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Ohio State Travels to Kent State Fall Invitational
Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Release: 09/26/2007

Defending Big Ten champion Buckeyes begin 2007-08 season this weekend with five games

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The regular-season does not officially begin until February, but the 2007-08 edition of the Ohio State softball team will face its first competition this weekend as the defending Big Ten champion Buckeyes travel to the Kent State Fall Invitational for three games Saturday and two more Sunday.

Ohio State, with five starters back from its 2007 team that went 40-18, begins play Saturday at noon against Cleveland State, then takes on Youngstown State at 2 p.m. and Toledo at 4 p.m. Sunday, the Buckeyes will face Eastern Michigan at 11 a.m. and Kent State at 1p.m.

“The 2007-08 season is about to get underway and we’re anxious to see our team compete this weekend at Kent State Invitational,” Linda Kalafatis, the 2007 Big Ten Coach of the Year, said. “I’ve been very pleased at how focused and how hard the team has practiced over these last two weeks. Our expectations for the year remain high and we’ll use the fall season to get our rookies experience and move players around. We’ll be plenty busy with a tripleheader on Saturday and a doubleheader on Sunday, but that’s just what we want. This weekend and next weekend will provide great feedback for our team and coaches.”

Last spring, five seniors – all starters – helped lead Ohio State to the program’s second Big Ten championship and first Big Ten tournament title. Returning starters from that team, which came within one win of a trip to NCAA Super Regionals, include pitcher Kim Reeder, catcher Sam Marder, second baseman Brittany Vanderink, centerfielder Liz Caputo and right fielder Courtney Pruner.

Caputo and Vanderink are the team’s only seniors and are joined by three juniors that comprise the squad’s upperclassmen. Seven sophomores are back and the roster includes seven newcomers.

Following the trip to Kent State this weekend, Ohio State will host the Seventh Annual Ohio Collegiate Charity Classic next weekend at Fred Beekman Park. The event raises money for the Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at the Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute.