Wilson/DeMarini Classic Looms for Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Feb. 26, 2015
RELATED INFO
- Notes
- Season Stats
- 2015 Schedule
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team hits the road for the fourth time in four weeks as it continues its non-conference slate this weekend at the Wilson/DeMarini Classic on the campus of Auburn University. The Buckeyes are slated to face Connecticut (2:30 p.m. CST) and No. 17 Auburn (5:00 p.m. CST) on Friday, followed by a contest with Samford (7:15 CST) on Saturday and SIU-Edwardsville (11:30 a.m. CST) on Sunday.
FOLLOWING ALONG
Live stats will be available to all four of Ohio State’s games, in addition to updates on the team’s Twitter account – @OhioState_SB.
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
- At 9-3, Ohio State is off to its best 12-game start since the 2009 season.
- At the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic last weekend, the Buckeyes defeated UNLV and Fresno State before falling to No. 12 UCLA and Utah.
- Offensively, freshman Taylor White leads the team in batting with a .474 average, good for sixth best in the Big Ten. White, the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Week, also has a team-best .789 slugging percentage and .524 on-base percentage. Senior Keelia Nester checks in with a .440 average while five other starters are all batting over .300 – Anna Kirk (.394), Caitlin Conrad (.375), Taylor Watkins (.364), Cammi Prantl (.357), Erika Leonard (.308) and Maddy McIntyre (.308).
- In the circle, a total of 83.2 innings have been split almost evenly amongst Olivia O’Reilly, Alex DiDomenico, Lena Springer and Shelby Hursh. O’Reilly leads the group with a 3.12 ERA while DiDomenico has registered three saves. Hursh has a team-best 24 strikeouts.
- For the third straight week, Ohio State is receiving votes in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll.
- The Buckeyes have hit 13 home runs in 12 games, and had at least one in each of the first 10 games this season.
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Connecticut
2015 Record: 3-2
Last Weekend: Opened its 2015 campaign by winning three of five games at the 2015 Trojan Invitational. Defeated Kennesaw State, Evansville and Northern Illinois while losing two to Troy.
Top Hitter: Jacklyn Dubois, .429, one double, five runs scored
Top Pitcher: Kayla Doty, 15.2 IP, 2-0, 3.45 ERA, 8 K
Auburn
2015 Record: 17-1
Last Weekend: Went 4-1 at the USF Wilson/DeMarini Classic. Defeated South Florida (twice) and Marshall while splitting with Dartmouth.
Top Hitter: Tiffany Howard, .604, 27 runs scored, 10 RBI, five doubles, four triples
Top Pitcher: Lexi Davis, 37.2 IP, 8-0, 2.04 ERA, 38 Ks
Samford
2015 Record: 12-2
Last Weekend: Won four games at the Samford Tournament, defeating Valparaiso (twice), Alabama State and Houston Baptist.
Top Hitter: Megan Dowdy, .491, 11 RBI, four doubles, one triple, three stolen bases
Top Pitcher: Mollie Hanson, 37.0 IP, 6-1, 2.27 ERA, 21 Ks
SIU-Edwardsville
2015 Record: 7-2
Last Weekend: Did not play. Won three of four games the previous weekend at the Georgia Tournament, topping Troy (twice) and Elon while losing to Georgia.
Top Hitter: Haley Chambers, .464, three HR, eight RBI
Top Pitcher: Haley Chambers, 30.0 IP, 5-0, 0.93 ERA, 42 Ks
2014 vs. 2015
A statistical comparison of the Buckeyes’ first 12 games last year versus this year:
2014 Category 2015
6-6…………… Record………………. 9-3
49……………… Runs…………………. 87
4.1…………. Runs/Gm……………… 7.3
.255………. Batting Avg…………… .346
26…………… 2B/3B/HR……………… 33
3………………. Saves………………….. 6
B1G HONORS FOR WHITE
Following a weekend that saw her hit .583 with two multi-hit games, Taylor White was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Monday.
White recorded seven hits in 12 at-bats, including two multi-hit games. In a 10-8 come-from-behind win over UNLV, she went 3-for-3 with three RBI and four runs scored. She also delivered the go-ahead hit, a triple to right field that gave Ohio State a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. White also hit a solo home run in the fifth inning against the Rebels.
Against No. 12 UCLA, White reached base safely in all three of her plate appearance, collecting two singles while also being hit by a pitch. The freshman from Granada Hills, Calif., has hit safely in all 12 games this year, the fourth longest hitting streak in school history.
WATKINS LOOKING FOR HIT #200
Taylor Watkins, a senior from Tucson, Ariz., is just two hits shy of 200 for her career, and when he reaches that milestone she will rank 11th in school history. Overall, Watkins is:
- Seventh in career batting average (.348)
- Eighth in career RBI (101)
- Seventh in runs scored (137)
- 11th in career hits (198)
- Eighth in career home runs (17)
NOTES FROM UNLV/FRESNO STATE WINS
- Against the Bulldogs, senior pitcher Olivia O’Reilly recorded her 200th career strikeout. She is the 12th player in school history to reach the 200-strikeout mark.
- The Buckeyes’ comeback from a 7-0 second-inning deficit was their largest comeback since scoring 10 runs over the final three innings in a 11-7 win over Michigan State last season.
- In the win over UNLV, the Buckeyes’ 5-6-7 hitters combined to go 8-for-10 with six RBI and six runs scored.
IN THE BIG TEN STATS
Where Ohio State stands amongst its Big Ten counterparts thus far:
- Second in batting average (.346)
- Second in slugging percentage (.529)
- Third in on-base percentage (.419)
- Fourth in runs scored (87)
- Sixth in earned run average (3.60)
- First in saves (six)
Additionally, several individuals rank amongst the conference leaders, including:
- Taylor White – sixth in batting average, eighth in slugging percentage, 14th in one-base percentage, ninth in hits and 14th in total bases.
- Caitlin Conrad – 14th in slugging percentage, third in RBI and first in triples
- Taylor Watkins – Sixth in runs scored
- Cammi Prantl – Fourth in doubles
MAKE B1G PLANS
For the first time since 2007, the Big Ten Tournament is coming to Columbus. From May 7-9, the conference championship will take place at Buckeye Field, where Ohio State was 10-2 last year. Twelve of the conference’s 14 teams will qualify for the tournament, which kicks off with four games on Thursday, four quarterfinals games on Friday and the semifinals and championship game on Saturday.
ON BASE + SLUGGING
Last year, the 16 teams that advanced to Super Regionals had an average OPS (on base percentage + slugging percentage) of .943 and at least one player with an OPS of .980 or higher. Through 12 games this year, the Buckeyes’ OPS is .947 and five players have an OPS of 1.000 or higher – Caitlin Conrad (1.075), Anna Kirk (1.197), Maddy McIntyre (1.023) and Taylor White (1.313). McIntyre leads the team with a .561 on base percentage while White is slugging a team-best .789.
WINS OVER RANKED OPPONENTS
In the last three seasons, Ohio State has seven wins over ranked opponents (three in 2013, four in 2014). All four of the wins in 2014 came in the final month of the season, as the Buckeyes swept No. 25 Northwestern April 23-25 and then upset second-seeded and 15th-ranked Nebraska in the quarterfinals on the Big Ten Tournament.
REACHED BASE STREAKS
Both Taylor White and Maddy McIntyre have reached base safely in all 12 of Ohio State’s games, and Taylor Watkins had a 10-game streak that was snapped against UCLA.
UNIFORM WATCH
Ohio State’s 2015 record when it wears…
White jersey/red pants……………. 1-0
White jersey/white pants…………. 4-0
Gray jersey/gray pants…………….. 2-2
Red jersey/red pants………………. 2-1
MARY NUTTER CLASSIC REWIND
Ohio State 10, UNLV 8
Freshman Taylor White had a go-ahead triple in the bottom of the sixth inning as Ohio State rallied for a 7-0 second inning deficit to knock off the Runnin’ Rebels.
White, who went 3-for-3 on the game with three RBI and four runs scored, also added a solo home run in the fifth inning. Junior Jayla Saibene matched White by also going 3-for-3 with three RBI, including a key run-scoring single in the seventh inning to give the Buckeyes a two-run cushion.
Ohio State 3, Fresno State 2
Pinch hitter Erika Leonard delivered a key run-scoring single in the top of the sixth inning and Alex DiDomenico struck out the final two batters of the game with the bases loaded in the Buckeyes’ 3-2 win over Fresno State.
In the bottom of the seventh, DiDomenico, in relief of starting pitcher Olivia O’Reilly, walked the first batter and then gave up an infield single. The next two batters struck out, but a two-out walk loaded the bases. The final batter of the game, Paige Gumz, struck out swinging as DiDomenico picked up her second save of the day and third on the season.
UCLA 8, Ohio State 0
Despite multiple hit games from White and Keelia Nester, Ohio State dropped an 8-0 decision to No. 12 UCLA (12-3) on Saturday.
White had an infield single in the second inning and single through the left side in the fourth inning. Nester, who hit over .700 last weekend at the Maverick Invitational, singled twice (once in the third inning, once in the fifth).
Utah 10, Ohio State 7 (8 inn.)
Ohio State rallied for four runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to force extra innings, but eventually fell 10-7 to Utah in is finale of the 2015 Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif.
Trailing 7-3 entering the bottom of the seventh, the Buckeyes’ rally started with a single by Caitlin Conrad, who then advanced to second on a throwing error by the shortstop. Taylor Watkins then singled to third base and Conrad was eventually driven home by Prantl, who singled to first base. A Taylor White single loaded the bases and an Anna Kirk walk made the score 7-5. A wild pitch scored Prantl to make the score 7-6, and Jayla Saibene sent a sacrifice fly to the deepest part of left centerfield, forcing the outfielder who caught the ball to fall out of play over the fence. The sacrifice fly scored White, tying the game at 7-7. Unfortunately, the Buckeyes couldn’t plate the winning run, as Leonard fouled out to the catcher to end the inning.
CELEBRATING THE 1990 BUCKEYES
The Buckeyes will honor their 1990 Big Ten Championship team, the first in school history, during the Rutgers series April 17-19.
FOLLOW THE BUCKEYES ONLINE
Fans can follow Ohio State softball through its three social media platforms:
Instagram:@ohiostate_sb
Facebook:Facebook.com/OhioStateSoftball
Twitter:@OhioState_SB
