2006 Ohio State Postseason Notes and Statistics – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/30/2006 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 30, 2006
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A fourth-place finish in the Big Ten, a trip to the conference tournament semifinals and a bid to the NCAA tournament highlighted a successful season for the Ohio State softball program in 2006. The Buckeyes finished 39-23 overall and 11-7 in the league and led the Big Ten in hitting for the second-consecutive year.
Ohio State began the season with four consecutive wins, matching the best four-game start in program history, before a 5-10 skid put the Buckeyes’ record at 9-10 heading into their home-opener. That’s when OSU won 21 of its next 25 games, including 12 in a row at one point, and swept eventual Big Ten champ Northwestern.
Ohio State received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament for the third time in the last six seasons and was sent to the Arizona Regional. There, the Buckeyes beat No. 25 Auburn in the opener before falling to No. 1 Arizona and then in a rematch with Auburn in an elimination game.
39 WINS TIED FOR 4TH-BEST AT OSU
The 2006 Buckeyes won 39 games, which tied for the fourth-most victories in a season in program history.
Rank Year Record Pct. 1. 2002 55-14 .797 2. 2001 46-18 .718 3. 1994 40-20 .667 4.-T 2006 39-23 .629 4.-T 1990 39-25 .609 KALAFATIS ON THE BUCKEYES
“There’s no way to compare from years past, but I feel like this was the toughest schedule we have played in my era here,” OSU head coach Linda Kalafatis said. “That’s what we want year in and year out. This year we started to learn how to prepare day in a day out to be successful. It’s a process. We wanted to improve on fourth place in the Big Ten, but it took more wins to get there this season. We need to learn to win on the road in the Big Ten. That’s the next step.
“We competed for a conference championship, a tournament championship and we got into the NCAA tournament where we battled as hard as we could in a region that included the No. 1 team in the nation. That makes our kids realize that with hard work and commitment, we’ll be in the thick of things next year.
“We had a small roster to start with, but when we lost Liz (Caputo) in the second week, at no point this year were we 100-percent. We needed to maximize what we had and it’s a credit to our players and our coaches that we did that.
TEAM RECORDS SET, TIED, CHASED
From March 31 through May 6, Ohio State scored at least one run in all 28 games, a school record and two games better than the previous best streak of 26 games without being shut out in 2002.
The Buckeyes’ first school record of the season came early, Feb. 10-12 in Las Cruces, N.M., when OSU scored at least seven runs in all five games. Previously, the Buckeyes’ best run scoring streak was six or more runs in five consecutive games from March 3-16, 2003. In that season-opening tournament, OSU won its first four games, matching the program’s best four-game start (1979).
Ohio State’s 3-1 win at No. 6 Alabama was its first over a Top 10-ranked team since March 2, 2003, at No. 7 Cal State Fullerton. OSU had five wins over ranked teams in 2006, its most since having five in 2003. Ohio State went 13-0 in non-conference games at Buckeye Field, the best record in that category since the facility opened in 1988 (see later note).
The Buckeyes’ 12 game winning streak from April 5-18 was its best since 2002 and tied for the fourth-best in program history.
Rank Year Win Streak Dates 1. 2002 18 April 7-May 2 2. 1994 17 April 12-May 3 3. 2002 14 March 12-March 24 4.-T 2006 12 April 5-18 4.-T 2001 12 March 3-24 SENIORS GO OUT WITH 132 WINS
The 2006 senior class of Chelsea Baker, Billie Carder, Stacy Hibma and Nicole Lancaster compiled 132 wins in their four years at Ohio State, which stand as the fifth-highest total by one class in program history.
Rank Class of Wins Record Pct. 1. 2004 162 162-80 .669 2. 2003 155 155-81 .657 3. 2002 149 149-90 .623 4. 2005 148 148-80 .649 5. 2006 132 132-89 .597 POSTSEASON HONORS GO TO…
Five Buckeyes were named All-Big Ten and sophomore Brittany Vanderink was OSU’s first first-team selection since 2002. Named second-team all-league were Jamee Juarez, Nycole Koyano and Megan Schwab, while Billie Carder was a third-team pick.
Vanderink and Schwab were named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team. Vanderink earned first-team All-Great Lakes Region honors and Koyano and Schwab were second-team all-region picks.
Team awards will be announced June 5.
ACADEMIC HONORS GO TO…
Lauren Daykin was named second-team Academic All-District, as selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America) and sponsored by ESPN The Magazine. Christina Douglas and Chelsea Baker were also nominated for the squad, which requires a 3.20 GPA. Daykin, Douglas, Baker and Nicole Lancaster were all named Academic All-Big Ten and were joined by freshman Kim Reeder as OSU Scholar-Athletes.
OHIO STATE LEADERS
Sophomore Brittany Vanderink led the Buckeyes in batting average, both overall (.359) and in Big Ten games (.459). Megan Schwab hit .337 overall and led OSU in hits (61), doubles (12), on-base percentage (.415), slugging percentage (.492), and total bases (89). Nycole Koyano (.289) led the Buckeyes in runs scored (42), walks (30), stolen bases (26) and plate appearances (220). Billie Carder (.270) drove in a team-high 35 runs. Chelsea Baker (.240) hit a team-high eight home runs and Courtney Pruner (.242) smacked a team-best four triples.
Carder, Schwab and Jamee Juarez played in all 62 games and Carder and Schwab started all 62. Among specialty stat leaders, Vanderink hit .367 with runners on base and .391 with runners in scoring position, Schwab hit .375 with two outs and had a .620 success rate advancing runners, Carder hit .600 with the bases loaded (two grand slams) and Juarez had 14 two-out RBI.
The pitching staff included Juarez (17-11, 2.48 ERA), Kim Reeder (16-11, 1.91 ERA) and Pruner (6-1, 2.96 ERA). Juarez led the staff with six shutouts, 16 complete games, 189.1 innings pitched and 196 strikeouts. Opposing batters hit .233 against both Juarez and Reeder.
In addition to Vanderink’s team-best .459 average in Big Ten games, OSU leaders in conference games included Koyano with three homers and 14 runs and Carder with 14 RBI. Carder and Juarez both had five doubles, Pruner had two triples and Carder hit a team-best .455 with runners in scoring position. Pruner went 3-0 in the circle with a 1.53 ERA, Reeder was 5-3 with a 1.56 ERA and Juarez was 3-4 with a 3.14 ERA.
KALAFATIS ON THE OFFENSE
The Buckeyes ranked eighth in the nation in 2005 with a .321 team batting average, and though that dipped to .280 in 2006, it did not mean the offense was less talented.
“That’s a direct reflection of the pitchers we faced,” Kalafatis said. “Look at how many of them are at the College World Series this week and that doesn’t include Jennie Ritter (from Michigan). Offense was still our strength even though we didn’t have that one or two players in the middle of the lineup with 50 or 60 RBI. What we did have, though, was a lot of kids with a good number of RBI. We shared that quite a bit. That’s what we needed to do as a team.”
KALAFATIS ON THE BIG WINS
“That weekend with Illinois and Northwestern, we started that weekend five runs down in the first inning to Illinois but came back and ended up running the table that weekend,” Kalafatis said. “The two wins over Northwestern were very exciting and were two hard-fought wins. The win at Alabama was a good win, we knew that at the time, but now looking at where they’ve gone (to the College World Series), that was an exceptional win. The wins over Oregon and at Long Beach State were also critical.”
BUCKEYES AT HOME…
Ohio State went 21-2 at Buckeye Field, which included a 13-0 record in non-conference games and an 8-2 record in Big Ten games. The 21 wins are tied for the third-most at home since the facility opened in 1988. The perfect home non-conference record is the second-consecutive for Ohio State, which is 96-10 in home non-Big Ten games under Linda Kalafatis since she took over in 1997.
Big wins at home included a sweep of then-No. 15 and eventual Big Ten champ Northwestern April 9, which marked OSU’s first sweep of a ranked opponent since 2002.
The Buckeyes hit .350 in their home park with 15 home runs and a .424 on-base percentage. OSU pitchers owned a 1.58 ERA and held the opposition to a .215 average. Juarez was 9-1 at home, Reeder was 7-1 and Pruner was 5-0. Offensive leaders included Schwab (.417, 14 RBI), Vanderink (.413), Juarez (.397, 17 RBI) and Christina Douglas (.397).
At Buckeye Field… Most wins in a season | Best non-Conf. seasons Rank Year Record | Rank Year Record 1.-T 2001 25-6 (.807) | 1. 2006 13-0 (1.00) 2.-T 1995 25-6 (.807) | 2. 2005 7-0 (1.00) 3.-T 2006 21-2 (.913) | 3.-T 2002 13-1 (.929) 3.-T 1994 21-5 (.808) | 3.-T 1998 13-1 (.929) 5.-T 2002 20-2 (.909) | 5. 2001 14-2 (.875) 5.-T 1998 20-6 (.769) | BUCKEYES ON THE ROAD…
Ohio State was 10-11 on the home field of their opponents this season. Big wins included wins at No. 6 Alabama March 3, Stetson Feb. 19 and Long Beach State March 24. Reeder was 7-5 on the road, while Vanderink hit .309 and Schwab hit .303.
BUCKEYES ON NEUTRAL FIELDS…
The Buckeyes were 8-10 at neutral sites, with wins including over No. 22 Oregon Feb. 25 and NCAA participants Portland State Feb. 11, Utah Feb. 12 and Coastal Carolina March 3. Juarez was a staff-best 5-5 on neutral fields, while Vanderink hit .342 and Koyano hit .314.
SHORT HOPS…
The Buckeyes were 31-1 when leading after four innings and 24-0 when taking a lead into the seventh inning. When OSU scored at least three runs, it owned a 32-5 record. Ohio State hit .368 (21-for-57) with the bases loaded with five grand slams.
Ohio State hit 16 triples this season compared to nine for its opponents. The Buckeyes hit a total of 125 extra-base hits (69 2B, 16 3B, 40 HR) compared to 107 for their opponents (63 2B, 9 3B, 35 HR). Ohio State hit .286 with runners on base (.226 for opponents), .295 with runners in scoring position (.221 for opponents) and .574 with a runner on third and less than two outs (.330 for opponents).
OSU’s win at then-No. 6 Alabama March 3 was its first over a Top 10 team since March of 2003 and snapped Alabama’s home winning streak at 16 games.
The Buckeyes’ last two NCAA tournament wins have come in 10 innings and both were complete game victories by Jamee Juarez (5/20/04 vs. Bethune-Cookman and 5/18/06 vs. Auburn). On April 18 vs. IUPUI, the Buckeyes swept a doubleheader without Juarez throwing a pitch for the first time since she arrived at OSU.
Brittany Vanderink’s three hits vs. Auburn in that win marked the first time an OSU player had three hits in a NCAA tournament game (among available box scores, 2002, 2004, 2006).
Five times during the season OSU gave up five runs in one inning to an opponent, but the Buckeyes won four of those games. After hitting .278 in February and only .216 in March, Ohio State hit .333 in April and went 19-5.
Chelsea Baker’s walk-off home run vs. Northwestern April 9 was OSU’s first since April 21, 2002, when Chrissy Fowler’s solo homer gave OSU a 6-5 win over Illinois.
Brittany Vanderink’s 13-game hitting streak was the fourth-best at Ohio State since 1998. Megan Schwab owned a team-best 17 multiple-hit games this season, while Vanderink was next with 16. Jamee Juarez had a team-high 10 multiple-RBI games.
KALAFATIS ON 2006-07
“We’ll host the Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic Sept. 30-Oct. 1 and will start practice a couple weeks prior to that,” Kalafatis said. “We’ll have a lot of new kids, so chemistry will be important right away. Next year it will be key to get our young kids acclimated quickly and at the same time get the production from our returners, who we need to take what they have learned in their careers and transform it into an even better year next year. It will be critical to get good leadership from those returners, too.”
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
Junior Nycole Koyano led the Big Ten in stolen bases this season with 26, marking the first Buckeye to lead the league in a stat since 2002 when Anna Smith led the conference in batting average (.507), hits (105), runs (58), and stolen bases (40).
In Big Ten final regular season statistics, Ohio State ranked first in the Big Ten in 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 in final regular season stats, 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).
KALAFATIS WRAPS YEAR 10 AT OSU
Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis completed her 10th season at the helm of the Buckeyes’ softball program in 2006. She is already OSU’s all-time wins leader with 334 victories in Columbus (334-232-0, .592), and her overall record stands at 607-347-2 (.637) in 18 years as a collegiate head coach. She was assisted by former Buckeyes Belinda Quisenberry and Kristi DeVries and former Nebraska All-American Ali Viola.
IN THE OSU RECORD BOOK
Junior Jamee Juarez had 17 wins this season to increase her career total to 55, which ranks third all-time. She ranks fifth on the career innings pitched list (560.2) and third on the strikeouts list (507). Juarez struck out 196 batters in 2006, the third-most in a season in OSU history. Offensively, Juarez is tied for third on the career RBI list (96).
Senior Chelsea Baker ended her career with 15 career home runs, which ranks fourth in OSU history. Junior Megan Schwab’s 14 homers are tied for fifth. Schwab also ranks tied for fifth in doubles (36) and eighth in RBI (89) and runs (91). Junior Nycole Koyano ranks second in OSU history with 87 walks, third in stolen bases with 58 and fourth in runs scored with 116. Her 26 stolen bases this season are fourth-most at OSU in a single season and her 42 runs scored are fifth. She is tied for fourth in career triples with eight.
Among Ohio State freshmen, Courtney Pruner’s four triples tied for first, her seven homers were second, her 33 RBI were third and her 29 runs were fourth. Kim Reeder ranked third in innings pitched (179.2), tied for first in wins (16), second in strikeouts (158) and tied for third in shutouts (4).
Updated Player Notes…
Chelsea Baker (.240, 8 HR, 25 RBI) … co-captain … Academic All-Big Ten … 8 HR led team … hit .250 in Big Ten games with 2 HR … 15 career HR 4th all-time at OSU … started all but three games (28 RF, 26 CF, 2 LF, 1 DP) … 35 runs 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 all-tourn. team of Hilton Las Cruces Invitational 2/12.
Career highlights: career .279 hitter … owned the team’s No. 6 batting average (.356) and No. 3 slugging percentage (.578) last year … 3-time Academic All-Big Ten pick … career totals of 14 2B, 3 3B, .468 slugging pct. and .357 on-base pct.
Cortney Cannon (.300, 0 HR, 2 RBI) … saw action in 9 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) … missed 51 games because of a broken tibia at Stetson 2/19 … had a pinch-hit single vs. Michigan 4/22 in her first at bat since the injury … had pinch-hit appearance at Iowa 4/28 … started first 9 games in CF … 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 (.270, 3 HR, 35 RBI) … 3rd-team All-Big Ten … led team in RBI and ranked 2nd in average with runners in scoring position (.338) … hit .455 with runners in scoring position in Big Ten games (2nd on team) … 14 RBI in Big Ten games led team, as did her .566 slugging pct. … .358 avg. in Big Ten games 2nd on team (10th in Big Ten, 2nd best among SS) … was the 2nd-toughest Buckeye to strike out (once every 7.7 at bats) … 109 fielding assists tied for 9th in Big Ten … hit 2 grand slams (4/1 at Indiana, 4/23 vs. Michigan St.) … 75 total bases 3rd on team … 3 triples tied for 3rd in Big Ten … started all 62 games … hit .384 in April (t-2nd on team) … 14 multiple-hit games 4th on team … hit game-winning HR in 9th to beat Long Beach State 3/24.
Career highlights: career .278 hitter with 72 RBI … had career-high totals as a senior with 50 hits, 24 runs, 3 triples and 35 RBI … hit .302 as a junior 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 last year, increased to team-best .556 (10-for-18) in Big Ten games.
Lauren Daykin (.246, 3 HR, 21 RBI) … 2nd-team Academic All-Region and Academic All-Big Ten … hit .275 in Big Ten games … upped avg. to .303 with runners in scoring position and led team in that dept. in Big Ten games (.556) … homered off Arizona All-American Alicia Hollowell in NCAA tournament … went 3-for-6 with HR in Michigan St. DH 4/23 … hit .636 (7-for-11) with a runner on third and less than two outs … 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 (.244, 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 … led 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: career .259 hitter with 8 HR, 56 RBI and 23 2B … hit .293 as a soph. and .320 in Big Ten games … 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 (.269, 2 HR, 14 RBI) … hit .375 (3-for-8) in Big Ten games … started 45 games (15 C, 25 3B, 5 DP) … Big Ten Player of the Week first week of season … had career-best totals of 28 hits and 14 RBI … 3-for-3 vs. Toledo 4/11 … named to Hilton Las Cruces Invitational all-tourn. 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: hit 10 career HR and batted .265 … 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) … pinch-ran 37 times and scored 11 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 as a frosh, most on the team … scored 14 runs and stole 6 bases.
Jamee Juarez (.290, 4 HR, 32 RBI) … 2nd-team All-Big Ten … played in all 62 games and started 61 (31 P, 30 3B) … tied for 2nd on team in average with runners on base (.333) … led team in multiple RBI games (10), bases loaded hits (5-for-12), 2-out RBI (14), average with a runner on third and less than two outs (.706) was 2nd in doubles (11) and was 3rd in average with runners in scoring position (.323) … hit .292 in Big Ten games … hit .397 at Buckeye Field … tied OSU and Big Ten record with 3 HR vs. #22 Oregon 2/25 and had career-high 5 RBI … named to Buckeye Invitational all-tournament team.
Career highlights: career .305 hitter with 9 HR … ranks 4th in OSU history with 96 RBI … OSU’s 2005 MVP … 2005 2nd-team All-Big Ten and all-region … Big Ten Player of the Week twice in 2005 (2/22, 3/1) and Pitcher of the Week once (5/9) … set OSU freshman RBI record (36, 2004).
Jamee Juarez, Pitching: (17-11, 2.48 ERA, 196 SO, 189.1 IP) 2nd-team All-Big Ten … threw 10-inning shutout of Auburn in NCAA tournament, the second of her career … in the Big Ten, ranked 10th in innings pitched (189.1), 7th in strikeouts (196), 10th in wins (tied with Reeder) and t-4th in games started (31) … 196 strikeouts are 3rd-most in a season by an OSU pitcher … won 8 of her last 11 decisions … struck out 10+ batters 6 times during the 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).
Career highlights: is 3rd on OSU’s all-time strikeout list (507) and wins list (55) and ranks 5th in innings pitched (560.2) … 51 career complete games … set OSU single-season wins record as soph. (25-12, 2.00 ERA) … 193 strikeouts as soph. ranked No. 3 in a season, 213.0 innings pitched No. 2 and 10 shutouts tied-No. 2 … Big Ten Pitcher of the Week once (5/9) … in Big Ten, ranked 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.
Nycole Koyano (.289, 6 HR, 26 RBI) … 2nd-team All-Big Ten and all-region … co-captain … led Big Ten in stolen bases (26-for-32, 4th best season in OSU history) … went 3-for-9 in NCAA tournament … hit .373 (28-for-75) in last 23 games of the season with 4 HR … hit safely in 9 of last 10 Big Ten games (15-for-38, .395) … hit .290 in league games … also led team in plate appearances (220), runs (42) and walks (30) … was 3rd-toughest Buckeye to strike out (once every 7.1 at bats) … .397 on-base pct. 2nd on team … 42 runs was 4th in Big Ten and ranks 4th in a season at OSU … 15 multiple hit games 3rd on team … named to Crimson Classic all-tournament team March 3-5 after batting .333 in the 5 games … grand slam 2/10.
Career highlights: career .321 hitter … continues to move up the OSU charts for career walks (87, 2nd), stolen bases (58, 2nd) and runs scored (116, 4th) … 3rd-team All-Big Ten as soph. when she batted .355 with a HR, 16 RBI … led nation in triples thru 4/24 (ended season 5th) … 7 triples in `05 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 ranked No. 5 on OSU single-season lists … led team in hits (49), stolen bases (16) and total plate appearances (170) … set OSU frosh. record for walks (27) and stolen bases (16) in 2004 and her 33 runs were No. 2.
Nicole Lancaster (.100, 0 HR, 1 RBI) … started 27 games in CF and played in 51 games … went 1-for-2 with game-winning RBI vs. IUPUI 4/18.
Career highlights: played in 148 career games … batted .238 as a junior 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 (.242, 7 HR, 33 RBI) … 7 HR 2nd-most ever at OSU by a freshman and 4 triples tied for most by a frosh… homered off Arizona All-American Alicia Hollowell 2/25 (her first run allowed in 51 innings) … 2nd in Big Ten in triples (4) … 33 RBI 3rd-most by an OSU frosh and 29 runs rank 4th … 2nd on team in slugging pct. (.483) and 5th in on-base pct. (.370) … 2nd on team in HR and walks (27) … 8 multiple-RBI games tied-2nd on team … hit 2 HR at Miami 4/19 … tied OSU single-game record 4 walks vs. Central Michigan 3/18 … 1st collegiate hit was HR (2/11 vs. Portland St.) … is the all-time home run leader in Ohio high school softball history.
Courtney Pruner, Pitching: (6-1, 2.96 ERA, 49 SO, 52.0 IP)
Got 1st 2 collegiate 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) … with runners on base, batters hit just .186 against her, best on the OSU staff (lowered it to .143 in Big Ten games) … went 3-0 in Big Ten with 1.53 ERA.
Kim Reeder (.111, 0 HR, 1 RBI) … batted in 5 games (9 AB) … had RBI single at Wisconsin April 30.
Kim Reeder, Pitching: (16-11, 1.91 ERA) … tied the OSU record for wins by a freshman … in the regular season allowed one earned run in 15.2 innings pitched against Top 10 opponents … threw four 3-hit shutouts in April … led staff in ERA … among OSU frosh pitchers all-time, her 179.2 innings pitched were 3rd, 158 strikeouts 2nd, 1.91 ERA 10th, 4 shutouts tied for 3rd and 15 complete games tied for third … 5-3 in Big Ten games with 1.56 ERA … 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 … 4.1 innings of no-hit relief vs. then-#3 UCLA 2/24.
Megan Schwab (.337, 4 HR, 31 RBI) … 2nd-team All-Big Ten and all-region … Big Ten all-tournament team … started all 62 games and led team in on-base pct. (.415), slugging pct. (.492), hits (61), doubles (12), total bases (89), hit by pitch (5), average with two out (.375), pct. advancing runners (.620) … ranked second on team in in average (.337), at bats (181), average with runners on base (.333), average with bases loaded (.500) … went 3-for-10 in NCAA tournament … hit .377 (20-for-53) in last 17 games of the season … hit .333 in Big Ten games … Big Ten Player of the Week 4/10 … hit team-best .417 at Buckeye Field … named to Buckeye Invitational all-tournament team 3/19 … grand slam 2/12 vs. Texas-San Antonio in title game of Hilton Las Cruces Invitational.
Career highlights: career .328 hitter … owns 14 career homers (t-5th at OSU), 36 doubles (t-5th at OSU) and 89 RBI (8th at OSU) … hit .362 as soph. 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) as soph. … 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 (.359, 0 HR, 8 RBI) … 1st-team All-Big Ten and all-region … Big Ten all-tournament team … led team in average (.359) overall and in Big Ten games (.459, 2nd best in league and best among OF) … also led team in average with runners on base (.367) and with runners in scoring position (.391) … had career-best 13-game hitting streak, the 4th-best streak at OSU since 1998 … went 4-for-8 in the NCAA tournament, including a 3-for-4 effort vs. Auburn May 18 which stands as the only 3-hit performance by a Buckeye in the NCAA tournament among available box scores (2002-2006) … hit .517 (30-for-58) in last 17 games of the season … Big Ten Player of the Week 5/1 … was the toughest Buckeye to strike out (once every 7.8 at bats) … had at least one hit in every Big Ten game but 2 … went 4-for-4 at Iowa 4/28 … went 5-for-7 in DH vs. No. 12 Michigan 4/22 … went 2-for-3 in 2-1 win vs. No. 15 Northwestern 4/9.
Career highlights: career .341 hitter … 30-for-32 in stolen bases … 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! ###
