Ohio State Will Spend Spring Break Out West – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 9, 2016
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – After having its only off weekend of the 2016 season, Ohio State returns to action with a busy Spring Break schedule out west. It kicks off with four games Friday-Sunday at the Louisville Slugger Invitational and then continues with five contests next week in San Diego, Calif. at the San Diego Classic.
THE BASICS
Friday, March 11
Ohio State vs. No. 8/9 James Madison
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Ohio State vs. Georgetown
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Saturday, March 12
Ohio State vs. No. RV/23 Nebraska
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Sunday, March 13
Ohio State at No. 18/21 Arizona State
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Wednesday, March 16
Ohio State at RV San Diego State
Thursday, March 17
Ohio State vs. RV/RV Long Beach State
Friday, March 18
Ohio State vs. San Jose State
Saturday, March 19
Ohio State vs. 22/24 Fresno State
Sunday, March 20
Ohio State vs. RV Cal Poly
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
• At 9-4 overall, the Buckeyes have won four of their last five contests and are receiving votes in the USA Today/USA Softball Top 25 poll for the fourth straight week.
• Leading the way offensively is last week’s Big Ten and NFCA National Player of the Week, senior Cammi Prantl, who is hitting .395 with 11 RBI, nine runs scored and a .632 slugging percentage.
• Another senior – Maddy McIntyre – checks in with a .324 average after hitting over .400 two weeks ago at the Spartan Classic. McIntyre leads the team with three triples and also has a .477 on-base percentage.
• Ohio State’s pitching staff is tops in the Big Ten and 17th nationally with a 1.75 ERA. Over 84 innings, the group has allowed just 21 earned runs while maintaining a nearly 2:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (82 strikeouts, 44 walks).
• Amongst the five pitchers that have seen action, Shelby Hursh leads the way with 35.1 innings, a 1.39 ERA and 43 strikeouts. The trio of Morgan Ray, Lena Springer and Shelby McCombs have all pitched between 14 and 16 innings with a combined ERA of 2.12. Kat Duvall made her season debut two weeks ago vs. Virginia Tech and was the winning pitcher of a 13-0 triumph that included three strikeouts and no hits allowed.
• In addition to strong pitching, Ohio State has also been stellar on defense this year, ranking second in the conference with a .972 fielding percentage. It has also turned seven double plays thus far.
THE NATION NOTICES
Following her big weekend at the Spartan Classic, Prantl was honored as both the Big Ten and NFCA National Player of the Week last Tuesday.
Prantl hit .786 in five games, collecting 11 hits in 14 at-bats with two home runs, three doubles and nine RBI. The senior from Ashville, Ohio slugged 1.429 while also getting on base at a .824 clip. In a 6-5 win over Virginia Tech, she was intentionally walked after hitting a home runs and double in her first two at-bats. Taylor White drove her in with a double as Prantl scored what proved to be the game-winning run.
A four-year starter, Prantl has started all 176 games of her career and is closing in on her 200th career hit (she currently has 192). Prantl’s career batting average of .342 is the ninth best in school history.
MCINTYRE’S HOMECOMING
Ohio State’s trip to San Diego next week will serve as a homecoming for fifth-year senior Maddy McIntyre, who is a graduate of Rancho Bernardo High School. She is one of seven California natives on the team, joining Cassidy Clough (San Diego), Brianna Betschel (Anaheim), Alex Vargas (Chula Vista), Katya Duvall (Seal Beach), Taylor White (Granada Hills) and Ashley Goodwin (Riverside).
WHIP IT GOOD
The 16 teams that advanced to last year’s NCAA Super Regionals all possessed a pitcher with a WHIP (walks+hits/innings pitched) no higher than 1.84 and as low as 0.72 amongst the top two of their staff. Thirteen games into the 2016 campaign, Hursh and Ray are in that company, checking in with a 1.35 combined WHIP (Hursh: 1.10, Ray: 1.60).
DOWN WITH OPS
After having a OPS of well over .900 last year, the Buckeyes check in at .842 this year with three regular starters over the 1.000 mark – Alex Bayne (1.234), Shelby McCombs (1.048), Maddy McIntyre (1.007) and Cammi Prantl (1.109). Last year, the 16 teams that made the NCAA Super Regionals had an average OPS of .943.
INHERITED RUNNERS
Ohio State pitchers have inherited 30 runners in relief appearances this year, and only six have scored, giving them a 80% success rate in keeping them stranded on the base paths. Hursh leads the squad with a 8:1 inherited/scored ratio while McCombs is at 7:1, Hursh is 5:1, Springer is 2:0, Ray is 12:4 and Duvall is 1:0.
WEEKEND STANDOUTS – AT SPARTAN CLASSIC
Cammi Prantl | .786, 1.429 slugging percentage, nine RBI, three doubles, two home runs
Big Ten and NFCA National Player of the Week … had a hit in all five games and multiple hits in four of five contests … .824 on-base percentage … set a career high with four hits in a 15-2 rout of Furman
Alex Bayne | .353, three home runs, six RBI, seven runs scored
In wins over Virginia Tech and Furman, went five-for-seven with three home runs and six RBI … added a hit vs. Morehead State
Maddy McIntyre | .417, two triples, one double
RBI triple vs. Morehead State … led off the second game of the weekend against Virginia Tech with a double to right center … three of her five hits on the weekend went for extra bases.
Shelby McCombs | 1-0, 1.75 ERA, one save, one home run, four RBI
Went 5.2 innings in a 15-2 win over Furman and scattered three hits while striking out seven and giving up two earned runs … at the plate, she singled and had a two-run home run in the opening game against Virginia Tech … pitched the final 2.1 innings in a 6-5 win over Virginia Tech and didn’t allow a hit.
FOR COMPARISONS SAKE
After 13 games in 2015 vs. the first 13 in 2016, several individuals are enjoying significant statistical improvements:
• Cammi Prantl is batting 54 points higher (.341 in 2015, .395 in 2016) and her on-base percentage is 94 points higher (.383 in 2015, .477 in 2016).
• Erika Leonard is batting 24 points higher (.276 in 2015, .300 in 2016) and her slugging percentage is 174 points higher (.276 in 2015, .450 in 2016).
• As a team, Ohio State has just two fewer home runs (13) than it did at this time in 2015 when it set a school record with 77.
• Opponents are batting 58 points lower than at this time last year (.258 in 2015, .200 this year) and the Buckeyes’ team ERA is nearly two run better (3.32 in 2015, 1.75 in 2016).
• The Buckeyes’ fielding percentage is 14 points higher than in 2015 (.972 vs. .958).
EXTRA BASES
• Cammi Prantl’s 47 doubles are good for second most in school history. She is 11 behind Krinon Clark for first place (58). When she collects her 200th career hit, she’ll be the 13th player in Ohio State history to reach that milestone.
• Maddy McIntyre is five RBI shy of reaching 100 for her career.
• 27 of the 86 runs that Ohio State has driven in this year have come with two outs.
• Buckeye pitchers have an ERA of less than 2.00 in innings four through seven, with a team-best 0.88 ERA in the seventh inning.
• Ohio State is in the midst of a stretch of seven out of 10 games against programs that made last year’s NCAA Tournament.
• Seven of the nine teams Ohio State faces over the next week are either ranked or receiving votes in either of the two major polls.
FOLLOW THE BUCKEYES
At least 18 of Ohio State’s Big Ten contests will be seen this year on either BTN or BTN Plus. On BTN, the Buckeyes’ Big Ten opener with Maryland will be aired, along with a doubleheader at home vs. Penn State (April 6) and a road contest at Michigan (April 17). The BTN Plus (subscription required) schedule is as follows:
March 26 vs. Maryland
March 27 vs. Maryland
April 1 at Wisconsin
April 2 at Wisconsin
April 3 at Wisconsin
April 8 at Rutgers
April 15 at Michigan
April 16 at Michigan
April 22 vs. Purdue
April 23 vs. Purdue
April 24 vs. Purdue
April 29 at Indiana
April 30 at Indiana
May 1 at Indiana
UNIFORM WATCH
Ohio State’s 2016 record when it wears…
White jersey/white pants: 3-1
Gray jersey/gray pants: 3-2
Red jersey/red pants: 3-1
UP NEXT
Following its week out west, the Buckeyes return to Columbus to open the home portion of its 2016 schedule with a three-game series against Maryland. Admission to Buckeye Field, as always, is free.
NOTING THE 2016 SCHEDULE
• Ohio State went 11-6 last year against the six Big Ten opponents on its schedule that it faces again in 2016.
• The Buckeyes have 16 games this year against RPI Top-70 opponents.
• Between Feb. 27 and March 19, seven of Ohio State’s 10 games are against teams that were in last year’s NCAA Tournament.
• The Buckeyes have never before played USC Upstate or James Madison.
• Over the last three years, Ohio State is 35-17 (.673) at home, the fourth most wins of any program in the Big Ten. In each of Kelly Kovach Schoenly’s first three seasons, her team has won at least 11 games at home.
