Three Buckeyes Named All-Big Ten – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/6/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 6, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Three members of the Ohio State softball team — juniors Erika Leonard and Maddy McIntyre and senior Caitlin Conrad — have been named All-Big Ten, the conference announced today. Leonard is a first team choice while McIntyre and Conrad made the second team.
It marks the second straight year Ohio State has had three All-Big Ten honorees. The Buckeyes’ three choices are tied for the fourth most of any school.
Leonard had a historically good year in conference play, driving in a Big Ten-record 37 runs over 23 games (average of 1.61 per game). She also hit .420 with 11 home runs and a .913 slugging percentage. Among all players, she finished first in RBI and home runs, 12th in batting average, third in slugging percentage and 13th in hits.
Her ascent to becoming one of the best hitters in the conference began in late March. In the final 22 games, she batted .487 with 42 RBI, 12 home runs, 37 hits and a 1.000 slugging percentage. It began with a 5-for-8 performance with three home runs and eight RBI in a doubleheader sweep of Maryland. She hit the game-tying home run in the seventh inning of the second game and added another in the eighth inning, leading to a 9-5 victory.
Not to be outdone, Conrad batted a blistering .437 in Big Ten play with a league-best .944 slugging percentage, 24 RBI, 24 runs scored, nine home runs and .549 on base percentage — all as the team’s leadoff hitter. In 50 games overall this year, she is second with a .391 average and has a team-high 51 RBI to go along with 49 runs, 14 home runs and a 1.218 OPS (on base + slugging). Amongst her Big Ten counterpart, Conrad ranks 14th in batting average, sixth in slugging, eighth in hits sixth in RBI and fifth in home runs.
Over the last two seasons, Conrad has been a mainstay both at the plate and in the outfield. She’s driven in 90 runs in 105 games, hit 23 home runs and is batting at a .356 clip. On defense, she has 10 assists this spring playing in both right and center field.
Returning from an injury that cost her the majority of the 2014 season, McIntyre has also been a steady force in a Buckeye offense that has already broken several single-season records. The San Diego, Calif. native is fifth on the team with a .374 average, over 100 points higher than the last time she played a full season in 2013. McIntyre is also currently tied for the team lead with 14 home runs (she had four career HRs coming in to the season).
In addition to developing her power game, McIntyre also 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). McIntyre’s 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.
Ohio State’s Sportsmanship Award Honoree is sophomore Alex Bayne. A Manvel, Texas native, Bayne has made the most of her opportunities this year — she has 42 at-bats in 36 games and is hitting .381 with four home runs, a .738 slugging percentage, four home runs, three doubles and 12 RBI.
Ohio State, which finished the regular season as winners of seven of its final 10 games, opens Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday at approximately 5:30 p.m. against Indiana. For the first time since 2007, Buckeye Field will play host to the tournament and tickets are available by clicking here.
