Softball Crosses the Border Into Kentucky – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/3/1999 12:00:00 AM | Softball
March 3, 1999
Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State Buckeyes (4-6 overall, 0-0 in the Big Ten) will travel to Lexington, Ky., for the 1999 Kentucky Invitational. Other teams in the field will be the host school Kentucky, Akron and Canisius. The trip is the first ever to the Bluegrass State for the Buckeyes.
%^$THE KENTUCKY INVITATIONAL
%^$The 1999 Kentucky Invitational will be played at the UK Softball Complex located off Alumni Drive. The press box phone number is (606) 257-9403. For any questions or requests regarding the tournament, please contact Price Atkinson of the Kentucky Sports Information Office at (606) 257-3838.
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%^$TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE%^$ Saturday, March 6%^$ Noon Ohio State vs. Kentucky%^$ 2 p.m. Akron vs. Ohio State%^$ 4 p.m. Kentucky vs. Canisius%^$ 6 p.m. Akron vs. Canisius%^$ Sunday, March 7%^$ 11 a.m. Canisius vs. Ohio State %^$ 1 p.m. Kentucky vs. Akron%^$ 3 p.m. No. 3-seed vs. No. 4-seed%^$ 5 p.m. Championship Game%^$ %^$* The team listed first is the home team. Dugouts will be first come first serve with the exception of Kentucky, who will always occupy the third base dugout.
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%^$ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS
%^$For any questions or requests regarding the Ohio State softball team, Assistant Sports Information Director Pat Chun will represent the OSU Athletic Communications Office on the road.
%^$TRAVEL ITINERARY
%^$The Buckeyes will depart from the Woody Hayes Athletic Center at 2 p.m. on Friday. They will travel by charter bus to Lexington and will stay at the Hyatt located on 401 West High St. The phone number is (606) 253-1234 and the fax number is (606) 233-7974.
%^$A BLAZING START
%^$All-Big Ten candidate Renae Weigel is off to an awesome start. She currently leads the team with a .417 batting, six runs batted in, 10 hits, one triple, a .583 slugging percentage and a .440 on base percentage.
%^$SAM I AM SENSATIONAL
%^$Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate Samantha Kimura is making the adjustment to Division I softball look easy. She enters this weekend with a seven-game hitting streak and belted the first home run of her short career against St. Louis (3/27).
%^$THROWING SOME GAS
%^$Pitcher Meaghan Robinson is off to a solid start for the Buckeyes. The workhorse has a minuscule 0.95 earned run average in 36.2 innings of work. Her 32 strikeouts this season is just one shy of her entire total from last season and 12 shy of her career high of 44 set in her sophomore year.
%^$STOP! THIEF!
%^$Centerfielder Cheryl Palaroan’s four stolen bases on the year give her 40 for her career, just four shy of tying Candace Kollen’s (1995-98) career record of 44.
%^$IT’S NOT STEALING UNTIL YOU GET CAUGHT
%^$As a team, the Buckeyes are a perfect 14-for-14 in stolen bases. Leading the way are Cheryl Palaroan with four, Natalie Kratzer with three and Anna Smith with a pair.
%^$KALAFATIS AND STAFF FACE OLD FRIENDS
%^$Prior to her appointment to Ohio State in the summer of 1996, head coach Linda Kalafatis spent three seasons as the head coach at the University of Akron. Saturday’s game against the Zips will be the first meeting between the two since she left the school. OSU assistant coaches Belinda Cernava and Drema Neal, respectively, spent three and two years with Kalafatis at Akron. The three have coached three players on the Zips roster; Amanda Brubaker, Jana Jenkins and Kelli Metzger.
%^$SCHEDULE CHANGES
%^$The Ohio State at Long Beach State contest, originally scheduled for March 20, has the moved to Sunday, March 21 at noon. The game-time for the Monday, March 22 game vs. Washington is set for noon and the Tuesday, March 23 contest at Cal-State Fullerton will be a 5 p.m. start.
%^$GEORGIA STATE SOFTBALL CLASSIC CHAMPS
%^$Last weekend, the Buckeyes took home their first tournament championship of the season at the Georgia State Softball Classic in Atlanta, Ga. OSU finished with a 3-1 record with wins over Indiana State, St. Louis and Georgia State. The 16-1 win over St. Louis was the largest margin of victory in school history. The only blemish of the weekend came a 7-4 loss to Tennessee Tech. Renae Weigel led the team with six runs batted in and chipped in with a .500 batting average. Jaime Chenevey led the Buckeyes with a .636 BA. Inside the circle, Meaghan Robinson was 2-0 with a 0.48 earned run average.
%^$PARADISE CLASSIC RECAP
%^$In their first action of the 1999 season, the Buckeyes finished the Paradise Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii with a 1-5 record. The Buckeyes notched their first win of the season against Baylor (2/13) with a 4-2 win.
%^$SOME NEW FACES
%^$This year’s roster features seven new faces. The highly touted freshman class includes Anna Smith, Samantha Kimura, Stacy Roth, Julie Darney and Sarah West. Chrissy Fowler and Natalie Woods transferred from Wright State and South Mountain Community College, respectively.
%^$CAPTAINS ARE NAMED
%^$Jaime Chenevey, Natalie Kratzer, Cheryl Palaroan and Renae Weigel have been named captains for the 1999 Ohio State softball team. “I expect our captains to represent and reflect the ideals we want out of our student-athletes,” Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis said. “Natalie, Renae, Jaime and Cheryl all possess excellent work ethics, they are academically focused and are solid people. They characterize what our program stands for in every sense of the word.”
%^$PAIR OF BUCKEYES DRAFTED
%^$In December, Jaime Chenevey and Cheryl Palaroan, respectively, became the second and third Buckeyes ever to be drafted by the Women’s Professional Softball League. The Akron Racers selected Chenevey in the third round and Palaroan in the eighth round in the WPSL Senior Draft.
%^$THE 1999 SCHEDULE
%^$Ohio State will travel 20,372 miles, visit nine states and five different time zones this season. The travel log features four tournaments and a four-game swing through Southern California. At home, Buckeye Field will play host to Michigan, Iowa, Bowling Green, Purdue, Butler, Dayton, Northwestern and Youngstown State.
%^$HEAD COACH LINDA KALAFATIS
%^$Ohio State head coach Linda Kalafatis is entering her third season at the helm. Last season’s 33-23 overall and 10-14 conference records speak for themselves.
%^$The overall record marked the first winning season since 1995. The 33 wins marked only the fifth time in the school’s 27 year history that it had won at least 30 games. The .589 winning percentage was OSU’s third highest in the ’90s and highest since 1994. For the second consecutive year, Kalafatis improved the Buckeye winning percentage by over 100 points.
%^$The Big Ten was also served notice with 12 of the 24 games decided by a one or two run margin. And with four days left in the season, the Buckeyes found themselves still alive for a tournament berth. Not bad for a team that won only four Big Ten games in 1997 and six in 1996. The 10-14 conference record was good enough for a sixth place finish.
%^$A major part of winning are the awards and the Buckeyes earned their share.
%^$After the season, the Buckeyes took home a second team all-Big Ten and two second team regional All-America selections.
%^$During the season, Ohio State was one of six Big Ten schools to have a player named conference player of the week. In addition, four members of the OSU squad were named to the South Florida/Louisville Slugger all-tournament team and one Buckeye was named to the Air Touch Cellular Capital Classic all-tournament team.
%^$Prior to the 1998 season, the Buckeyes had their first ever draft selection in the Women’s Professional Softball League with the fifth overall pick in the first round. Prior to this season, two more Buckeyes were selected in the draft.
%^$And as always, Buckeye Softball took control in the classroom. Nine members of the 1998 squad were named OSU Scholar-Athletes and one member of the team was named to the GTE Academic All-America District team.
%^$Kalafatis has proven over and over that reclamation projects are not a problem. Prior to Ohio State, she took over two troubled programs and built them into winners. At the University of Akron, she compiled a mark of 98-63-1. Prior to Akron, Kalafatis headed the coaching staff at California University of Pennsylvania, her alma mater. In five seasons, she posted a 175-53-1 record, winning the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference every year. She graduated from California in 1988 with a bachelors degree in business administration and marketing and in 1991, she earned her masters degree in geography and regional planning.
%^$In her career, Kalafatis has coached three All-Americans, 28 all-region and 36 all-conference players.
%^$A native of Bethel Park, Pa., Kalafatis is an active member of the National Fastpitch Coaches Association and has served as a member of the Eastern Regional Softball Committee.
%^$1998 SEASON REVIEW
%^$The Buckeyes finished the 1998 season with a 33-23 overall and 10-14 Big Ten record. The overall record marked the first winning season since 1995. The 33 wins marked only the fifth time in school history that OSU has won at least 30 games. The .589 winning percentage was the school’s third highest in the 90s and the highest since 1994s .667. Within the conference, OSU finished in sixth place.
%^$GETTING RESULTS
%^$Results for the Buckeyes will be posted through www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com approximately two hours after the last game of each day. Results are also available through the Fax-on-demand service (The Big Ten passcode – 282; Release – 2665, Last Game Result – 2667).
%^$ON DECK
%^$The Buckeyes will be idle next weekend but will hit the road in two weeks when they travel to Southern California. OSU will play a total of four games in three days. On Sunday, March 20, OSU will play a doubleheader against Long Beach State at noon. On Monday, March 21, the Buckeyes will play Washington at noon and on the following day, play Cal-State Fullerton at 5 p.m. The final two games will be played at the Titan Sofball Complex on the campus of Cal-State Fullerton.
%^$BUCKEYE PROFILE UPDATES
%^$00 o Julie Darney o 3B/P o Fr.
%^$Made her college debut against Hawaii (2/12) as a pinch-hitter. Threw a shutout inning against Cal-State Fullerton (2/14).
%^$1 o Kristi Martin o P o So.
%^$Is still recovering from offseason surgery on her right arm.
%^$3 o Cheryl Palaroan o CF o Sr.
%^$Co-captain of this year’s team. Went 2-for-4 against Loyola Marymount. Had a career high three hits and four runs scored against St. Louis (2/27). Leads the team with four stolen bases. Has started every game in centerfield and as the leadoff hitter.
%^$4 o Natalie Kratzer o 3B o Sr.
%^$Co-captain of this year’s team. Singled in first at bat of the season against Cal-State Fullerton (2/11). Has started every game at third base. Second on the team with three stolen bases in three attempts.
%^$6 o Meaghan Robinson o P o Sr.
%^$Opening day starter against Cal-State Fullerton. Second consecutive season she got the call on opening day. Recorded a career high seven strikeouts against Indiana State (2-27). Leads the team with a minuscule 0.95 earned run average.%^$ %^$7 o Kelli Tom o P o Sr.
%^$Will miss the remainder of the season due to an ailing left knee.
%^$8 o Chrissy Fowler o UT o So.
%^$Is out for the season with torn ligaments in her left knee.
%^$9 o Katie Wessendorf o DP o So.
%^$Started season opener against Cal-State Fullerton (2/11). Batted .556 at the Georgia State Softball Classic. Went 2-for-3 with an RBI against Indiana State (2/27).
%^$10 o Natalie Woods o 2B/SS o Jr.
%^$Made her OSU debut with a starting assignment at second base against Hawaii (2/12). Recorded her first career hit and RBI against Loyola Marymount’s Jenny Hart (2/13).
%^$11 o Jaime Chenevey o C o Sr.
%^$Co-captain of this year’s team. Batted .636 at Georgia State Softball Classic with a team high seven hits. Went 3-for-4 against Georgia State (2/27).
%^$17 o Carrie Vanderpool o 2B o Sr.
%^$Started season opener against Cal-State Fullerton (2/11). Recorded the first hit of her season against Baylor (2/13). Went 2-for-3 with an RBI against Tennessee Tech (2/28).
%^$18 o Renae Weigel o SS o Jr.
%^$Co-captain of this year’s team. Off to another awesome start. Led the team with a .333 batting average at the Paradise Classic. Batted .500 at the Georgia State Softball Classic. Blasted her first career triple, went 3-for-4 with 3 RBI and scored 3 runs against St. Louis (2/28).
%^$20 o Anna Smith o LF o Fr.
%^$First career start came in season opener against Cal-State Fullerton. First career hit and RBI came in the third inning of the Oregon State (2/12) game off Tarrah Beyster. Has played in every game.
%^$21 o Stacy Roth o RF o Fr.
%^$Recorded the first hit of her first career in her very first plate appearance against Cal-State Fullerton’s Jana Oetgen (2/12). Also notched her first career RBI that game. Had a career high three walks against CSUF (2/14).
%^$23 o Toni Hileman o P/1B o Jr.
%^$Winning pitcher in OSUs first win of the season over Baylor (2/13). Went 2-for-3 at the plate against Oregon State (2/12). Winning pitcher in OSU’s 16-1 drubbing of St. Louis (2/27).
%^$24 o Samantha Kimura o 1B/C o Fr.
%^$Started season opener against Cal-State Fullerton (2/11). Recorded the first hit of her career against Baylor’s Carrie Arn (2/13). Finished that game 2-for-3 with a double. Belted the first homerun of her career against St. Louis. Currently in the middle of the team high seven-game hitting streak. Has started every game.
%^$26 o Sarah West o 1B o Fr.
%^$Made career debut as a pinch-hitter against No. 17 Hawaii (2/12). Made first career start against Cal-State Fullerton (2/14). Notched her first career hit and RBI against St. Louis’ Jennifer Riva.
%^$28 o Holly English o OF o So.
%^$Missed the first tournament of the season due to injury. Returned to the lineup at the Georgia State Classic. First hit of the year was a double against Georgia State (2/27). Scored three runs against St. Louis (2/27). Second on the team with a .400 on base percentage.
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%^$Location: Columbus, Ohio%^$Enrollment: 48,278%^$President: William E. Kirwan%^$Athletic Director: Andy Geiger%^$Associate Director: Archie Griffin%^$Nickname: Buckeyes%^$Colors: Scarlet & Gray%^$Mascot: Brutus Buckeye%^$Home Facility: Buckeye Field at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center%^$Capacity: 800%^$Dimensions: 190-220-190%^$Conference: Big Ten Conference%^$1999 Record: 1-5 overall, 0-0 in Big Ten%^$Head Coach: Linda Kalafatis, California (Pa.), ’88 %^$OSU Record: 57-60 (.478), Third Year%^$Career Record: 330-175-2 (.652), 10th Year%^$Assistants: Belinda Cernava, Drema Neal, Shauna Bowman Miller%^$Trainer: Daniel Hamilton%^$Athletic Communications: Pat Chun%^$Phone: (614) 292-6861%^$Fax: (614) 292-8547%^$Home: (614) 326-0193%^$E-mail: chun.18@osu.edu%^$Website: www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com%^$Address: Room 124, St. John Arena%^$ 410 Woody Hayes Drive%^$ Columbus, Ohio 43210-1166%^$
%^$THIS WEEK
%^$March 6-7: Ohio State will travel to Lexington, Ky., for the Kentucky Invitational. The Buckeyes are scheduled to compete against Akron, Canisius and Kentucky.
%^$NEXT WEEK
%^$March 13-14: Ohio State will host youth softball clinics throughout the weekend. For more information, call the Buckeye Softball Office at (614) 292-0856.
%^$MEDIA GUIDES ON SALE
%^$o Copies of the 1999 Ohio State Softball Media Guide are on sale at The Winning Schott, the gift shop inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Store hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m. For more information, please call (614) 292-2073 or 1-800-678-6022.
