. Toledo 4/11 … batted .293 at Buckeye Field … homered in back-to-back games 2/12 (Utah, Texas-San Antonio) … went 3-for-4 in OSU’s 6-0 win over No. 22 Oregon 2/25 … named to the all-tournament team of the Hilton Las Cruces Invitational 2/12.
Career highlights: A career .284 hitter … owned the team’s No. 6 batting average (.356) and No. 3 slugging percentage (.578) last year.
Cortney Cannon (.333, 0 HR, 2 RBI)
Has seen action in 8 games … started game-two vs. Toledo 4/11 at DP (1-for-4, 2 RBI) … had a pinch-hit single vs. Wright State 4/26.
Liz Caputo (.371, 0 HR, 3 RBI)
Had a pinch-hit single vs. Michigan 4/22 in her first at bat since breaking tibia at Stetson 2/19 … had pinch-hit appearance at Iowa 4/28 … started first 9 games in CF, then missed next 37 games … went 4-for-4 in the season-opener at New Mexico St. 2/10.
Career highlights: 2nd-team all-region and All-Big Ten selection as a freshman … batted .367 with 4 homers and 19 RBI … batted team-best .516 in league games … OSU’s 2005 Rookie of the Year … average was 2nd-best by a freshman in OSU history and 4 HR tied for No. 2 … .710 slugging percentage and .516 on-base percentage in Big Ten games were best on the team … 7 RBI vs. Long Island 2/27 set OSU freshman record.
Billie Carder (.298, 3 HR, 34 RBI)
Leads team in RBI and average with runners in scoring position (.383) … hit team-best .455 with runners in scoring position in Big Ten games … 14 RBI in Big Ten games led team, as did her .566 slugging pct. … overall avg. 3rd on team and .358 avg. in Big Ten games 2nd on team (10th in Big Ten, 2nd best among SS) … is the toughest Buckeye to strike out (once every 9.3 at bats) … 102 fielding assists tied for 9th in Big Ten … had 6-game hitting streak snapped last Sun. … has 2 grand slams this season (4/1 at Indiana, 4/23 vs. Michigan St.) … 3 triples tied for 3rd in Big Ten … started all 57 games … hit .384 in April (t-2nd on team) … 14 multiple-hit games tied for 2nd on team … hit game-winning HR in 9th to beat Long Beach State 3/24.
Career highlights: a career .290 hitter … is having her best year as a Buckeye as a senior, topping what had been her best season last year as a junior when she batted .302 with 3 homers, 27 RBI and 13 extra-base hits … ranked No. 4 on team in RBI and in Big Ten games drove in 14 runs, tied for tops on team … batted team-best .458 (22-for-48) with runners in scoring position, increased to team-best .556 (10-for-18) in Big Ten games.
Lauren Daykin (.271, 2 HR, 19 RBI)
Hit .275 in Big Ten games … ups avg. to .313 with runners in scoring position, including up to team-best .556 in Big Ten games … brings 4 game hitting streak into Big Ten tourney … went 3-for-6 with HR in Michigan St. DH 4/23 … batted .326 at Buckeye Field … started all 18 Big Ten games at catcher … 2 of her 6 multiple-RBI games came in Big Ten play … was 2-for-3 with RBI in 6-3 win at Indiana 4/1 … 2-for-4 with game-winning two-RBI double in 8th inning to beat Kent State 3/17.
Career highlights: played junior college softball in Florida the last two years and hit 30 home runs … a native of Australia and a member of the junior national team.
Christina Douglas (.262, 3 HR, 18 RBI)
Homered off two All-American pitchers this year, 4/22 vs. Michigan’s Jennie Ritter and 3/3 vs. Alabama’s Stephanie Van Brakle … hit .397 at Buckeye Field … leads team with 10 sacrifice bunts … was 2-for-2 with double vs. IUPUI 4/18 … went 3-for-4 in 11-2 win vs. Robert Morris 3/19 … was 2-for-3 in 6-0 win vs. No. 22 Oregon 2/25 … was named to the Buckeye Invitational all-tournament team.
Career highlights: Batted .293 overall and increased her average to .320 in Big Ten games last year … OSU’s 2005 Most Improved Player … led team in doubles (12), No. 2 in RBI and runs scored (31) … played RF as a freshman.
Stacy Hibma (.276, 2 HR, 14 RBI)
Hit .375 (3-for-8) in Big Ten games … has started 42 games (15 C, 22 3B, 5 DP) … Big Ten Player of the Week first week of season … 4-for-8 in last 4 games … 3-for-3 vs. Toledo 4/11 … owns 10 career HR … named to the Hilton Las Cruces Invitational all-tournament team 2/12 after going 8-for-19 (.421) in tourney … homered vs. Utah 2/12 … had career-best day vs. Central Florida 2/19, going 4-for-4 with RBI and double.
Career highlights: batted a career-best .320 last year with 5 HR and 12 RBI … .660 slugging percentage was No. 2 on team and her 5 home runs tied for 2nd-most … when in the game defensively at catcher, batting average went up to .382 and she hit all of her HR and had all but one of her RBI … hit 2 HR vs. Boston 3/5.
Stephanie Hill (.250, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
Has pinch-run 33 times and scored 9 runs … had 1st collegiate hit 5/3 vs. Oakland … had 1st collegiate RBI 4/26 vs. Wright St.
Career highlights: Entered as pinch runner 29 times last year, most on the team … scored 14 runs and stole 6 bases.
Jamee Juarez (.293, 4 HR, 30 RBI; 16-10, 2.56 ERA)
Pitching: threw her 18th career shutout 5/3 vs. Oakland … in the Big Ten, ranks 10th in innings pitched (172.0), 7th in strikeouts (185), 10th in wins (tied with Reeder) and t-4th in games started (28) … has won 7 of her last 9 decisions … is 3rd on OSU’s all-time strikeout list (496) and wins (54) and ranks 5th in innings pitched list (543.1) … has struck out 10+ batters 6 times this season, including 4/9 vs. #15 Northwestern … threw first career no-hitter 3/24 at Long Beach State … pitched 2-hit shutout 2/25 vs. #22 Oregon (and hit 3 HR).
Hitting: leads team in average with runners on base (.359) and multiple-RBI games (9) … tied team-lead 11 doubles … hit .292 in Big Ten games … batting .400 (12-for-30) last 10 games … hit .397 at Buckeye Field … hitting .357 with runners in scoring position (3rd on team) … tied OSU and Big Ten record with 3 HR vs. #22 Oregon 2/25 and had career-high 5 RBI.
Overall: has played in all 57 games (started 56 = 28 P, 28 3B) … named to the Buckeye Invitational all-tournament team.
Career highlights: career .306 hitter and tied for 4th in OSU history with 94 RBI … OSU’s 2005 MVP … set OSU single-season wins record last year (25-12, 2.00 ERA) … 2005 2nd-team All-Big Ten and region … 193 strikeouts ranked No. 3 in a season, 213.0 innings pitched No. 2 and 10 shutouts tied-No. 2 … Big Ten Player of the Week twice in 2005 (2/22, 3/1), Pitcher of the Week once (5/9) … in Big Ten, No. 1 in games started, No. 8 in strikeouts, No. 3 in wins, No. 4 in innings … OSU’s starting pitcher in 34 of 49 games and in all but one Big Ten game … pitched in 40 of OSU’s 49 games … won 9 consecutive decisions from 2/27-3/24 … set OSU freshman RBI record (36 in 2004).
Nycole Koyano (.291, 6 HR, 26 RBI)
Co-captain … leads Big Ten in stolen bases (26-for-31) … hitting .400 (24-for-60) in last 18 games with 4 HR … hit safely in 9 of last 10 Big Ten games (15-for-38, .395) … hit .290 in league games … is 3rd-toughest Buckeye to strike out (once every 7.2 at bats) … continues to move up the OSU charts for career walks (84, 2nd), stolen bases (58, 2nd) and runs scored (113, 5th) … 39 runs scored leads OSU and is t-4th in Big Ten … 14 multiple-hit games tied-2nd on team (has 10 of them in last 18 games) … named to Crimson Classic all-tournament team March 3-5 after batting .333 in the 5 games … grand slam 2/10.
Career highlights: a career .323 hitter … 3rd-team All-Big Ten as soph. … batted .355 with a HR, 16 RBI … led nation in triples thru 4/24 (ended season 5th) … 7 triples last year 3rd-most in a season at OSU and tied single-game triples record with 2 vs. Rutgers in season-opener 2/18 … ranked No. 22 in nation in walks (.64/gm) … 41 runs (9th in Big Ten) and 30 walks (4th in Big Ten) both led team and are ranked No. 5 on OSU single-season lists … led team in hits (49), stolen bases (16) and total plate appearances (170) … in 2005, set OSU frosh. record for walks with 27 and stolen bases with 16 and 33 runs were No. 2.
Nicole Lancaster (.111, 0 HR, 1 RBI)
Has started 25 games in CF and played in 47 games … went 1-for-2 with game-winning RBI vs. IUPUI 4/18.
Career highlights: batted .238 last year with an RBI … named Ohio State’s 2005 Most Improved Scholar-Athlete … hit 2nd 2B of the season 4/27 vs. Bowling Green … had career-best day 3/5 vs. South Dakota St. (2-for-2, 2 runs scored, RBI and a double).
Courtney Pruner (.246, 7 HR, 31 RBI; 5-1, 2.79 ERA)
Pitching: got 1st 2 wins on same day, 4/9 vs. #15 Northwestern, 1st in relief (1 IP, 3 K w/ bases loaded), then in 1st start (7 IP, 6 H, 7 K) … earned save in 11-9 win over Utah 2/12
Hitting: 2nd in Big Ten in triples (4) … tied for team-lead in HR and walks (27) … 8 multiple-RBI games 2nd on team … leads team in slugging percentage (.515), is 3rd in on-base percentage (.386) … hit 2 HR at Miami 4/19 … 7 HR are 2nd-most by a frosh at OSU … batting avg. goes up to .306 when in the game defensively … HR vs. Northwestern … tied OSU single-game record 4 walks vs. Central Michigan 3/18 … 1st collegiate hit was HR (2/11 vs. Portland St.) … homered off Arizona All-American Alicia Hollowell 2/25 (her first run allowed in 51 innings) … is the all-time home run leader in Ohio high school softball history.
Kim Reeder (16-9, 1.69 ERA)
Has won 12 of last 16 decisions … threw four 3-hit shutouts in April … leads staff in ERA (8th in Big Ten) and lowest opponent batting average (.224) … 5-3 in Big Ten games with 1.56 ERA … 16 total wins ties OSU record by a freshman … in the Big Ten ranks 10th in ERA and 8th in strikeouts (151) … named to Crimson Classic All-Tournament Team 3/5 after winning twice, including a 6-hit, 7-strikeout performance in 3-1 win at #6 Alabama 3/3 … has allowed one earned run in 15.2 innings pitched against Top 10 opponents this season … 4.1 innings of no-hit relief vs. then-#3 UCLA 2/24.
Megan Schwab (.333, 4 HR, 28 RBI)
Leads team in on-base pct. (.419), hits (55), total bases (80), multiple-hit games (15), avg. with 2 outs (.365) and is No. 2 in slugging pct. (.485) and 2B (10) … batting .378 (14-for-37) in last 12 games … hit .333 in Big Ten games … has team-best .589 success rate advancing runners … Big Ten Player of the Week 4/10 … hit team-best .417 at Buckeye Field … has started all 57 games (55 LF, 2 DP) … hit her 14th career home run 4/9 vs. Northwestern (t-4th-most all-time at OSU) … named to Buckeye Invitational all-tournament team 3/19 … hit grand slam 2/12 vs. Texas-San Antonio in title game of Hilton Las Cruces Invitational.
Career highlights: career .326 hitter … batted .362 last year with 7 HR and 33 RBI … first-team all-region and OSU’s 2005 co-Offensive MVP … led OSU in HR (7), RBI (33) and total bases (81) last year … led team in multiple-hit games (14) and multiple-RBI games (11) … was toughest Buckeye to strike out (once every 10.0 at bats) … hit .453 with runners in scoring position (t-2nd-best on team) … twice hit 2 HR in a game (3/6 vs. Miss. St., 3/23 at Fullerton).
Brittany Vanderink (.350, 0 HR, 6 RBI)
Enters Big Ten tourney with career-best 12-game hitting streak, among the Top 5 best streaks at OSU since 1998 … hitting .548 (23-for-42) during current hitting streak … Big Ten Player of the Week 5/1 … hit .459 in Big Ten games, 2nd in league and best among OF … overall avg. leads team and 7th in Big Ten … is the second-toughest Buckeye to strike out (once every 7.8 at bats) … 2nd on team in average with runners in scoring position (.381) … has at least one hit in every Big Ten game but 2 … went 4-for-4 at Iowa 4/28 … went 5-for-7 vs. No. 12 Michigan … was 4-for-7 in the DH vs. Minnesota 4/16 … went 2-for-3 in 2-1 win vs. No. 15 Northwestern 4/9.
Career highlights: batted .311 as a freshman and upped that to .364 in Big Ten games … tied OSU single-season record for triples by a frosh (4) … came within 2 stolen bases of OSU frosh record of 16 … finished season 14-for-15 in stolen bases … batted .414 with runners in scoring position … was OSU’s best pinch hitter, batting .500 (7-for-14) as a pinch-hitter in all games and .800 (4-for-5) in Big Ten games.
### GO BUCKS! ###
