PREVIEW: Big Ten Play Opens This Weekend at Maryland
3/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 22, 2017
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – After 22 games and five non-conference tournaments, Ohio State readies to begin Big Ten play this weekend with a three-game series against Maryland in College Park, Md. The Buckeye and Terrapins meet for single games Friday through Sunday.
THE BASICS
Ohio State at Maryland | Friday, March 24 | 6 p.m.
Live Stats | Twitter Updates
Ohio State at Maryland | Saturday, March 25 | 1 p.m.
Watch Live (BTN) | Live Stats | Twitter Updates
Ohio State at Maryland | Sunday, March 26 | 1 p.m.
Live Stats | Twitter Updates
FOLLOWING ALONG
Saturday’s game will be broadcast live in BTN. It is one of four regular season contests scheduled for the network this spring – the Buckeyes’ games vs. Rutgers on March 31, vs. Michigan on April 7 and Michigan State on April 21 will also appear in BTN.
BUCKEYES IN A NUTSHELL
• Winner of eight of their last 10 games, Ohio State is 15-7 this year and coming off an 8-2 spring break trip in Florida.
• Ohio State is receiving votes in both the NFCA and the ESPN/USA Softball Top 25 polls.
• In the circle, the five-member pitching staff of Lena Springer, Shelby Hursh, Morgan Ray, Shelby McCombs and Kat Duvall have a combined ERA of 2.12, the fourth best in the conference. All five of them are under a 2.70 ERA, with Hursh leading the way at 1.92 (58.1 IP).
• Hursh and Springer have combined for five complete game shutouts already while Ray and McCombs combined on the other to give the staff a total of six just 22 games into the season.
• Four starters with at least 43 at-bats are hitting over .300 thus far, led by sophomore Lilli Piper, who is the team leader in batting average (.365), RBI (22) and total bases (49). She’s already hit five home runs to go along with two triples and three doubles.
• Lead-off hitter Anna Kirk is batting at a .333 clip but also has a .507 on-base percentage with a team-high 15 walks. Meanwhile, Bri Betschel checks in with a .326 average but has come up clutch in several late-game situations both offensively and defensively.
• Just as she did last year, senior Alex Bayne leads the team in home runs (eight) and slugging percentage (.671). Her grand slam at Stetson in the top of the seventh inning proved to be the winning hit against the Hatters.
SCOUTING THE TERRAPINS
2017 Record: 7-20-1
2016 Record: 12-40, 4-19 Big Ten
Top Hitter: Skylynne Ellazar – .341, 10 RBI, 12 runs scored, four doubles
Top Pitcher: Madison Martin – 5-5, 2.89 ERA, 87.1 IP, .249 BAA
Series History: Since joining the Big Ten for the 2015 season, the Buckeyes are 5-1 against Maryland. Last year in Columbus, Ohio State swept the Terps to open conference play. That weekend, Bayne went 5-for-9 with nine RBI and a 1.667 slugging percentage.
BUCKEYES VS. TERPS
A look at some cumulative statistical totals for active Buckeyes career vs. Maryland:
• Bayne: .500 (5-for-10), nine RBI, seven runs scored, three home runs (four games)
• Kirk: .250 (4-for-16), three RBI, six runs scored (six games)
• White: .375 (6-for-16), six RBI, five runs scored (six games)
• Hursh: 7.2 IP, six hits allowed, seven runs, seven earned runs, eight strikeouts (three games)
• Springer: 8.1 IP, three strikeouts (two games)
• Ray: 5.1 IP, six strikeouts, two earned runs (two games)
SPRING BREAK IN REVIEW
• Ohio State went 8-2 on its eight-day, 10-game trip to Florida, including seven wins in a row following an opening loss to No. 16 Georgia at the UCF Wilson/DeMarini Tournament. In that winning streak, the Buckeyes four consecutive shutouts for the first time since 2001.
• Springer made a team-high seven appearances over the 10 games with a 1.24 ERA and 17 strikeouts in 22.2 innings. She shut out her former team, UCF, on March 10 and then tossed another shutout four days later at Stetson. Over the trip, she went 4-1 with a save.
• Ray and Hursh combined on a one-hitter against Bethune-Cookman on March 15, striking out six while allowing just a third inning double.
• Four of the five runs that Betschel drove in over the course of the trip came with two outs. She also provided a clutch play in left field – against Missouri, she caught a fly ball and then throw out the potential game-winning run at the plate to preserve a 4-4 tie in the eighth inning. Ohio State would go on to win the game, 5-4.
• Four of Ohio State’s eight wins came by one run. Through 22 games, the Buckeyes are 6-2 in one-run games and 16-7 dating back to last season.
PIPER TALLIES SIX RBI VS. UCF
Sophomore Lilli Piper went 2-for-3 and drove in six runs – including a grand slam – on March 10 at UCF. The six RBI are tied for third most in single-game school history.
A transfer from Akron who played basketball for the Zips last season, Piper has hit safely in 12 games with a team-high 22 RBI. She ranks 11th in the conference in slugging percentage (.662), 10th in RBI and second in triples.
RPI UPDATE
The first RPI of the 2017 was released on Monday and Ohio State is No. 16, the second highest-ranked team in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are 4-2 vs. teams ranked between 26 and 50 and own eight wins against Top 100 teams.
ON THE AIRWAVES
In addition to the four regular season games that will be broadcast on BTN, fans will also have the opportunity to see the Scarlet and Gray several more times in BTN Plus (subscription required). Among the schedule broadcasts are:
• April 1 and April 2 vs. Rutgers
• April 8 and April 9 vs. Michigan
• April 12 at Penn State (DH)
• April 14-16 vs. Indiana
• April 22 and April 23 at Michigan State
• April 28-30 vs. Iowa
• May 3 vs. Kent State
Additionally, all 11 games of the 2017 Big Ten Tournament will appear live on BTN.
RECENT TRENDS
• Ohio State has scored first in six of the last seven games (it is 6-1 in those contests).
• McCombs has 20 at-bats over the last six games and has responded with six hits, including two for extra bases. She’s hit safely in four of the last six contests and has had two multi-hit games.
• Buckeyes pitchers have given up three hits or less in five of the last 10 games.
• Opponents have not hit a home run off an Ohio State pitcher in the last 406 at-bats (since Feb. 17 vs. Louisville).
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. Twenty two games into the 2017 campaign, Hursh and Springer are in that company, checking in with a 1.34 combined WHIP (Hursh: 1.36; Springer: 1.33). Ohio State’s staff has a 1.42 WHIP.
SPRINGER’S LAST FIVE
Over her last five stats, Springer is 3-2 with a 0.76 ERA over 27.2 innings and has given up just three earned runs.
• vs. St. John’s: 7.0 IP, three hits allowed, one earned run, eight strikeouts
• vs. California: 6.0 IP, four hits allowed, two earned runs, four strikeouts
• vs. Central Florida: 5.0 IP, six hits allowed, zero earned runs, four strikeouts
• vs. Stetson: 7.0 IP, three hits allowed, zero earned runs, six strikeouts
• vs. Auburn: 2.2 IP, four hits allowed, zero earned runs
HOME SWEET HOME
Following this weekend’s series at Maryland, Ohio State plays eight consecutive games at Buckeye Field. Over the last four seasons, Ohio State is 45-21 at home and won a minimum of 10 games every year.
