Juarez Repeats as Big Ten Pitcher of the Week – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/30/2007 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 30, 2007
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Going 3-0 with a save and a 0.00 earned run average in Ohio State’s four Big Ten victories last weekend, senior Jamee Juarez picked up another weekly award from the Big Ten Monday as the league’s co-pitcher of the week. The honor makes Juarez (La Puente, Calif./Wilson) the first Buckeye to earn back-to-back Big Ten weekly pitching honors since they were first handed out in 1990.
Juarez did not allow a run in 14.2 innings last week and struck out 16 batters, allowing only one walk and six singles. She shares the weekly honor with Northwestern’s Lauren Delaney, who threw a no-hitter Sunday against Illinois. Juarez is the second Buckeye to earn back-to-back weekly honors overall from the Big Ten, joining Kristine Himes, who was named the league’s player of the week March 3 and 10, 2003.
In the last two weeks, Juarez is 7-0 with 62 strikeouts in 36.1 innings. During that stretch, she has walked only two batters and allowed three earned runs for a 0.58 earned run average. Juarez has earned the win in six of the Buckeyes’ last seven Big Ten games as they regained sole possession of first place in the league standings, setting up a possible conference championship this weekend when they host Penn State.
Opponents hit only .125 against Juarez last week (6-for-48) as she beat Purdue twice, including once in relief, and Indiana once, while earning the save in the Buckeyes’ other win against the Hoosiers. Sunday, Juarez tossed her second complete game shutout of the weekend to tie the Ohio State record for career shutouts at 26. Juarez already owns the program records for career wins (71) and innings pitched (707.0).
Juarez is 16-8 overall this season with a 1.63 ERA, 181 strikeouts, two no-hitters and a perfect game. She leads the Big Ten in saves (4), fewest walks allowed (23) and strikeout to walk ratio (7.9-to-1). In Big Ten games, Juarez is 8-1 with a 1.52 ERA and 70 strikeouts in 50.2 innings. Of her eight losses, five have come to ranked teams, including No. 1 Arizona, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 7 Northwestern, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 24 Virginia Tech.
The Big Ten weekly honor is the third of her career. In addition, Juarez is a .301 career hitter and ranks third all-time at Ohio State in runs batted in with 121 and sixth in doubles with 37.
### GO BUCKS! ###
