No. 23 Buckeyes Tangle with Dayton, No. 2 Michigan – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
April 12, 2016
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Riding a five-game winning streak and unbeaten in the last six, No. 23 Ohio State embarks on a busy week with a non-conference tilt against Dayton on Wednesday and three-game series at No. 2 Michigan this weekend.
THE BASICS
Wednesday, April 13
Dayton at Ohio State | 6 p.m.
Live Stats | Twitter Updates | Watch Live
Friday, April 15
Ohio State at Michigan | 6 p.m.
Live Stats | Twitter Updates | Watch Live
Saturday, April 16
Ohio State at Michigan | 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Twitter Updates | Watch Live
Sunday, April 17
Ohio State at Michigan | 2 p.m.
Live Stats | Twitter Updates | Watch Live
FOLLOWING ALONG
Wednesday’s non-conference tilt with Dayton can be seen live on BuckeyeVision. This weekend in Ann Arbor, the first two games of the series will be on BTN Plus with the series finale live on BTN with Lisa Byington and Jennie Ritter calling the action. Live stats and Twitter updates will be available for all four games as well.
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
• Following a doubleheader sweep of Penn State and three wins over Rutgers last week, Ohio State is 24-8-1 overall and 9-1-1 in the Big Ten, just percentage points behind first-place Minnesota.
• One of the most prolific offenses in the conference, Ohio State is batting .322 as a team – third best in the Big Ten – with 292 runs scored, 48 home runs and a .424 on-base percentage. Leading the way is junior Alex Bayne, who is tied for first in the Big Ten and NCAA with 17 home runs. She’s also batting .393 with 43 RBI, 41 runs scored and a .902 slugging percentage.
• Six other players with at least 50 at-bats are also hitting well over .300 – Cammi Prantl (.396, 31 RBI, 10 doubles), Jess Machovina (.396, 14 RBI, two home runs), Taylor White (.340, 21 RBI, 23 runs scored, nine stolen bases), Emily Clark (.338, seven doubles, four home runs, 16 RBI), Erika Leonard (.321, six home runs, 24 RBI) and Maddy McIntyre (.315, 15 RBI, .488 on-base percentage, 25 walks).
• In the circle, Shelby Hursh is tops in every statistical category, including innings pitched (90.1), strikeouts (105) and ERA (2.09). Last Wednesday, she tossed a no-hitter against Penn State, which came into the game with the second highest batting average in the conference.
• Junior Lena Springer is coming off her strongest outing of the year, a complete game three-hitter against Rutgers last Sunday. She has a 2.73 ERA in 43.2 innings this year.
• In Big Ten-only games, Ohio State’s team offensive numbers are even more impressive – .375 team batting average, 106 runs scored (9.6/game), .474 on-base percentage, 27 home runs, .697 slugging percentage.
• The Buckeyes have scored 10 or more runs in seven of the last 11 games. Last weekend, the Buckeyes outscored Rutgers 38-16 in three games.
• In five games last week, Ohio State hit .375 with two outs, had 19 two-out RBI and a .602 success rate in advancing runners.
SCOUTING DAYTON
At 17-14-1, Dayton is coming off a series win against A-10 foe George Mason. The Flyers dropped the first contest 4-1, but rebounded to blank the Patriots 1-0 in game one of a doubleheader on Sunday and the claim a 6-2 win in the second game.
Three players boast a batting average of .280 or better for the Flyers – Gabrielle Snyder (.412, eight doubles, five RBI) and Katelyn Gibson (.290, seven RBI) and Kailee Budicin (.286, seven RBI, three doubles). In the circle, Dayton posts a team ERA of 2.07 with Manda Cash leading the way (88.0 IP, 108 Ks, 1.51 ERA).
SCOUTING MICHIGAN
The second-ranked Wolverines are 29-4 overall and 7-2 in the Big Ten after winning two of three games last weekend in Lincoln. Senior Sierra Romero leads an offense that averages 8.6 runs/game by hitting .500 with 12 home runs, 55 RBI and 50 runs scored. Two other everyday starters – Sierra Lawrence and Tara Blanco – bat over .400. The pitching duties are split between Megan Betsa (13-3, 2.63 ERA, 146 Ks) and Sara Driesenga (14-0, 2.86 ERA, 72 Ks).
THE WEEK THAT WAS – VS. PENN STATE/RUTGERS
Alex Bayne | .579, five home runs, 11 RBI, 10 runs scored, 1.368 slugging percentage
Named the Big Ten Player of the Week after hitting a home run in each of the Buckeyes’ five games last week … is currently tied atop the Big Ten with 17 home runs (second nationally) … became the third player in school history to reach the 40/40 mark (40+ runs scored, 40+ RBI).
Cammi Prantl | .474, two home runs, two doubles, six RBI
Had what proved to be the game-winning home run – a two-run shot to left center – in the top of the seventh inning in the second game of last Wednesday’s doubleheader vs. Penn State … went 3-for-5 with four runs scored and two RBI in a 17-8 win over Rutgers last Friday.
Emily Clark | .429, seven RBI, two home runs, six runs scored
Had the first multi-home run game of her career in the second game of last weekend’s series with Rutgers when she went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBI … had multiple hits in all three games vs. the Scarlet Knights.
Taylor White | .467, one home run, five RBI, .526 on-base percentage
Hit a three-run home run as part of an eight-run fifth inning on Friday at Rutgers … drove in two runs with a single in the series finale, a 10-0 victory … had hits in four of five games and multiple hits in three contests.
Shelby Hursh | 14.0 IP, 17 Ks, 3.00 ERA, 2-0, one save
Pitched a no-hitter against Penn State in the opening game of Wednesday’s doubleheader with 10 strikeouts … was also the winning pitcher in the second game, coming in and tossing 3.1 innings of relief … picked up her second save of the season in the Buckeyes’ 11-9 win over Rutgers in the second game of the three-game series.
TWO OUTS? SO WHAT!
In last weekend’s series sweep of Rutgers, the Buckeyes were particularly effective with two outs. As a team, they hit .439 (18-for-41) with 18 RBI. Individually, Emily Clark led the charge, going four-for-six with four RBI, including a two-run home run. Anna Kirk, Erika Leonard and Jess Machovina were all two-for-five and combined to drive in seven runs.
On the season, Ohio State hitters are batting .318 with two outs (94-for-296) and have driven in 79 runs. Alex Bayne (.407, 11 RBI), Emily Clark (.480, 10 RBI) and Cammi Prantl (.395, 16 RBI) have been most effective in those situations.
MOVE ALONG
While the Buckeyes have used the big inning to anchor its explosive offense, they’ve also been proficient in moving runners up when they have the opportunity. Through 33 games, Ohio State batters are advancing a runner at least one base in 52.3 percent of its opportunities. The top individuals in those situations include Ashley Goodwin (.578, 26-for-45), Bayne (.543, 38-for-70) and Maddy McIntyre (.511, 23-for-45).
CLUTCH HITTING
For the season, Ohio State is hitting .325 with runners in scoring position while only allowing its opponents to hit .237 in that same situation. Prantl and Bayne have been extra clutch, both hitting over .400 with runners in scoring position, going a combined 30-for-72 (.416).
In addition, Ohio State has a team batting average of .430 in the seventh inning with 39 runs scored and six home runs. Every player who had 10 or more at-bats in the seventh inning is hitting .400 or better.
DOWN WITH OPS
After having a OPS of .988 last year, the Buckeyes check in at .982 this year with four starters over the 1.000 mark – Alex Bayne (1.375), Cammi Prantl (1.170), Maddy McIntyre (1.027) and Emily Clark (1.039). Last year, the 16 teams that made the NCAA Super Regionals had an average OPS of .943.
IT’S ALL SITUATIONAL
With a runner on third and less than two outs, Buckeye batters are cashing in 52 percent of the time (39-for-75) and leadoff batters get on base at a .455 clip (84-for-187). With the bases loaded, Ohio State is 20-for-50 and McIntyre has been the most dangerous, going three-for-three, including a grand slam at Wisconsin.
Ohio State’s record when it wears…
White jersey/white pants: 7-3
White jersey/red pants: 3-0-1
Gray jersey/gray pants: 7-2
Red jersey/red pants: 7-2
BEST BIG TEN STARTS
With a 9-1-1 conference record, Ohio State is off to its best Big Ten start since 2010 when it was 10-1. That year, Ohio State won 39 games, finished 16-2 in the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
CAREER RECORDS WATCH
• Cammi Prantl, who has started all 196 games in her Buckeye career, ranks second all-time in doubles and her career batting average of .348 is seventh best all-time, 131 RBI in sixth best, 221 hits and tied for sixth best in program history, 149 runs ranks fifth best and 21 home runs are eighth most.
• Maddy McIntyre has the second most walks in Ohio State history (120). She also ranks in the Top 15 all-time in RBI (ninth, 108), home runs (10th, 20) and runs scored (ninth, 129).
• Junior Shelby Hursh moved into the top 10 in program history with 286 career strikeouts. She needs just 18 more Ks to pass Melanie Nichols (2010-14) into sixth place.
• Erika Leonard is 10th all-time in RBI with 104. In the last 81 games, she has driven in 84 runs.
EXTRA BASES
• In last weekend’s three-game sweep of Rutgers, Ohio State hit 11 home runs, including a school-record tying five in the opening game on Friday. After setting the school record with 77 homers last spring, the Buckeyes are on pace to surpass that in 2016.
• In addition to earning Big Ten Player of the Week honors, Alex Bayne is also this week’s College Sports Madness.com National Player of the Week.
• Freshman Katya Duvall has been the winning pitcher in three of the four games that she’s appeared in. Last Friday at Rutgers, Duvall went four innings and allowed just one hit.
• The fast-starting Ohio State offense has scored first in 21 games and the Buckeyes are 17-3-1 in those contests.
• Compared to the first 33 games last year, four starters have improved their batting average by 20 or more points – Prantl (.343 in 2015, .396 in 2016), White (.319 in 2015, .340 in 2016), Goodwin (.226 in 2015, .299 in 2016) and Bayne (.188 in 2015, .393 in 2016). Additionally, sophomore Becca Gavin had just one walk in five at-bats this year and in 2016 is batting .286 with two home runs, eight RBI and 13 runs scored.
• Over the last three seasons, Ohio State owns a 27-12 record at home.
