Ohio State Opens Big Ten Season at Home with Minnesota and Wisconsin – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 28, 2007
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SETTING THE SCENE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Big Ten season begins this weekend at home for the Ohio State softball team, which welcomes Minnesota and Wisconsin to Buckeye Field. Ohio State (17-13) takes on the Gophers (13-12) at 4 p.m. Friday and noon Saturday, followed by a doubleheader at noon Sunday against the Badgers (15-7).
GameTracker will have all four games live at www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Links are found on the softball schedule page.
The Buckeyes are coming off a week-long stay in Los Angeles on spring break, where they went 3-3. Since seeing its record dip under the .500 mark at 5-6 March 3, Ohio State has gone 12-7. This week marks the last week of the regular season that the Buckeyes will not play a midweek doubleheader.
Ohio State is 2-0 this season at Buckeye Field, where OSU pitchers Kim Reeder and Jamee Juarez threw back-to-back no-hitters March 18 against Oakland. Ohio State went 21-2 at Buckeye Field last year.
BIG TEN RACE BEGINS NOW
Ohio State opens Big Ten play at home this weekend, then will spend the next three consecutive weekends on the road for conference games. The last two seasons have seen the Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in batting and finish fourth in the standings. During the last two years, the league has sent members to the national championship series, with Michigan winning the title in 2005 and Northwestern posting a runner-up finish in 2006.
OHIO STATE AT A GLANCE
The Buckeyes (17-13) have won eight of their last 12 games and own a 2.67 staff earned run average, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten. In Ohio State’s last 20 games, the pitching staff has posted a 1.93 ERA (123.1 IP, 34 ER). Ohio State is hitting .258 as a team, which ranks 10th in the league.
Ohio State owns signature wins over then-No. 22 Fresno State, then-No. 17 Cal and then-No. 26 Virginia Tech. Four of the Buckeyes’ losses have come against Top 10 teams.
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 and sophomores Kim Reeder and Courtney Pruner. 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/2b, 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 277-159 for a .640 winning percentage, which ranks third in the Big Ten during that time.
INSIDE THE MATCH-UPS
At the plate, Wisconsin (.268), Ohio State (.258) and Minnesota (.228) rank ninth, 10th and 11th, respectively in the Big Ten, while in the circle, they rank third (Wisconsin, 1.94 ERA), fifth (Ohio State, 2.67) and ninth (Minnesota (2.87). The Gophers field it the best (fourth, .963 fielding percentage), while the Badgers rank seventh (.954) and the Buckeyes rank 10th (.949).
RING OF FIRE HEATING UP
Ohio State’s pitching staff has steadily improved its numbers this season. After the Buckeyes’ season-opening tournament in Tempe, OSU owned a 5.65 ERA. They lowered it to 4.59 after Palm Springs. In the last 20 games, however, the staff owns a 1.93 ERA (123.1 IP, 34 ER) to lower its season ERA to 2.67. Those last 20 games have seen OSU pitchers throw 14 complete games, three no-hitters and strike out 137 batters.
AND A FRESHMAN SHALL LEAD THEM
Freshman catcher/designated player Sam Marder leads Ohio State in nine offensive categories, including batting average (.356), home runs (7), runs batted in (25), total bases (52), slugging percentage (.712), walks (31, OSU freshman record), hit by pitch (4) and on-base percentage (.565). In her last 13 games, Marder has been walked 19 times. Marder, the Big Ten’s player of the week March 13, hit two home runs Feb. 25 against No. 9 Oklahoma, becoming the fourth OSU freshman this decade to go deep twice in the same game. 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.
BUCKEYES GO 3-3 IN LOS ANGELES
Ohio State is coming off three wins and three losses in the Los Angeles area last week on its spring break trip. The Buckeyes dropped their first two games on the trip, falling at Long Beach State 10-6 and then 3-2 in the first game of a doubleheader at Loyola Marymount, then won 4-1 in game two at LMU, before winning 1-0 over Utah and 5-4 over San Diego State. A 5-4 loss in eight innings at Cal State Fullerton ended the trip.
In the circle, senior Jamee Juarez went 3-0 with 22 strikeouts and only one walk in 20 .2 innings pitched with one shutout and two complete games. Senior Nycole Koyano led the Buckeyes at the plate, hitting .381, while freshman Sam Marder hit .333 and junior Brittany Vanderink batted .320.
NOTING THE BUCKEYES
Last week in Los Angeles, the Buckeyes halted a pair of win streaks of their opponents. Ohio State snapped Loyola Marymount’s 12 game home win streak and ended San Diego State’s eight game winning streak.
Junior Brittany Vanderink enters this weekend with a team-best eight game hitting streak. Senior Nycole Koyano leads the Buckeyes with 11 multiple-hit games. Freshman Sam Marder leads the team with nine multiple-RBI games (the next Buckeye on the list has three).
Last week in Los Angeles, senior Jamee Juarez moved into second place on the Ohio State all-time innings pitched list (651.1) and became the third Buckeye ever to strike out 600 batters (606).
Freshman Sam Marder was featured in a Q&A on the Big Ten Web site March 14. It can be viewed at the softball page at www.bigten.org. She leads Ohio State in nine offensive categories, including average (.356), home runs (7), RBI (25) and walks (31).
The Buckeyes game against San Diego State March 24 at Cal State Fullerton marked their last game of the regular season at a neutral site. Ohio State went 13-8 in its 21 neutral site games. Last year the Buckeyes went 8-10 at neutral sites.
Ohio State pitchers have thrown 14 complete games in their last 20 outings, including seven each by Kim Reeder and Jamee Juarez. The no-hitters for Reeder and Juarez March 18 were both the second of their careers.
The Buckeyes are 98-10 in non-conference home games under 11th-year head coach Linda Kalafatis.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
Ohio State ranks 10th in the Big Ten in team batting (.258), fifth in pitched (2.67 ERA) and 10th in fielding (.949). The Buckeyes rank third in stolen bases (40-for-53) and walks (100). Freshman Sam Marder leads the league in walks (31, OSU freshman record), while senior Nycole Koyano ranks second in triples (5) and is tied for fourth in stolen bases (11) with teammate Brittany Vanderink.
Senior Jamee Juarez ranks seventh in earned run average (1.78), sixth in strikeouts (99) and ninth in innings pitched (90.2), while sophomore Kim Reeder ranks sixth in opposing batting average (.204), ninth in strikeouts (80) and 10th in innings pitched (89.1).
SCOUTING THE GOGHERS, BADGERS
Minnesota (13-12) had won five consecutive games before a pair of losses to end the Gophers’ stay at the Capital Classic last weekend, which included a 1-0 loss to Colorado State and an 11 inning, 3-1 loss to Georgia Southern. Minnesota has six starters back from its 2006 team that went 17-33 and 1-17 in the Big Ten. The Gophers are led by senior Mandy Valadez (.327, 4 HR, 10 RBI), while sophomore Briana Hassett (7-4, 1.92) leads the pitching staff.
Wisconsin (15-7) finished the University of South Florida’s Speedline Invitational 5-2 with wins over Kent State and Indiana to win the single elimination tournament between No. 2 seeds. Eden Brock (8-4, 1.62 ERA), the Big Ten pitcher of the week March 6, pitched six of the Badgers seven games, finishing 3-0, while Samantha Polito (.306) became the Badgers all-time leading scorer with 114 runs. Nine starters are back for the Badgers, who went 22-22 last year and 6-11 in the Big Ten. Katie Hnatyk leads Wisconsin with a .384 average, nine home runs and 26 RBI. Badger assistant coach Julie Wright was the head coach at Akron the last two years.
ALL-TIME SERIES NOTES
Ohio State is 27-55 all-time against Minnesota and has won five consecutive games over the Gophers, including twice last year in Columbus (9-5, 9-0). At Buckeye Field, Ohio State is 19-12 all-time against Minnesota. Ohio State is 12-16 all-time against Wisconsin and won in Madison, Wis., last year, 10-6. This year marks the Badgers’ first trip to Columbus since 2004, when the teams split a doubleheader (OSU 2-0, Wisc. 3-1).
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.
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 (351-245, .590) and is one of three Big Ten coaches with more than 600 career wins (624-360-2, .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 100 walks, which rank second in OSU history and are 18 shy of the school record. She ranks second all-time in stolen bases (69) and fourth all-time in runs scored (136, 6 shy of second place). 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 (111) and is ranked in the Top 3 in four career pitching statistics, including innings pitched (No. 2, 651.1), wins (No. 2, 62), strikeouts (No. 3, 606) and shutouts (No. 2, 22, four shy of No. 1).
Senior Megan Schwab is third all-time with 43 doubles (two shy of No. 2) and tied for fourth with 15 home runs. Schwab’s 105 RBI are third and her 106 runs scored are ninth.
Five Buckeyes rank among the Top 15 in career batting average at Ohio State, including Brittany Vanderink (.333), Liz Caputo (.330), Megan Schwab (.310), Nycole Koyano (.318) and Jamee Juarez (.297).
REEDER, MARDER EARN HONORS
For the first time since 2002, Ohio State swept the Big Ten weekly softball honors as Kim Reeder was named the league’s pitcher of the week and Sam Marder was named the player of the week March 13. At the South Florida adidas Invitational in Clearwater, Fla., Reeder went 3-1 in the circle with a 1.28 earned run average 19 strikeouts in 27.1 innings pitched that included a three-hit shutout over No. 26 Virginia Tech. Marder hit .455 (10-for-22) with three doubles, two home runs and 10 RBI while posting a .600 on-base percentage that included eight walks, including a school-record five against Hofstra. The weekly league honor is the first for both players and marks the first time the Buckeyes swept the awards since March 26, 2002, when Wendy Allen was named player of the week and Katie Chain was pitcher of the week.
### GO BUCKS! ###
