Ohio State Heads to Birmingham for Magic City Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 1, 2007
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SETTING THE SCENE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Coming off three wins in Palm Springs last weekend, including two over ranked teams, the Ohio State softball team travels to Birmingham, Ala., for the Magic City Classic Saturday and Sunday. The four-team event is hosted by Alabama-Birmingham at George Ward Park and includes UAB, Birmingham-Southern and Samford.
The Buckeyes (5-5), who are receiving votes in this week’s ESPN.com/USA Softball national poll, take on Samford (7-5) at noon (CT) Saturday, followed by a 4 p.m. (CT) contest against the host Blazers (10-7). On Sunday, Ohio State meets Birmingham-Southern (5-7) at 10 a.m. (CT) before a rematch with UAB at noon (CT).
2007 Magic City Classic
Hosted by Alabama-Birmingham, March 3-4, Birmingham, Ala.
Tournament Field: Alabama-Birmingham (10-7), Samford (7-5), Birmingham Southern (5-7), Ohio State (5-5)
Tournament info: www.uabsports.com
Tournament Complex: George Ward Park, 331 16th Ave. South, Birmingham, Ala.
Web site: www.newsouthsoftball.net
Ohio State Schedule:
Saturday, March 3 (all times Central)
Noon vs. Samford
4 p.m. vs. Alabama-Birmingham
Sunday, March 4
10 a.m. vs. Birmingham Southern
Noon vs. Alabama-Birmingham
The Buckeyes knocked off No. 22 Fresno State and No. 17 California last weekend at the Palm Springs Classic in California, a tournament at which they won only two games the previous two years combined. “We are playing three good teams this weekend and UAB in particular seems to be having an excellent season with big wins over Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and South Florida,” Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State head coach, said. “We’ll try to improve upon the things that we’ve been working on because our team knows that each time out is an opportunity to get better and prepare for our extremely difficult Big Ten schedule. It’s crucial that we maintain that mindset no matter who we play this season.”
Last year during the first weekend of March, Ohio State made its first ever trip to Alabama, where the Buckeyes went 3-2 and beat host and then-No. 4 Alabama at the Crimson Classic in Tuscaloosa.
ABOUT THE MAGIC CITY CLASSIC
Hosted by Alabama-Birmingham, the Magic City Classic includes the three Div. I programs in Birmingham (UAB, Samford and Birmingham-Southern) and the visiting Buckeyes. The Classic begins Friday evening while Ohio State is traveling, as the three local teams all play twice. There is no championship bracket for the event. For tournament information log on to UAB’s Web site at www.UABsports.com. For additional information on the tournament complex, visit www.newsouthsoftball.net.
OHIO STATE AT A GLANCE
The Buckeyes are off to a 5-5 start against a tough schedule that has included six ranked opponents and two others that are receiving votes in the national poll. Of Ohio State’s five losses, four have come against Top 10 teams. The Buckeyes are hitting .277 as a team, which ranks third in the Big Ten, and own a 4.65 staff earned run average.
Ohio State has 10 letterwinners and eight starters back from its 2006 squad that went 39-23 and 11-7 in the Big Ten and went to the Tucson Regional of the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes have led the Big Ten in batting the last two years.
All three pitchers return in 2007, including senior Jamee Juarez (17-11) and sophomores Kim Reeder (16-11) and Courtney Pruner (6-1). Starters returning in the field include Juarez (P/3b, 2nd-team All-Big Ten), Lauren Daykin (c), captain Christina Douglas (1b), Nycole Koyano (2b, 2nd-team All-Big Ten/Region), Megan Schwab (lf, 2nd-team All-Big Ten/Region), Liz Caputo (cf) and Brittany Vanderink (rf, 1st-team All-Big Ten/Region), while Pruner returns at designated player.
Head coach Linda Kalafatis is in her 11th year at Ohio State and is one of three coaches in the Big Ten with more than 600 wins. Since 2000, the Buckeyes are 265-151 for a .640 winning percentage, which ranks third in the Big Ten during that time.
NOTING THE BUCKEYES
It could be said Ohio State has two lead-off hitters, considering junior Liz Caputo, who hits No. 9 in the lineup, leads Ohio State with a .360 batting average. Senior Nycole Koyano, in the lead-off spot, is next on the team with a .333 average, while junior Brittany Vanderink, who hits second in the order, is third on the squad with a .323 average.
Last season, Ohio State pitchers threw 33 complete games in 62 outings. The Buckeyes went through their first five games this season without a complete game, but last Friday sophomore Kim Reeder and senior Jamee Juarez delivered back-to-back complete games, beating Brigham Young and No. 22 Fresno State, respectively.
Juarez collected her 100th career RBI last weekend, becoming only the third Buckeye to drive in 100 or more runs. Senior Megan Schwab is close behind with 97 RBI.
Freshman Sam Marder hit two home runs Sunday against No. 9 Oklahoma, becoming the fourth OSU freshman this decade to go deep twice in the same game. Current Buckeyes who are on that list include Caputo and sophomore Courtney Pruner. Marder hit a grand slam against New Mexico Feb. 9, becoming the first OSU freshman to hit a grand slam in her first collegiate game.
Ohio State freshman pitcher Megan Miller turned 19 Thursday. Miller pitched in five consecutive games to begin the season, becoming only the third OSU freshman to pitch in five consecutive games.
The Buckeyes are 5-0 when leading or tied after four innings, but 0-5 when trailing after four innings. Ohio State is 4-0 when scoring first.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
In the young Big Ten season (Indiana has played only five games), Ohio State ranks third in the league in batting (.277), ninth in pitching (4.70 ERA) and eighth in fielding (.947). Among individual leaders, freshman Sam Marder is tied for the home run lead (5) and has been hit by a pitch a league-high four times.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
As usual, Ohio State travels west and south often in the early weeks of the season. The Buckeyes opened the season in Tempe, Ariz., Feb. 9-11 at the ASU Kajikawa Classic and were in Palm Springs, Calif., last weekend. Next up is the UAB Magic City Classic Saturday and Sunday in Birmingham, Ala., followed by the South Florida-adidas Invitational March 8-11 in Clearwater, Fla. Ohio State then hosts the Buckeye Invitational March 17-18 before departing for a six-day, six-game trip in the Los Angeles area during spring break.
OSU GOES 3-2 IN PALM SPRINGS
Ohio State had gone a combined 2-8 at the Palm Springs Classic in 2005 and 2006, but the Buckeyes went 3-2 last weekend at the prestigious early-season tournament with wins over BYU, No. 22 Fresno State and No. 17 California. On the opening day, Kim Reeder and Jamee Juarez threw complete game victories as the Buckeyes shook off an 11-day layoff. No. 10 Texas hung on for a 6-5 win over Ohio State Saturday despite an 11-8 hit advantage for OSU, but the Buckeyes scored four runs in the first inning on their way to a 10-7 win over Cal in the nightcap. Sam Marder homered twice Sunday morning vs. No. 9 Oklahoma but the Buckeyes fell, 7-2.
OSU-OPPONENT CONNECTIONS
Ohio State freshman Tory Haddad and Samford sophomore Jessica Owens were teammates at Fort Walton Beach (Fla.) High School. Those two also played travel ball with Samford’s Katie England. OSU’s Christina Douglas (Mesa) and Megan Schwab (Glendale) and Birmingham-Southern’s Bethney Reynoldson are all from the Phoenix area.
A LOOK AT THE COMPETITION
Samford (7-5) got off to its best start in program history at 7-2, but has dropped three in a row, including Wednesday night when the Bulldogs set a home attendance record but fell to No. 3 Alabama, 8-1. Shelley Stanley (.306, 3 HR) went deep against Alabama and Stephanie Royall (5-3, 2.10 ERA) threw her seventh complete game of the season. Four starters are back for the Bulldogs, who went 20-38 last year and 10-16 in the Ohio Valley Conference.
UAB (10-7) won the South Florida “The Game” Tournament in Tampa, Fla., last weekend and split a doubleheader at Tennessee-Chattanooga Tuesday. Senior Lindsay Stanley (.361, 6 RBI) is the Blazers’ all-time career batting leader (.340), while two-way standout Jennifer Nelson (.302, 6 RBI, 8-2, 1.35 ERA, 90 SO, 72.2 IP) leads the pitching staff. UAB went 31-22 last year and 15-9 in Conference USA.
Birmingham-Southern (5-7) has won three of its last four games and is beginning a 13 game stretch of games in Birmingham. The Panthers went 28-21 last year and 7-5 in the Big South Conference. With seven starters back, BSC is led by sophomore Anne Lawrence (.393, 10 RBI), while newcomer Bethney Reynoldson (3-3, 1.94) leads the pitching staff.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES
Ohio State is facing all three of its opponents this weekend for the first time in program history.
HEAD COACH Linda Kalafatis
Head coach Linda Kalafatis is in her 11th season at Ohio State and in her 19th season as a collegiate head coach. She is OSU’s all-time wins leader (339-237, .590) and is one of three Big Ten coaches with more than 600 career wins (612-352-2, .634). Six times the Buckeyes have won at least 30 games under Kalafatis, who has guided OSU to the NCAA tournament three times (2002, 2004, 2006). She is assisted by former collegiate All-Americans Ali Viola (Nebraska) and Erica Beach (Arizona State).
RECORD BOOK WATCH
Senior Nycole Koyano owns 93 walks, which rank second in OSU history and are 25 shy of the school record. She ranks third all-time in stolen bases (62) and fourth all-time in runs scored (122). If Koyano leads the Buckeyes in runs this season, she will be the first to do that all four years.
Senior Jamee Juarez ranks third all-time in career RBI (100) and is ranked in the Top 5 in four career pitching statistics, including innings pitched (No. 5, 587.0), wins (No. 3, 56), strikeouts (No. 3, 528) and shutouts (No. 2, 19).
Senior Megan Schwab is tied for fourth all-time with 38 doubles and 15 home runs, her 97 RBI are fifth and her 99 runs scored are ninth. Five Buckeyes rank among the Top 15 in career batting average at Ohio State, including Liz Caputo (.367), Brittany Vanderink (.339), Megan Schwab (.324), Nycole Koyano (.322) and Jamee Juarez (.302).
BUCKEYE FIELD TO GET $5.1M FACELIFT
Buckeye Field, home of Ohio State softball since 1988, will get a $5.1 million renovation as soon as the 2007 season is over. The new 1,500 seat stadium will include indoor and outdoor batting cages, a three-plate bullpen, 650-square foot press box, player clubhouse, lounge and locker room, new dugouts, coaches and umpires locker room and a concession area.
### GO BUCKS! ###
