2016 Season Review – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/25/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
May 25, 2016
RELATED INFO: Season Review | 2016 Statistics | 2016 Schedule | 2016 Roster | Big Ten Softball | Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Record-breaking individual performances and a return trip to the NCAA Tournament highlighted the 44th season of Ohio State softball in 2016. In the process of winning 34 games, Ohio State also saw three long-standing records either tied or broken, all adding up to a memorable campaign that was punctuated at the Knoxville Regional in May.
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
• At 34-20-1 overall, Ohio State completed in fifth straight season of at least 30 wins. The Buckeyes were 13-9-1 in the Big Ten and finished in the upper half of the conference standings for the third straight season.
• At the plate, five everyday starters finished with a batting average of .300, led by first team All-Big Ten and All-Region selection Cammi Prantl, who had a career year in her final campaign with the Scarlet and Gray. Prantl hit .387 with 20 doubles, nine home runs, 44 RBI and 45 runs scored, all career highs. Along the way, she broke the school’s all-time hits and doubles record.
• Junior Alex Bayne emerged as on the nation’s best power hitters, connecting on 19 home runs, second most in the Big Ten. She now shares in the single-season home run record with Sam Marder, who also hit 19 in 2009. Bayne was second on the team with a .364 average and collected a team-high 49 RBI. For her efforts, she was a first team All-Big Ten and All-Region choice.
• Freshman Emily Clark had an immediate impact, starting 48 of 55 games and also garnering first team All-Region honors at second base. She hit .324 with 10 doubles, 27 RBI and 27 runs scored and proved to be a quick study at second plate, playing the position for the first time in her career and finishing with a .989 fielding percentage (120 putouts, 55 assists, two errors).
• Maddy McIntyre finished her decorated career with the Scarlet and Gray by hitting over .300 for the second straight year (.316). Her 20 extra bases hits (13 doubles, four home runs, three triples) were second most on the team.
• Sophomore Taylor White picked up second team All-Big Ten honors for the first time in her career while hitting .307 with a team-high 15 stolen bases. In 23 conference games, White hit .342, drove in 14 runs and scored 22 times.
• In the circle, junior Shelby Hursh logged the most innings (177.1) and struck out 199 batters, the fifth highest total in single-season history. Her 16-11 record and 2.88 ERA earned her second team All-Region accolades.
• Four other pitchers saw action in 2016, led by junior Lena Springer, who was second in innings (79.2) and first in ERA (2.72). Freshman Morgan Ray (63.0 IP, 46 Ks), sophomore Shelby McCombs (31.1 IP, 28 Ks) and Kat Duvall (13.0 IP, 4-0, 3.23 ERA) completed the five-person staff.
A RETURN TO POSTSEASON PLAY
Ohio State made a return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2010, getting sent to the Knoxville Regional with host Tennessee, Arizona and Marist. The Buckeyes fell to the eventual regional champs in the first game, 2-0, but quickly came back to win an elimination game against Marist, 6-1, before their season ended against Vols. The win over Marist was the program’s 13th NCAA Tournament win in school history.
A NOTE ABOUT THE SENIOR CLASS
The Buckeyes’ four-person senior class was a part of 128 victories, making in one of the 10 winningest classes in program history. Along the way, they achieved individual success both on and off the field:
• Jayla Saibene was a three-time OSU Scholar-Athlete, NFCA All-America Scholar Athlete and OSU’s 2016 Sportsmanship Award honoree. She played in 137 games, highlighted by a walk-off home run vs. Southern Illinois in the 2015 season opener.
• Cammi Prantl started all 218 games of her Ohio State career and will graduate as the program’s all-time leader in hits (247) and doubles (64). She never batted lower than .329 and was a three-time All-Big Ten honoree (first team, 2014 and 2016; second team, 2013).
• In three years, Erika Leonard collected 104 RBI, 22 home runs and 120 hits. Her 2015 season was one for the record books, as she hit .414 with 60 RBI and 15 home runs. The 37 RBI she collected in conference play is a Big Ten record.
• A fifth-year senior, Maddy McIntyre was a three-time team captain who over her last two years hit .344 with 24 doubles, 18 home runs, 82 RBI and .498 on-base percentage. She is a two-time All-Big Ten choice and this year also made the conference’s All-Defensive Team.
NOTING THE 2016 REGULAR SEASON
As part of its 52-game regular season, Ohio State:
• Was ranked for five straight weeks in the ESPN.com/USA Softball Top 25 poll.
• Played its first 22 games away from home, winning 15 of those contests (15-7).
• Picked up nine wins over teams ranked in the Top 75 of the RPI. Six of those victories were either on the road or at neutral sites.
• Played 12 games against teams that made the 2015 NCAA Tournament with wins in four of those contests, all either on the road or at neutral sites. Specifically, between Feb. 27 ad March 19 played seven of 10 games vs. NCAA teams from last year and went 4-3.
• Won thirteen games in a conference that has six teams ranked in the Top 50 of the RPI and sent six teams to the NCAA Tournament.
• Had six walk-off wins and was 16-12 in games decided by one or two runs.
PACKIN’ THEM IN
For the fourth straight season, Ohio State was 10 or more games at home. It also set a single-game attendance record (1,627 vs. Northwestern) and averaged over 598 fans/game, which is a season attendance record. Additionally, the 3,094 fans that packed Buckeye Field April 22-24 for the Purdue series was the highest attended series in school history.
MORE MILESTONES
Head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly became the fastest coach in program history to reach 100 wins with the Scarlet and Gray thanks a 13-0 victory over Virginia Tech on Feb. 26. She also surpassed the 300-career win mark a month later vs. Maryland. In 10 years as a head coach (six years at Miami, four at Ohio State), she has won 30 or more games eight straight seasons.
A MARKED IMPROVEMENT
Several players made significant statistical improvements from 2015 to 2016, perhaps none more impressively than Lena Springer. She shaved nearly four runs off her ERA in nearly the exact same number of innings while giving up 40 less hits and decreasing her opponents’ batting average by 88 points. As a staff, Ohio State’s team ERA improved by two full runs and batting average against was down by 48 points. It also had 74 more strikeouts.
On defense, the Buckeyes finished second in the Big Ten with a .974 fielding percentage, an 18-point improvement from 2015 (28 less errors).
IN THE RECORDS BOOK
Senior Cammi Prantl, who started all 218 games over the last four years, finished with her name littered throughout the career records book:
• Hits: First, 247
• Doubles: First, 64
• Batting average: Sixth, .350
• RBI: Fifth, 144
• Runs: Fourth, 164
• At-bats: Second, 705
• Home runs: Seventh, 23
Similarly, Maddy McIntyre ranks:
• Walks: Second, 128
• Runs scored: Sixth, 135
• Home runs: Eighth, 22
• Doubles: Eighth, 38
Shelby Hursh also made her impact this year amongst the best pitchers in school history, finishing with the fifth most strikeouts (199) in single-season history. Additionally, Emily Clark’s .324 average in the 12th highest ever amongst freshmen and 10 doubles in the 11st most.
WINS TO REMEMBER
Feb. 20 – Ohio State 4, Georgia Tech 3 (8 inn.): Shelby McCombs hit a walk-off home run in the bottom of the eighth inning after coming in to pitch in the top of the frame, giving her both the winning and making her the winning pitcher. It was the second of six walk-off wins during the season.
March 13 – Ohio State 11, No. 18/21 Arizona State 5: Ashley Goodwin’s go-ahead two-run home run in the sixth inning gave Ohio State a 4-3 lead that it would never relinquish. The Buckeyes also put up a six sport in the top of the seventh to provide itself plenty of breathing room. Three pitchers – Ray, McCombs and Springer – combined to keep ASU’s potent offense in check for the most part as the group limited the Sun Devils to just one run over the games first four innings.
March 19 – Ohio State 9, No. 24 Fresno State 6: Ohio State took an early lead, fell behind and then went back ahead again in a see-saw game that saw several ties and lead changes. Six different players recorded hits, including a pair of key at-bats in a three-run sixth inning to drive in the go-ahead runs.
April 6 – Ohio State 3, Penn State 0/Ohio State 12, Penn State 10: The Buckeyes took two game from the then-Big Ten leading Nittany Lions behind a no-hitter from Hursh in the first game and a scored six times in the final three innings for a 12-10 come-from-behind triumph in game two. Bayne and White each had four hits on offense while Prantl hit a key two-run home run for the decisive breathing room in the second game.
April 24 – Ohio State 5, Purdue 4: A standing-room only crowd of 1,627 was treated a four-run seventh inning rally that was finished off by Maddy McIntyre’s walk-off single. The inning started with back to back Boilermaker errors and was extended by hits from White and Bayne. All four runs came off Purdue ace Lilly Fecho, who entered the game with the second-best ERA in the Big Ten.
EXTRA BASES
• The Buckeyes were fast starters in 2016, outscoring their opponents 47-29 in the first inning and scoring first 31 times (OSU was 25-5-1 in those games).
• Ohio State was 16-0-1 in games in which Alex Bayne hit a home run. Bayne also ended the year by reaching base in 17 straight contests.
• The three first team All-Region honorees ties with 1994 and 2002 for the most in program history. The four All-Big Ten honorees is also the most since placing six on the All-Big Ten teams in 2010.
• Ohio State’s 63 home runs ranked fourth in the Big Ten and fourth in school history. Thirty-six percent of Ohio State’s total runs this season have scored on a home run (112 of 304). Ohio State is 25-8-1 this season whit hitting at least one home run.
• The Buckeyes are 26-3 when leading after six innings and the fourth-person pitching staff of Hursh, Springer, Ray, Duvall and McCombs had a combined .243 batting average against in the seventh inning.
