Ohio State, Nebraska Meet for Key B1G Series – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 2, 2015
RELATED INFO
- Ohio State Game Notes | Nebraska Game Notes
- 2015 Schedule
- 2015 Statistics
- Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
COLUMBUS, Ohio— The Ohio State softball team inches closer to the midway point in the Big Ten schedule this weekend when it welcomes Nebraska to Buckeye Field for a critical three-game series. The opener will take place on Friday, April 3 at 6 p.m. followed by a 2 p.m. contest on Saturday and the finale on Sunday at 1 p.m. Admission to all three games is free.
FOLLOWING ALONG
All three games this weekend can be seen on BuckeyeVision (subscription required). Additionally, live stats will be available on OhioStateBuckeyes.com and Twitter updates at @OhioState_SB
WEEKEND PROMOTIONS
Friday will serve as “Professors at the Park” Day, in which each member of the Buckeyes squad will invite their favorite professor the game. On Saturday, the team will present a check to the The James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute with the funds it raised as part of the Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic last fall. A postgame meet and greet is also scheduled Saturday. On Sunday, kids can run the bases postgame.
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
- After splitting a doubleheader with Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Ohio State stands at 18-14 overall. The Buckeyes are also 2-4 in the Big Ten and swept a doubleheader from Maryland last weekend in College Park, Md.
- Maddy McIntyre and Erika Leonard have been swinging the hottest bats as of late. McIntyre leads the team in almost every offensive category, including average (.395), RBI (32), runs (30), slugging percentage (.789), on base percentage (.535) and home runs (eight). Over the last 15 games, she’s hitting at a .439 clip (18-for-41) with five home runs and 19 RBI.
- Leonard has improved her average by nearly 100 points over the last four games. She’s 10-for-15 (.667) with four home runs, 11 RBI, two doubles and a 1.600 slugging percentage. She hit two home runs in a 9-5 extra innings win over Maryland on March 29, including the game-tying blast with two outs in the seventh inning.
- Six other regular starters are batting over .300 — Caitlin Conrad (.383, 27 runs, 32 RBI, six home runs), Kirstie Fehrenbach (.378, one double, one triple, 16 runs), Cammi Prantl (.337, 21 runs, 18 RBI, four home runs, eight doubles), Taylor White (.330, 16 RBI, 17 runs, seven stolen bases), Keelia Nester (.317, 12 runs, six stolen bases) and Taylor Watkins (.300, 27 runs, 23 RBI).
- In the circle, Olivia O’Reilly leads the squad with 86.1 innings pitched and checks in with a 3.81 ERA. Sophomore Shelby Hursh is coming off her best outing of the year, a complete game six-hitter with a season-high eight strikeouts vs. Pittsburgh.
- Through 32 games, the Buckeyes’ have hit 33 home runs. They hit 37 all of last season (55 games). They also have 35 stolen bases, compared to 24 during the entire 2014 campaign.
- Eight players are hitting for a better average 32 games into the season this year as compared to 2014. Additionally, as a team, Ohio State’s batting average is up by 33 points.
- This weekend’s series will feature two of the top 50 scoring teams in the nation — Nebraska is 17th (7.41 runs/game) and Ohio State is 41st (6.27 runs/game).
TWEETABLE NOTES
- Ohio State has scored first in 17 of 32 games this year and is 13-4 in those contests
- When leading after four innings, the Buckeyes are usually able to close the deal (14-2)
- Assistant coach Amanda Buchholz will be facing her alma mater this weekend. She was a Husker from 2000-03
- The Buckeyes are averaging 11.1 runs and 12.3 hits/game over the last seven contests
SCOUTING NEBRASKA
The defending Big Ten regular season co-champions, Nebraska is 18-16 on the year after being swept on Tuesday in a doubleheader against North Dakota State. MJ Knighten leads the charge at the plate, as she’s hitting .443 (third best in the Big Ten) with 34 RBI, 32 runs, six doubles, four home runs and a .652 slugging percentage. The Huskers own the conference’s best team batting average at .349. In the circle, Cassie McClure, a transfer from Texas Tech, is 7-2 with a 4.74 ERA in 65 innings pitched. Emily Lockman leads the squad with 105 innings and has a 5.27 ERA.
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH NEBRASKA
Ohio State and Nebraska have met 12 previous times, with the Huskers taking eight meetings. After being swept by Nebraska in the regular season, Ohio State registered its biggest win in 2014 when it knocked off the second-seeded Huskers in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, 7-5. Cammi Prantl delivered the biggest hit of the game, a two-run double in the top of the eighth inning that proved to be the difference.
SWINGING A HOT BAT
How hot are Maddy McIntyre and Erika Leonard over the last seven games? The two are hitting a combined .575 (23-for-40) with seven home runs, 28 RBI, 18 runs, seven doubles and a 1.368 slugging percentage. McIntyre has a hit in each of the last seven games while Leonard has collected all 10 of her hits over the last four contests. In Wednesday’s doubleheader vs. Pittsburgh, the duo went 9-for-13 with 10 RBI, two home runs and four doubles.
DOWN WITH OPS
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 32 games this year, the Buckeyes’ OPS is .893 and two players have an OPS of 1.000 or higher — Maddy McIntyre (1.324), and Caitlin Conrad (1.088). McIntyre leads the team with a .535 on base percentage and .789 slugging percentage. Conrad is second in both categories (.427 on base, .661 slugging).
UNIFORM WATCH
Ohio State’s 2015 record when it wears…
White jersey/red pants: 1-0
White jersey/white pants: 5-5
Gray jersey/gray pants: 4-6
Red jersey/red pants: 8-4
NOTES FROM MARYLAND SERIES
- In a doubleheader sweep of Maryland last Sunday, Erika Leonard and Maddy McIntyre stood out amongst several offensive stars. The two combined to go 9-for-15 with 14 RBI, five home runs and eight runs scored. Leonard hit three home runs on the day, a three-run shot in the fifth inning of game one, a two-run, game-tying bomb in the seventh inning of game two and a three-run blast in the eighth inning, also in game two.
- Over five games last week, McIntyre hit .600 (9-for-15) with nine RBI, nine runs scored, and five extra base hits. She went 4-for-7 in Sunday’s doubleheader sweep of Maryland with two home runs and six RBI.
- As a team, Ohio State hit .378 in the Maryland series, as four starters hit .400 or better — Leonard, McIntyre, Watkins and Conrad.
BUCKEYES ON THE AIR
Fans will have several opportunities to catch the Buckeyes on both live television and via the Big Ten Network’s online streaming platform, BTN Plus. The following games will be streamed live on BTN Plus:
April 10: at Michigan State
April 11: at Michigan State
April 17: vs. Rutgers
April 21: vs. Ohio (DH)
April 24: at Northwestern
April 25: at Northwestern
April 26: at Northwestern
The Big Ten Network will air Ohio State’s doubleheader at Penn State live on April 7 as well as the Buckeyes’ contest at home against Rutgers on April 19. Any game that is not on BTN or BTN Plus will be available on BuckeyeVision.
RPI UPDATE
The second NCAA Softball RPI was released on Monday and Ohio State checks in at No. 47, fourth highest in the Big Ten.
4. Michigan
19. Minnesota
31. Northwestern
47. Ohio State
53. Nebraska
57. Purdue
70. Penn State
80. Maryland
90. Iowa
102. Rutgers
122. Michigan State
127. Wisconsin
129. Illinois
196. Indiana
CONRAD NAMED CAPTAIN
Caitlin Conrad, a senior outfielder, has been named a 2015 team captain, head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly announced this week.
Conrad, a senior from Richwood, Ohio, has played in 184 career games with 156 starts. This season, she has the team’s second-highest batting average (.383) to go along with 44 hits, eight doubles, six home runs and three triples. On defense, she has six assists from her position in right field. In a doubleheader sweep of Maryland last Sunday, Conrad went 4-for-9 with a grand slam in the first game as part of an 18-6 victory. In the second game, she made a diving catch in the fifth inning and then doubled off a runner at third base, saving the Buckeyes at least two runs.
In the career record books, Conrad currently ranks ninth in RBI (102), sixth in home runs (22) and tied for 11th in runs scored (114). Her .309 career average is also 16th best in school history.
30-30 CLUB
The first member of the 30-30 club for 2015 in redshirt junior Maddy McIntyre, who surpassed mark in Tuesday’s doubleheader vs. Pittsburgh. She now has 30 runs and 32 RBI. With three more runs scored, Caitlin Conrad is set to join the group. Last year, it took until the 40th game of the season for the first person to get to the 30-30 mark.
IN THE BIG TEN STATS
As a team, Ohio State ranks…
- Fifth in batting average (.324)
- Seventh in slugging percentage (.503)
- Sixth in on-base percentage (.390)
- Fifth in runs scored (210)
- Fifth in hits (286)
- Second in triples (seven)
- Sixth in home runs (33)
- Sixth in stolen bases (35)
- First in saves (seven)
Individually…
- Maddy McIntyre is sixth in slugging percentage (.789), sixth in on-base percentage (.535), 12th in runs scored (30), 13th in RBI (32) and tied for eighth in home runs (eight)
- Caitlin Conrad is fifth in total bases (76), fourth in hits (44) and first in triples (three)
- Shelby Hursh is seventh in opposing batting average (.237), 12th in strikeouts (68) and tied for sixth in saves (two)
- Alex DiDomenico is first in saves (three)
- Olivia O’Reilly is 13th in ERA (3.81), 12th in opponent batting average (.269) and 13th in innings pitched (86.1)
CLIMBING THE CAREER CHARTS
- Taylor Watkins currently ranks seventh in RBI (112), 12th in hits (212), ninth in batting average (.339), eighth in home runs (18), fifth in runs scored (149) and sixth in walks (79).
- Caitlin Conrad currently ranks sixth in home runs (22) and 11th in runs scored (116).
- Olivia O’Reilly currently ranks 10th in strikeouts (241) and ninth in wins (35).
LAST TIME VS. NEBRASKA
Cammi Prantl hit a two-run double in the eighth inning to lift the Ohio State softball team to a 7-5 victory over 18th-ranked and second-seeded Nebraska in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament on the campus of Northwestern University.
Ohio State led 5-4 headed into the game’s final inning, but a fielder’s choice that scored Tatum Edwards tied the game at 5-5 and forced extra innings. In the top of the eighth, Caitlin Conrad singled to center field with two out and Taylor Watkins followed with a walk. The next batter, Prantl, belted the first pitch that she saw to center, scoring Conrad and Watkins. In the bottom of the eighth, Alicia Armstrong led off with a single, but Olivia O’Reilly got back to back groundouts and a pop up to Melaina Saalfeld to end the game. Nebraska (40-15) was the Big Ten’s regular season co-champions.
