Ohio State Hosts Dayton Wednesday – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/10/2012 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 10, 2012
Dayton vs. Ohio State
Wednesday, April 11
Buckeye Field – Columbus, Ohio
Gametracker
BTN.com
Twitter: @OhioState_SB
Buckeye Softball Facebook
PDF Game Notes: Ohio State | Dayton
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team concludes a six-game homestand against Dayton at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Buckeye Field. The Buckeyes (23-14, 5-4 Big Ten) return to the field after dropping three games at home against Michigan last weekend. The Scarlet and Gray hold a 4-0 record at home against non-conference opponents this season.
PROMOTIONS
Wednesday, April 11 – Buck-A-Burger (while supplies last)
GAMETRACKER
Gametracker will be available for the contest vs. Dayton. A link can be found on the softball schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
BROADCAST ALERT
Fans who will not be able to watch Ohio State and Dayton at Buckeye Field can catch all the action on BTN.com as part of the Big Ten Digital Network. (Note, there is a fee to view games airing on BTN.com. Fans who have already subscribed to Buckeye Vision can use the same log in information for the Big Ten Digital Network as both are part of CBSSports.com College Network.)
FOLLOW THE BUCKEYES
To stay up to date on Buckeye softball, follow the team on its official Facebook page at www.facebook.com/OhioStateSoftball. Fans can also follow the squad on Twitter here: @OhioState_SB.
QUICK HITS
? The Buckeyes are currently tied for fifth in the Big Ten standings with Iowa with both teams at 5-4 in league play.
? Senior captain Alicia Herron is seventh in the nation in on-base percentage (.576), 11th in slugging percentage (.898) and 12th in RBI per game (1.20).
? In the Big Ten, Herron is first in home runs (11), slugging percentage (.898), on base percentage (.576), runs scored (35) total bases (88) and RBI (42) and tied for first in batting average (.429) and third in walks (27). Freshman Taylor Watkins is tied for sixth in the league with 44 hits.
? Herron has reached base safely in a career-high 32-consecutive games.
? Watkins and Herron are tied for first on the team with 11 multi-hit games.
? Herron leads the squad with 12 multi-RBI games. She has 43 multi-RBI performances in her career.
? Sophomore Evelyn Carrillo is currently on an eight-game hit streak, hitting .579 with two home runs, a double and nine RBI during that span.
? Senior pitcher Mikayla Endicott is sixth overall in the Big Ten with a 2.48 ERA and third in strikeouts (136) in 29 appearances.
? As a team, Ohio State is in the Top 5 in several conference batting statistics, including third in batting average (.302), hits (300), RBI (182), runs scored (203) and total bases (444). The Buckeyes are fourth in slugging percentage (.447), on-base percentage (.393) and home runs (31).
? In Big Ten games, sophomore Evelyn Carrillo is first in batting average (.600) and hits (18), second in on-base percentage (.647) and third in slugging percentage (.867).
? Ohio State claimed its 1,000th win in program history after claiming a 5-0 shutout vs. Georgetown in game one and a 12-3 victory in five innings vs. Longwood in game two March 2 at the 2012 Citrus Classic in Orlando, Fla. ? Ohio State returns 13 letterwinners and five starters from its 2011 squad.
? Nine newcomers join the Buckeye roster for this season, seven of them freshmen.
? The Buckeyes have made four NCAA appearances in the last six years, including their first run in program history to the NCAA Super Regional in 2009. Ohio State also made the tournament in 2006, 2007 and 2010.
LAST TIME IN NON-CONFERENCE ACTION
The Buckeyes improved to 4-0 at home in non-conference action after sweeping Buffalo in a doubleheader March 28 at Buckeye Field. Offensively, Ohio State was led by freshman Taylor Watkins, who was 4-for-7 with two runs scored and two RBI, while senior captain Alicia Herron collected a double and three RBI. Freshman Maddy McIntyre posted her first career home run on a three-run long ball in game two vs. the Bulls.
Senior Mikayla Endicott claimed the victory in game one, tossing six shutout innings, while allowing just three hits with six strikeouts. She posted her third save in game two, collecting two strikeouts.
LAST TIME IN BIG TEN PLAY
Ohio State dropped three games against Michigan last weekend at Buckeye Field. Offensively, the Scarlet and Gray were led by senior captain Alicia Herron, who hit .625 with a double, a home run and two RBI, while freshman Maddy McIntyre batted .333 with a double and an RBI. Sophomore Evelyn Carrillo notched a grand slam and five RBI.
SCOUTING THE FLYERS
Dayton is 14-19 overall heading to Columbus, dropping two games last time out at Wright State Monday. The Flyers are batting .266 as a team led by Natalie Mariano at .324 and Brandy Brown with a .323 batting average. In the circle, Kayla English is 4-6 with a 2.83 ERA, while Alysha Isaacson is 3-7 with a 4.44 ERA.
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series between the two schools, 11-2. Last time out, Dayton defeated Ohio State, 6-5, May 6, 2011, at Buckeye Field.
HERRON CHASING MULTIPLE RECORDS
In her final season as a Buckeye, Alicia Herron is chasing multiple OSU career batting records. Most recently, Herron passed former Buckeye Sam Marder (2006-10) for sixth on the career hit list with 217 hits after posting two singles vs. Michigan April 7.
? Second in home runs (46)
? Second in RBI (170)
? Third in runs scored (155)
? Tied for fourth in triples (11)
? Fourth in batting average (.375)
? Fifth in walks (88)
? Tied for seventh in doubles (38)
? Eighth in hits (217)
32 AND COUNTING
Senior captain Alicia Herron has reached safely a career-high 32-consecutive games this season. The OSU shortstop posted a career-high 15-game hit streak during the stretch between Feb. 19 and March 24. Herron is batting .433 with 39 hits, 25 walks and a .582 on-base percentage during the span.
SENIOR LEADERSHIP
The 2012 senior class has stepped up to the challenge of leading a team. Along with senior captain Alicia Herron, who is leading the squad and the Big Ten in several offensive categories, classmates Vanessa Spears, Mikayla Endicott and Katie Simonton are putting together solid performances on the field for the Scarlet and Gray.
In the circle, Mikayla Endicott is 14-9 overall with a 2.48 ERA in 29 appearances in 2012. The first-year Buckeye has collected 136 strikeouts, which is third-best in the conference.
Spears, a native of Brea, Calif., is batting .315 with a team-high seven doubles, two home runs and 16 RBI. The OSU starting left fielder, Spears went 3-for-4 with a grand slam and four RBI in game two at Michigan State March 31 in East Lansing, Mich.
Simonton, a native of Dublin, Ohio, has a .324 batting average and leads the team with nine stolen bases in 29 starts in right field. She has collected five multi-hit games this season.
WATKINS, LEBEAU AT THE PLATE
Freshman Taylor Watkins and junior Danielle LeBeau are having great starts in their first season with the Buckeyes, batting .361 and .326, respectively.
Watkins, a native of Bonney Lake, Wash., is first on the team in hits with 44 and third in runs scored with 26. The Buckeye lead-off hitter claimed a season-high 15-game hit streak, from March 3-April 4. She is tied for the team-lead with 11 multi-hit games.
LeBeau, a junior from Poway, Calif., third in slugging percentage (.432), fourth on the team in RBI (19) and on-base percentage (.396). LeBeau, who has 25 starts as the designated player, collected a nine-game hit streak from March 2-March 20. She has posted seven multi-hit games, including a two-double performance in game two vs. Buffalo March 28.
HEATING UP
Sophomore first baseman Evelyn Carrillo has found solid contact at the plate in the past two weeks for the Buckeyes as one of the team’s top power hitters. In the last 10 games, Carrillo is batting .552 with two doubles, four home runs, 20 RBI, a 1.034 slugging percentage and a .629 on-base percentage. Last time out, she collected her first career grand slam in game two vs. Michigan.
AND IT’S GONE
Sophomore Evelyn Carrillo posted her first grand slam last time out in game two vs. Michigan April 7 to up Ohio State’s grand total in 2012 to 31, which is third in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes have seen 11 players combine for 32 home runs this season with senior shortstop Alicia Herron recording a team-high 11 in 35 games. Sophomore Evelyn Carrillo, who has 11 career long balls, is second with five home runs, while junior Megan Coletta and freshman Caitlin Conrad each have three. Junior Danielle LeBeau and senior Vanessa Spears each have two home runs. The Ohio State pitching corps has allowed its opponents to hit just 12 home runs this season.
CARRILLO NAMED PLAYER OF THE WEEK, NICHOLS NABS CO-PITCHER OF THE WEEK HONOR
Sophomore Evelyn Carrillo was named Big Ten Player of the Week April 3, while sophomore Melanie Nichols was named Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week.
Carrillo, a native of Corona, Calif., hit .917 in Ohio State’s three-game sweep of the Spartans over the March 31-April 1 combining for an OPS of 2.167. The OSU first baseman was 11-for-12 during the three-game set, going a perfect 4-for-4 from the plate in games two and three of the series. Carrillo drove in eight runs, including a career-high six RBI in the opening game of the series and scored three more on the weekend. She wins her first career conference accolade.
Nichols, a native of San Jacinto, Calif., earned two wins and a save March 28-April 1 in three appearances, allowing no earned runs in 12 innings of work. She earned the win in a midweek game against Wright State, striking out three against just five hits. Nichols pitched a complete-game against the Spartans in game two of the set before coming on in relief for a three-inning save in the finale, combining for just six hits in eight innings of work against Michigan State. She wins her first career conference accolade.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes hit the road for a three-game series at Purdue April 14-15 in West Lafayette, Ind. The third game Sunday will be televised live at 2 p.m. on BTN.
