Postseason Begins By Hosting B1G Tournament – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 6, 2015
RELATED INFO
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- 2015 Season Stats
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Winners of seven of their last 10 games, the sixth-seeded Ohio State softball team begins postseason play on Thursday with a date against 11th-seeded Indiana in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament. Action gets underway at approximately 5:30 p.m., or 30 minute following the conclusion of the Penn State-Maryland contest.
FOLLOWING ALONG
The Big Ten Network will provide exclusive live coverage of the 2015 Big Ten Championships, beginning Thursday afternoon with No. 5 Illinois vs. No. 12 Purdue beginning at noon ET, followed by No. 8 Maryland vs. No. 9 Penn State at approximately 2:30 PM ET. Both games will be streamed live on BTN Plus. Television coverage on BTN also begins on Thursday with No. 6 Ohio State vs. No. 11 Indiana at 5:30 PM ET and No. 7 Rutgers vs. No. 10 Iowa at approximately 8 PM ET.
Lisa Byington and Carol Bruggeman will call the first two Friday quarterfinal matchups as No. 4 Northwestern will take on the winner of No. 5 Illinois/No. 12 Purdue at 12 PM ET and No. 1 Michigan will take on the winner of No. 8 Maryland/No. 9 Penn State at 2:30 PM ET. On Friday evening, Andy Masur and Jennie Ritter will call the second half of the quarterfinals as No. 3 Nebraska will take on the winner of No. 6 Ohio State/No. 11 Indiana at 5:30 PM ET and No. 2 Minnesota will take on the winner of No. 7 Rutgers/No. 10 Iowa at 8 PM ET.
On Saturday, Byington and Bruggeman will be on the call for all of the action, including both semifinal matchups, which air live at 3:30 PM ET and 6 PM ET. The championship game will air live at 8:30 PM ET on Saturday evening.
A link to live stats for all of Ohio State’s games will be available at OhioStateBuckeyes.com, and live stats for the other tournament games can be found on the Championship Central page. Twitter updates will also be available at @OhioState_SB.
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
- Following a Senior Weekend sweep of Indiana, Ohio State finished the regular season 29-21 overall, 12-11 in the Big Ten.
- The Buckeyes finished over .500 in conference for the second straight year.
- A powerful Buckeye offense is highlighted by 11 players batting .300 or better. The trio of Erika Leonard, Caitlin Conrad and Maddy McIntyre have been particularly impressive, combining to hit .386 with 40 home runs, 149 RBI, 124 runs and a .754 slugging percentage.
- Leonard had a Big Ten-record 37 RBI in conference play.
- Two of the most pleasant surprises this year have been infielder Alex Bayne (.381, 16 runs, three doubles, four home runs) and Kirstie Fehrenbach (.375, 20 runs, two doubles, two triples, five RBI). Bayne is a transfer from Marshall while Fehrenbach started her career at Miami University and has battled injuries throughout her career.
- The Teays Valley trio of Cammi Prantl (.329, 40 runs, 32 RBI, 15 doubles), Keelia Nester (.333, 22 runs scored, seven RBI) and Bailee Sturgeon (.345, 13 runs scored) have all contributed to the Buckeyes’ success this year.
- Sophomore Anna Kirk (.336, 38 runs, 39 RBI, 10 home runs, nine doubles) has improved her batting average by over 120 points this year and is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Week after slugging 2.143 last weekend vs. Indiana (three home runs, one double).
- Ohio State ranks 21st nationally in batting average, 20th in home runs per game (1.40) and 17th in runs per game (7.1).
- In the circle, senior Olivia O’Reilly went 2-0 with a 1.17 ERA in 12 innings last weekend, lowering her season ERA to 4.28 and improving her record to 14-9. She also had a complete game shutout in the opener on Friday.
- Shelby Hursh picked up a save in the final game of the series, bringing her total this season to four. The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten with 12 saves.
TWEETABLE NOTES
- Olivia O’Reilly picked up her 40th career win in last Sunday’s 6-3 victory over Indiana.
- The Buckeyes’ .339 team batting average is a school record and six points ahead of the previous mark set in 2002.
- Caitlin Conrad’s first-inning home run vs. Indiana on Sunday upped OSU’s season total to 69, a new school record.
- Conrad has also reached base in 39 consecutive games.
- A victory on Thursday would give head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly her seventh straight 30-win season.
- The last time Ohio State hosted the Big Ten Tournament was 2007. The Buckeyes won it that year.
SCOUTING INDIANA
The Hoosiers finished tied with Purdue for 11th in the conference standings after going 7-14 in Big Ten play. Indiana is led offensively by infielder Erin Lehman, who is hitting at a .369 clip with 10 doubles, 25 runs scored and 41 hits. The biggest power hitters in the Hoosiers lineup are Kelsey Dotson (.347, 14 home runs, 46 RBI) and Shannon Cawley (.314, 10 home runs, 43 RBI). In the circle, Lora Olson has pitched a team-high 210.0 innings with a 6.60 ERA and 90 strikeouts.
ALL-BIG TEN
Erika Leonard | 1B | First Team
Batted .420 in 23 Big Ten games with 37 RBI, 11 home runs and a .913 slugging percentage … Big Ten Player of the Year candidate … led the conference in home runs (11) and RBI (37) her 37 RBI in conference play is a Big Ten record … ranked 12th in the league in batting average, third in slugging percentage and 13th in hits … overall, hit .392 with 12 home runs, 49 RBI and a .712 slugging percentage … over the last 22 games of the season, batted .487 with 42 RBI, 12 home runs and a 1.000 slugging percentage.
Caitlin Conrad | OF | Second Team
Overall, a .391 hitter with a team-high 51 RBI (as the team’s leadoff hitter) … added 49 runs scored, second most on the squad … 14 home runs and a .746 slugging percentage … in conference games, hit a team-best .437 with 24 RBI and 24 runs scored … 21 multi-hit games and 15 multi-RBI contests … currently on a 39-game reached base streak … had a 15-game hitting streak earlier in the season … 14th in the Big Ten in batting, ninth in runs, third in total bases, sixth in slugging percentage and sixth in RBI.
Maddy McIntyre | SS | Second Team
Fifth on the team with a .374 average, over 100 points higher than the last time she played a full season in 2013 … currently tied for the team lead with 14 home runs (she had four career HRs coming in to the season) … leads the team in on-base percentage (.533 with a team-high 38 walks), runs scored (52), OPS (1.338) and second with 49 RBI … she and Conrad are primed to become the first teammates ever to reach the 50/50 mark (50+ runs, RBI) … Big Ten-only numbers are also impressive – .367 with 27 runs scored (sixth most in the Big Ten), 23 RBI, a .817 slugging percentage and .519 on-base percentage.
SINGLE SEASON RANKINGS
The Buckeyes are enjoying one of their most prolific years offensively, hitting .339 as a team with 70 home runs, 155 extra base hits, 354 runs scored and 51 stolen bases. Here is where those numbers rank all-time in single season school history:
Home Runs: 1st (previous record was 68, 2009)
Batting Average: 1st (previous record was .333, 2002)
Runs Scored: 2nd (368, 2002)
Extra Base Hits: 3rd (144, 2009)
Stolen Bases: 8th (117, 2002)
DID YOU KNOW
Ohio State’s 70 home runs this year (min. 4.433 yards) traveled further than the combined yardage of Buckeye quarterbacks JT Barrett and Cardale Jones (3,707 yards).
TWO-OUT RBI
Ohio State has 142 two-out RBIs this year, the most in single-season school history and three ahead of the previous record set by the 2002 Buckeyes (133). Leonard leads the way with 25 while Conrad is second with 24, McIntyre has 19 and Kirk 18.
2015:……………………………………. 142
2002:…………………………………… 133
2010:…………………………………… 119
2009:…………………………………… 118
2005:…………………………………… 112
2014:…………………………………… 102
2006:…………………………………… 100
A TALE OF TWO SEASONS
Erika Leonard enjoyed a second half of the 2015 season that saw her emerge as one of the hottest hitters in the Big Ten. The streak started on March 29 against Maryland, when she went 5-for-8 with three home runs and eight RBI in a doubleheader sweep.
- Before 3/29 (18 games): .245, 12 hits, .265 slugging percentage, seven RBI, 0 home runs
- After 3/29 (22 games): .487, 1.000 slugging percentage, 42 RBI, 12 home runs, 37 hits
UNIFORM WATCH
Ohio State’s 2015 record when it wears…
White jersey/red pants……………. 2-0
White jersey/white pants…………. 7-5
Gray jersey/gray pants…………….. 9-8
Red jersey/red pants:…………….. 11-9
IN THE CAREER RECORD BOOKS
- Taylor Watkins is third all-time in runs scored (164) and four shy of tying record holder Alicia Herron (168, 2009-2012). She’s also third in hits (231), seventh in RBI (124), ninth in batting average (.339), sixth in walks (84) and eighth in home runs (19).
- Caitlin Conrad is fifth in home runs (30), 15th in batting average (.319), sixth in runs (138) and seventh in RBI (121).
- Maddy McIntyre is sixth in walks (92) and eighth in home runs (18).
- Olivia O’Reilly is seventh in wins (40) and seventh strikeouts (277).
- Cammi Prantl is fourth in doubles (43) 12th in batting average (.335) and 12th in runs scored (114).
GETTING IT DONE IN THE CLASSROOM
At Ohio State’s annual Scholar-Athlete Dinner, 13 members of the softball team were honored for having a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher – Alex Bayne (communication), Caitlin Conrad (community leadership), Alex DiDomenico (human development and family science), Kirstie Fehrenbach (marketing), Becca Gavin (exploration), Shelby Hursh (English), Anna Kirk (sport industry), Erika Leonard (sociology), Maddie Marotti (sport industry), Maddy McIntyre (marketing), O’Reilly (biology), Jayla Saibene (physical education, sport, and physical activity) and Bailee Sturgeon (exploration).
Additionally, the Buckeyes took home two prestigious postgraduate awards. Melissa Rennie was the recipient of the Corwin A. Fergus Memorial Award and Leann Grimes-Davidge Award while O’Reilly earned the Pierce Phoenix Award and M/I Homes Foundation Award. Rennie finished her eligibility in 2014 and is set to graduate this weekend. O’Reilly will also graduate this weekend and plans to attend medical school next fall.
KIRK B1G PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Sophomore Anna Kirk has been named the Big Ten Softball Player of the Week, the conference announced Monday.
Kirk, a Groveport, Ohio native, led the conference with a 2.143 slugging percentage last weekend, while driving in six runs and belting three home runs in a series sweep of Indiana. Additionally, she compiled a .714 batting average (5-for-7) and .778 on-base percentage.
Kirk has started all 50 games this year and is batting .336 with 38 runs scored, 39 RBI, 10 home runs, nine doubles, a .608 slugging percentage and .943 fielding percentage. In 23 Big Ten games, she’s hitting at a .379 clip with 19 RBI, 17 runs scored and five home runs. The sophomore has improved her batting average by 120 points and more than doubled her run and RBI production.
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 50 games this year, the Buckeyes’ OPS is .967 and five players have an OPS of 1.000 or higher — Maddy McIntyre (1.338), and Caitlin Conrad (1.218), Erika Leonard (1.163), Anna Kirk (1.034) and Alex Bayne (1.164). McIntyre leads the team with a .533 on base percentage and .805 slugging percentage. Conrad is second in both categories (.472 on base, .746 slugging).
