Buckeyes Conclude Home Schedule with Doubleheader vs. Penn State Wednesday – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game 48/49
Penn State at Ohio State
May 11, 2011 – (5 p.m./7p.m.)
Buckeye Field
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After claiming a 1-0 victory against Michigan State on Senior Day, the Ohio State softball team will conclude the 2011 home schedule with a doubleheader against Penn State at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Buckeye Field. The doubleheader between the Buckeyes (14-33, 3-13 Big Ten) and Nittany Lions (25-22-1, 7-8-1 Big Ten) was rescheduled from its original date April 27 after storms in the Columbus area postponed the conference twinbill.
BUCKEYE VISION
Both games will be streamed live on Buckeye Vision at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
LIVE STATS
Live stats will be available at the start of the game on the Ohio State softball schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
SOLES4SOULS UNIVERSITY RV TOUR
The Buckeyes will host the Soles4Souls University RV Tour when they take on the Nittany Lions Wednesday at Buckeye Field. Soles4Souls is a Nashville-based charity that collects new and used shoes to distribute to people in need around the world.Soles4Souls accepts all types of shoes in all sizes: athletic, running, dress, sandals, pumps, heels, work boots, cleats, dance, flip flops, just as long as they are new or gently worn.
BUCKEYES TO COLLECT DONATIONS AT HOME GAMES
The Ohio State Softball team is currently collecting disaster relief items to assist with the recovery efforts in the Southern United States in the aftermath of the recent storms. We are asking fans to make donations of travel-size toiletry products as well as new and gently used clothing. Collections can be dropped off at the entrance of Buckeye Field at every remaining home game, culminating Wednesday vs. Penn State. All donations will go directly to the Salvation Army. We thank you in advance for exemplifying the true Buckeye Spirit and donating to this worthy cause.
QUICK HITS
- Ohio State leads the all-time series vs. Penn State 43-26.
- The Buckeyes are 20-12 vs. the Nittany Lions under head coach Linda Kalafatis.
- Junior co-captain Alicia Herron leads the squad batting .358, while recording 27 RBI, 37 runs, 10 doubles, eight home runs and three triples. She also leads the team with a .657 slugging percentage while going a perfect 10-for-10 in stolen base attempts.
- Senior Brittany Goodchild is second on the team in batting with a .301 average, collecting 40 hits with four doubles.
- Senior co-captain Dee Dee Hillman is second on the team in runs scored with 22 this season. She is batting .244 with 38 hits and three triples with seven stolen bases.
- Freshman Evelyn Carrillo is first on the squad with 33 RBI and second with six home runs. She has claimed 41 hits and 65 total bases and slugging .455 at the plate this season. Carrillo is batting .286 with seven RBI in the last 10 games.
- Sophomore Megan Coletta gave the Buckeyes a 7-5 lead at Minnesota in game two April 2 in the top of the seventh when she posted a two-out, two-run home run – her second long ball of the season. Coletta guided the Buckeyes to a 2-1 victory vs. Youngstown State April 21 after notching a two-out double in the bottom of the eighth at Buckeye Field. She is third on the team with 19 RBI. Coletta leads the team with a .320 average the last 10 games.
- Senior pitcher Karisa Medrano claimed both victories at Minnesota April 2. In 10.2 innings of work, Medrano had seven strikeouts while opposing hitters batted just .143 against the senior Buckeye. She struck out seven YSU batters in four innings of work April 21 in Columbus to earn the victory. Against Morehead State April 29, Medrano claimed the victory in game one, pitching 10.0 innings with seven strikeouts. She recorded her first career save in game two. Against Michigan State May 8, Medrano struck out seven batters en route to a two-hit shutout vs. the Spartans.
- Freshman catcher Melissa Rennie is batting .258 in 38 starts with a .393 slugging percentage.
- The Buckeyes posted a season-high 12 runs, 11 RBI and a .415 batting average in the 12-4 win vs. Evansville Feb. 20 in Mobile, Ala.
THANK YOU SENIORS!
Ohio State honored its 2011 senior class of Brittany Goodchild, Dee Dee Hillman, Karisa Medrano and Rachael Shepherd in a postgame celebration May 8 at Buckeye Field. These four Buckeyes have helped Ohio State to 133 wins so far in their four years at Ohio State, including 42 victories in conference action.
Beyond that, this class helped Ohio State to its highest ranking in the national polls, hitting No. 12 in 2009, en route to the Buckeyes’ first appearance at the NCAA Super Regional. The 2011 senior class also helped Ohio State advance to its second-consecutive NCAA regional appearance in 2010 for the second time in program history, finishing in the Top 2 of the Big Ten in back-to-back seasons.
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State defeated Michigan State, 1-0, May 8 at Buckeye Field on Senior Day. The Scarlet and Gray claimed an early run in the first inning, while senior pitcher Karisa Medrano threw a two-hit shutout performance in the circle.
Offensively at the plate, the Buckeyes were led by junior co-captain Alicia Herron, sophomore Megan Coletta and freshman Evelyn Carrillo. Herron went 2-for-3 with a double and scored the lone run of the game, Coletta was 2-for-2 with a walk and Carrillo collected the lone RBI of the afternoon, going 1-for-2 in the batter’s box.
HERRON NAMED TO ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT IV TEAM
Alicia Herron was named to the Capital One Academic All-District IV Second Team for the second time in her career last week. The third-year starter at shortstop, Herron leads the team with a .358 batting average while maintaining a grade-point average greater than 3.30 in speech and hearing science.
The Cyrpess, Calif., native becomes the fifth Buckeye in program history and fourth under head coach Linda Kalafatis to be named to an all-district team in back-to-back seasons.
MEDRANO CLAIMS 100 STRIKEOUTS
Senior pitcher Karisa Medrano posted her 100 strikeout of the season in the final inning against Michigan State May 8. The native of Albuquerque, N.M., claimed her eighth win of the season after throwing a two-hit shutout performance with seven strikeouts vs. the Spartans on Senior Day.
She leads the team in multiple categories, including ERA, wins, appearances, starts, complete games, shutouts, saves, innings pitched, strikeouts and opponent batting average this season. Medrano had thrown just 12.2 innings for the Buckeyes in the previous three years combined.
KALAFATIS CLAIMS 500 WINS
Head coach Linda Kalafatis claimed her 500th career victory at the helm of the Buckeyes last week in the 4-1 win vs. Harvard March 18 in San Diego, Calif.
In her 15th season at Ohio State, Kalafatis is one of the most successful coaches in the Big Ten and the NCAA. She is one of four conference coaches with more than 700 career wins, placing her among the Top 30 active coaches in the country.
The Buckeyes have won 30 or more games in nine of Kalafatis’ 14 seasons in Columbus and in each of the last seven seasons. Also the Big Ten coach of the year in 2002, she has guided Ohio State to six of the program’s seven NCAA tournament appearances (2002, ’04, ’06, ’07, ’09, ’10), including its first trip to the NCAA Super Regional in 2009.
Kalafatis entered the 2011 campaign with a 493-298 (.623) record in 14 years at Ohio State, which marks the best win total and winning percentage in program history. In 22 years as a collegiate head coach, including stops at her alma mater California (Pa.) and Akron, she owns a record of 779-441-2 (.639).
UP NEXT
Ohio State will conclude the 2011 season in a two-game series at Wisconsin at 6 p.m. ET Friday and 1 p.m. ET Saturday in Madison. The game Friday will be televised live on Big Ten Network.
