Softball: Season Ends for Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Buckeyes not selected for NCAA tournament; end 2008 with 33-23 overall record
COLUMBUS, Ohio The 64-team NCAA softball championship field was announced Sunday night and the Buckeyes were not selected, thus brining to a close their 2008 season.
Ohio State finished the season 33-23 overall and went 7-13 in the Big Ten to earn the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes went 11-4 in February, 12-4 in March, 10-14 in April and 0-1 in May.
Complete postseason notes and statistics will be released later this week, but here is a quick look at a few season highlights and NCAA tournament analysis.
BUCKEYES SEE THEIR BUBBLE BURST
So how close was Ohio State to being of the 33 at-large teams selected for the NCAA tournament? Unofficial analysis indicates the Buckeyes were probably one of about eight teams vying for the last few spots, which most likely went to Georgia Tech, Tulsa, East Carolina, Cal State Fullerton and Louisville.
According to the May 7 Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) report, which is available at www.NCAAsports.com, the Buckeyes were rated No. 53. Only one team rated lower than Ohio State received an at-large bid, that being No. 59 Louisville (30-21).
The Buckeyes were one of seven teams rated higher than Louisville with a winning record who did not receive a bid. They include No. 42 Kansas (37-19, seventh in Big 12), No. 52 Illinois State (28-19, second in Missouri Valley), No. 53 Ohio State (33-23, eighth in Big Ten), No. 54 Maryland (36-23, seventh Atlantic Coast), No. 55 Radford (46-15, second in Big South), No. 56 Penn State (34-22, ninth Big Ten) and No. 57 Baylor (23-22, eighth Big 12).
Of the 31 automatic bids handed out to conference tournament winners, 16 were to teams rated lower than Ohio State, including No. 58 Long Island, No. 63 Winthrop, No. 64 Jacksonville State, No. 74 Campbell, No. 81 Drake, No. 88 Chattanooga, No. 89 Sacramento State, No. 112 Princeton, No. 113 Canisius, No. 149 Lehigh, No. 152 Louisiana Tech, No. 160 Wright State, No. 167 Stephen F. Austin, No. 183 Stony Brook, No. 209 Mississippi Valley State and No. 238 Western Illinois.
Ohio State went 7-2 to end the regular-season to bolster its NCAA tournament resume, but a 3-12 stretch in the 15 games before that hurt. Included in that skid were losses to No. 71 Marshall, No. 84 Kentucky, No. 109 Michigan State and No. 146 Indiana. Despite having only two losses in their last nine games, they were to No. 76 Minnesota and No. 157 Wisconsin.
With a 10-12 record at Buckeye Field, Ohio State was one of only three teams in the Top 83 of the RPI to have a losing record at home. The other two schools with sub-.500 records at home this season included Washington (6-8 at home, 26-21 overall) and Marshall (4-10 at home, 26-28 overall).
2008 WHAT IT WAS
Here is a quick look at a few highlights from the 2008 season that will be among the postseason notes released later this week. The Buckeyes:
– won at least 30 games for the fifth-straight season to include a program record set last season at four seasons in a row
– went to the Big Ten tournament for the seventh time in the last eight years (only three other league schools have done that)
– began the season 22-6 for the program’s second-best 28-game start.
– had 12 come-from-behind wins and five walk-off wins.
– were ranked for eight-straight weeks, tying the program record.
– set a school record with 189 walks.
– beat Fresno State 1-0 Feb. 22 and Nevada March 14. FSU finished No. 16 in the RPI and Nevada was No. 25.
– set a school-record with 16 runs scored in a road game, winning 16-4 at Florida International Feb. 16.
– went 3-2 at the prestigious Palm Springs Classic Feb. 22-24.
– upped their school-record run without being shut out to 58-straight games.
– saw head coach Linda Kalafatis win her 400th game at Ohio State.
– saw senior Brittany Vanderink end her career with a .347 batting average (fifth all-time at Ohio State), 127 runs (fifth), 219 hits (fifth), 11 triples (tied for fourth) and 63 stolen bases (fourth).
– saw sophomore Sam Marder become the first Buckeye on the national player of the year watch list and lead the nation in on base percentage (.633) and walks (60, tied Big Ten record).
– saw junior pitcher Kim Reeder strike out her 450th batter, win her 50th game and pitch her 550th inning all marks that are in the Top 6 all-time at Ohio State (strikeouts and wins are fourth).
– saw seniors Liz Caputo and Brittany Vanderink end their careers with 144 wins, becoming the sixth-winningest class in program history.
UP NEXT
Ohio State will celebrate the 2008 season with the annual postseason awards banquet June 1. Regional and national awards will be determined in the coming weeks leading up to the Women’s College World Series.
Check back to OhioStateBuckeyes.com throughout the summer for construction updates from the $5.9 million project at Buckeye Field, along with news and notes from the program.
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