Road Trip to Madison Awaits This Weekend – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/30/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 30, 2016
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Winners of eight of their last nine games – including last weekend’s Big Ten opening sweep of Maryland – No. 24 Ohio State takes its winning ways and momentum with it to Madison, Wisc. this weekend for a three-game series with the Badgers.
| DATE | TIME | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE |
| Friday, April 1 | 4 p.m. CT (5 p.m. ET) | GameTracker | BTN Plus |
| Saturday, April 2 | 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) | GameTracker | BTN Plus |
| Sunday, April 3 | 1 p.m. CT (2 p.m. ET) | GameTracker | BTN Plus |
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
? Following its three-game sweep of Maryland, Ohio State is 18-7 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are ranked No. 24 in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll and are receiving votes in the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 poll for the third straight week.
? Four everyday starters are batting over .300, led by senior Cammi Prantl, who checks in with a .375 average to go along with 23 RBI, 12 extra base hits and 22 runs scored. Junior Alex Bayne is hitting .363 with a team-high 11 home runs and 27 RBI while Erika Leonard (.333, five home runs, 18 RBI) and Maddy McIntyre (.313, 10 extra base hits) solidify an offense that is averaging 6.2 runs/game.
? Bayne ranks second in the Big Ten in home runs, just four behind the leader, MJ Knighten of Nebraska (15).
? Ohio State ranks in the Top 20 nationally in five major statistical categories – home runs per game (22nd, 1.12), on-base percentage (29th, 407), scoring (28th, 6.20 runs/game), slugging percentage (26th, .510) and triples per game (26th, 0.51).
? A five-person pitching staff is led by junior Shelby Hursh, who has given up just 14 earned runs in 67.0 innings pitched to go along with 74 strikeouts. Freshman Morgan Ray is second with 37.2 innings pitched and a 2.97 ERA while Lena Springer has given up just nine earned run in 30.1 innings pitched and 11 appearances. The group is tops in the Big Ten with a 2.45 ERA.
? On defense, Ohio State ranks third in the conference with a .967 fielding percentage. Opponents have stolen just 15 bases against the Buckeyes through 25 games.
FOLLOWING ALONG
All three games of this weekend’s series can be seen live on BTN Plus (subscription required). Live stats are also available on the schedule page of OhioStateBuckeyes.com and Twitter updates at @OhioState_SB.
Overall, at least 18 of Ohio State’s 23 Big Ten games this year can be seen on either BTN or BTN Plus. Next week, the Penn State doubleheader will air live on BTN while the April 8 contest at Rutgers is slated to be streamed on BTN Plus.
ALL-TIME SERIES WITH WISCONSIN
The Buckeyes and Badgers haven’t met since the 2013 campaign when Wisconsin won all three games in Madison. The all-times series stands at 22-19 in favor of the Badgers.
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
Off to a 16-12 start, Wisconsin opened Big Ten play last weekend by winning two of three at Michigan State. The Badgers – No. 61 in this week’s RPI – have a midweek doubleheader with South Dakota before the Buckeyes come to town this weekend.
On offense, Wisconsin is led by the trio of Kelsey Jenkins (.410, 18 RBI, 26 runs scored, six stolen bases, .558 on-base percentage), Chloe Miller (.357, 32 RBI, four home runs, .424 on-base percentage) and Sara Novak (.339, 18 RBI, seven extra base hits). The pitching staff is split nearly evenly between Kristen Stevens (2.54 ERA, 69.0 IP) and Taylor-Paige Stewart (3.14 ERA, 87.0 IP).
WINS NO. 100 AND 300
Head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly has surpassed two significant milestones this season – on Feb. 26, she became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins for the Scarlet and Gray. Last Sunday, she notched her 300th career victory. Now in her 10th year as a head coach, Kovach Schoenly has a record of 300-228-1, including 188 wins in six years at Miami (Ohio) and 112 in three and a half seasons at Ohio State.
DOWN WITH OPS
After having a OPS of well over .988 last year, the Buckeyes check in at .917 this year with four starters over the 1.000 mark – Alex Bayne (1.284), Cammi Prantl (1.125), Maddy McIntyre (1.015) and Erika Leonard (1.012). Last year, the 16 teams that made the NCAA Super Regionals had an average OPS of .943.
THE WEEKEND THAT WAS – STARS OF MARYLAND SERIES
Alex Bayne | .556, three home runs, nine RBI, seven runs scored, 1.667 slugging percentage
Went 3-for-3 with a double and two three-run home runs in a 12-2 run-rule win on Friday … hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first on Saturday, giving her three home runs in three consecutive at-bats … collected at least one hit in all three games.
Erika Leonard | .500, two home runs, right RBI, 1.375 slugging percentage
Two-home run, six-RBI game against Maryland in the series finale on Sunday … her second homer of the game – in the fifth inning – ended the contest … also had a RBI double.
Taylor White | .375, three-run triple, two stolen bases
Hit a bases-clearing triple in the third inning on Sunday’s finale that highlighted an eight-run inning … also had a single in the game … two stolen bases on the weekend, including one of home plate on Sunday.
CAREER RECORDS WATCH
? Cammi Prantl, who has started all 188 games in her Buckeye career, ranks second all-time in doubles (50), just eight behind the leader, Krinon Clark (58, 1991-94). Her career batting average of .343 is ninth best all-time, 123 RBI in ninth best, 207 hits and tied for 12th best in program history and 141 runs ranks seventh best.
? Maddy McIntyre needs just two more walks to be in the top-five all-time in that category with 113. She also ranks in the Top 15 all-time in RBI (10th, 102), home runs (10th, 19) and runs scored (13th, 120).
? Last weekend, junior Shelby Hursh moved into the top 10 in program history with 255 career strikeouts. She needs just three more Ks to pass Lindsay Bodecker (2007-10) into ninth place.
? Erika Leonard needs just two more RBI in her three-year Ohio State career to move into 11th place all-time. In the last 73 games, she has driven in 78 runs.
IN THE RPI
The second RPI of the 2016 season was released on Monday and Ohio State checks in at No. 35, the fourth highest Big Ten squad. The Buckeyes have two wins against teams that are ranked higher than them – Arizona State (No. 25) and Fresno State (No. 22) – and are 4-4 against RPI Top 50 opponents.
THE LAST 10
Winners of eight of their last 10 and 13 of 17, Ohio State’s offense has produced 7.5 runs/game over the last 10 contests while surrendering just 3.12 earned runs a game. Other individual standouts include:
? Ashley Goodwin has eight hits in 17 at-bats (.471) with three extra base hits and a .971 fielding percentage and both third and first base.
? Five players with a minimum of 24 at-bats are hitting over .300 – Bayne (.394, five home runs, 15 RBI, 13 runs scored, .939 slugging percentage), Emily Clark (.375, four doubles), Prantl (.343, 12 RBI, three home runs, three doubles, three home runs), Leonard (.333, nine RBI, three home runs) and McIntyre (.321, four doubles, one home run, .472 on base percentage).
? In the circle, three different pitchers have started three games each – Hursh (24.2 IP, 1.42 ERA, 22 Ks, .198 opponent batting average), Ray (3.79 ERA, 20.1 IP, 12 Ks) and Springer (3.97 ERA, 12.1 IP, five Ks). Hursh is 4-1 in the 10-game stretch and also has a save.
? Of the five players that are batting below .300 over the last 10, four of them have on-base percentages of .345 or better.
UNFORM WATCH
Ohio State’s record when it wears…
White jersey/white pants: 7-3
Gray jersey/gray pants: 5-3
Red jersey/red pants: 6-1
EXTRA BASES
? Last weekend’s combined attendance of 2,410 is the second largest opening-weekend turnout in program history.
? In pinch hitting situations, Jess Machovina and Jayla Saibene are a combined eight-for-19 (.421).
? Buckeye batters are advancing runners at a better than .500 clip, led by Bayne and Prantl, who have both had 49 or more opportunities. Bayne is 27-for-49 (.551) while Prantl is 29-for-53 (.547).
? Last year, Ohio State set school records in numerous offensive categories, including home runs, runs scored and batting average. At this point in the season, they are ahead of their pace from 2015 in runs scored (134 in 2015, 155 in 2016), home runs (24 in 2015, 28 in 2016) and extra base hits (57 in 2015, 75 in 2016) and also have improved their on-base percentage by 39 points (.368 in 2015, .407 in 2016).
? At this time last year, Bayne had played in just 16 games and was hitting .167 with one home run. One year later, she has 11 home runs, 27 RBI and a .363 average.
? With 18 wins in their first 25 games, the Buckeyes are off to their third-best 25-game start in the last 10 years.
