Final Week of Regular Season for Ohio State Begins with Wright St. Tuesday, at Akron Wednesday
Buckeyes end regular season this week and are 12-0 at home; OSU will play for Big Ten title this weekend at home against Penn State
Sophomore Kim Reeder is 13-6 in the circle this season and has collected 116 strikeouts. She and the Buckeyes host Wright State Tuesday and travel to Akron Wednesday. (photo by Steve Robitaille)
SETTING THE SCENE
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The final week of the regular season is here for the Ohio State softball team, which will play for the Big Ten title this weekend at Buckeye Field. But first, the Buckeyes (31-15, 12-2 Big Ten) play a pair of non-conference doubleheaders, first against Wright State Tuesday in Columbus and then at Akron Wednesday.
The Buckeyes, who are 12-0 at home this season, will meet the Raiders (19-28, 6-7 Horizon) at 3 p.m. Tuesday at Buckeye Field in a doubleheader that was rained out April 11. Ohio State then takes I-71 north Wednesday for a 5 p.m. twin bill with the Zips (16-21, 7-7 Mid-American).
Ohio State is coming off a 4-0 weekend at home in the Big Ten and, coupled with Michigan's loss to Minnesota, regained sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes host Penn State at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and two wins will give Ohio State its second Big Ten championship and the right to host the conference tournament May 10-12.
"We'll use the games and practices this week to prepare for next weekend," Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State head coach, said after Sunday's sweep of Indiana. "We just need to stay confident and continue to execute. The Big Ten season is a marathon and the finish line is now in front of us. We need to continue to work hard, get better and take advantage of this opportunity in front of us."
Penn State is 24-20 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions swept the Buckeyes last year in University Park, Pa.
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5 WARM-UP PITCHES
1. Ohio State is 100-10 in non-conference home games under 11th-year head coach Linda Kalafatis. The Buckeyes have won 25 consecutive non-conference home games.
2. The Buckeyes and Raiders were originally scheduled to meet April 11 but were rained out.
3. Ohio State is 12-0 at home this season and as a team is batting .408 with a 1.47 ERA.
4. For the second-consecutive week, senior Jamee Juarez is the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week and has won 13 of her last 14 decisions. She is four strikeouts and one shutout away from her third and fourth Ohio State career records.
5. The Buckeyes are 22-5 this season when they score first.
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BUCKEYES ON TV, LIVE ON THE WEB
GameTracker will have live statistics for the Wright State doubleheader Tuesday at
www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Akron will provide live stats Wednesday at its website,
www.AkronZips.com. Links are found on both school's schedule page. Ohio State's student radio station will return to the internet this weekend for one or both of the Penn State series. In addition, the Sunday game against the Nittany Lions will be televised locally by the Columbus Sports Network. Details will be released Thursday.
OHIO STATE AT BUCKEYE FIELD
Ohio State is 12-0 at home this season and is batting .408 with a 1.47 earned run average. Last year at Buckeye Field, Ohio State went 21-2, batted .350 as a team and owned a 1.58 staff earned run average.
Ohio State is 100-10 (.909) in non-conference games at Buckeye Field since 11th-year head coach Linda Kalafatis took over the program in 1997. The Buckeyes have won 25-consecutive home non-conference games in a streak that dates back to April 21, 2004 when Kentucky nipped Ohio State, 4-3. If the Buckeyes win twice from the Raiders Tuesday, they will wrap up their third-consecutive undefeated non-conference home schedule.
Ohio State is 308-121 all-time at Buckeye Field since the facility opened in 1988. That mark includes a 124-97 record in Big Ten games and a 184-24 record in non-league games.
HERE'S THE SITUATION
Rarely does every Big Ten team get to play all of its scheduled league games in a given season, so the conference champion is determined by winning percentage in Big Ten games only. The Buckeyes are 12-2 in the Big Ten and in sole possession of first place with their .857 winning percentage. Second place Northwestern is 15-3 and in second place with a .833 winning percentage.
The Wildcats, who won the Big Ten last year and played for the national title, do not have any league games remaining, so their 15-3 conference record is final. If Ohio State drops one or both games to Penn State, Northwestern will own the best winning percentage in Big Ten games and thus win the league title and host the conference tournament May 10-12.
Third-place Michigan (11-3 Big Ten) and fourth-place Iowa (9-7) have two league games this weekend, but cannot catch Northwestern even if they win both games. Ohio State and Michigan did not meet this season after getting snowed out in Ann Arbor April 8. By rule, Big Ten games are not rescheduled. Ohio State and Iowa split a doubleheader in Iowa City April 22.
BIG TEN TITLE ON THE LINE AGAIN
This week marks the second time this season Ohio State is in sole possession of first place in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes own one conference championship, that coming in 1990, and head into the regular-season finale in first place for the first time since 2002. That season, Ohio State split two games at Penn State, giving the title to Michigan, which swept Michigan State.
The Big Ten tournament was first held in 1982, but then not again until 1995 and it has been an annual event ever since. Nine times it has been hosted by Michigan, three times by Iowa (1997, 2000, 2003) and once by Northwestern (2006).
BIG TEN NAIL-BITERS ARE THE NORM
Of Ohio State's 14 Big Ten games so far this season, only four have been decided early. Other than those four, the Buckeyes were tied, trailed or led by only one run after five innings in nine of 10 league games. Other than four blowout wins, the only game Ohio State led by more than one run late was a game that eventually go to extra-innings. At then-No. 7 Northwestern April 13, the Buckeyes led 3-0 after five innings, but the Wildcats came back to tie the game before Ohio State won 5-4 in nine innings.
OHIO STATE AT A GLANCE
The Buckeyes have won 17 of their last 20 games and are 12-0 at home this season. Ohio State owns signature wins at then-No. 7 Northwestern and on neutral fields over then-No. 22 Fresno State, then-No. 17 Cal and then-No. 26 Virginia Tech.
Ohio State is hitting .292 as a team, compared to .231 by its opponents. The team batting average dipped to a season-low .247 as of March 11, but OSU is batting .331 since then. The pitching staff owns a 2.58 ERA, which about a run and a half lower than the opposition (4.08).
At the plate, the Buckeyes are led by freshman Sam Marder (.382, 10 HR, 43 RBI, .539 on base percentage). Five other Buckeyes are batting over .285, including junior Brittany Vanderink (.336, 31 R, 15 SB), sophomore Courtney Pruner (.330, 30 R), senior Christina Douglas (.299), senior Nycole Koyano (.291, 32 R, 15 SB) and senior Jamee Juarez (.289. In the circle, Juarez (16-8, 1.63 ERA) and sophomore Kim Reeder (13-6, 3.01 ERA) have combined to start 43 of Ohio State's 46 games. See later note regarding Juarez's career records.
Ohio State has 10 letterwinners and eight starters back from its 2006 squad that went 39-23 and 11-7 in the Big Ten and went to the Tucson Regional of the NCAA tournament. The Buckeyes have led the Big Ten in batting the last two years.
Head coach Linda Kalafatis is in her 11th year at Ohio State and is one of three coaches in the Big Ten with more than 600 wins. Since 2000, the Buckeyes are 291-161 for a .642 winning percentage, which ranks third in the Big Ten during that time.
ANOTHER 30-WIN SEASON FOR OSU
Ohio State's 5-2 win over Indiana in the first game of a doubleheader Sunday was the 30th victory this season for the Buckeyes. It marks the 11th time, and fourth-consecutive year, Ohio State has reached the 30-win plateau since the program was founded in 1972. Seven of those 30-win seasons have come under 11th-year head coach Linda Kalafatis.
THREE BUCKS ARE ACADEMIC NOMINEES
Three Buckeyes were nominated last week for the Academic All-America Team, which is sponsored by ESPN The Magazine and selected by CoSIDA (College Sports Information Directors of America). Seniors Lauren Daykin (communication) and Christina Douglas (health management) and sophomore Kim Reeder (communication) met the criteria, which include at least a 3.20 cumulative grade point average and a sophomore or older status. An all-district team will be announced in about two weeks, with first-team selections moving on to the national ballot. Daykin was a second-team Academic All-District selection last year.
SHORT HOPS...
The Buckeyes own a .958 fielding percentage overall this season, which ranks eighth in the Big Ten, but improve that to a league-best .977 in conference games. Of 388 fielding chances in Big Ten games, Ohio State has committed only nine errors.
Ohio State is 10-5 in one-run games and has won its last four such contests. Ohio State is 21-2 when leading after five innings. OSU is 25-5 when scoring first. OSU is 15-4 when scoring in the first inning and scored in the first inning in five consecutive games from April 18-22. When the Buckeyes score first and go on to out-hit their opponent, they are 19-1, with the only loss coming in eight innings at Cal State Fullerton March 24.
With a runner on third and less than two outs, Ohio State bats at a .580 clip (58-100). How good is the top of Ohio State's lineup? The Buckeyes have outscored their opponents 41-18 in the first inning this season and 51-18 in the third inning.
JUAREZ REWRITING RECORD BOOKS
The process of rewriting the Ohio State career pitching record book is nearly complete for senior Jamee Juarez, who was named the Big Ten co-Pitcher of the Week Monday for her second-consecutive weekly honor from the conference. Juarez now owns all-time records for wins (71) and innings pitched (707.0), is tied for first in shutouts (26) and is four strikeouts away from that record, which is currently held by Katie Chain with 692 strikeouts from 2000-03.
The last two weeks have seen Juarez go 7-0 with a save and 62 strikeouts in 36.1 innings. During that stretch, she has walked only two batters and allowed three earned runs for a 0.58 earned run average. Juarez has won 13 of her last 14 decisions.
On April 18, Juarez threw her first collegiate perfect game in a 13-0 win over IUPUI and became the Buckeyes' all-time innings pitched leader. Then on April 22 she shut out Iowa, 1-0, for her third Big Ten win of the weekend and an OSU record 68th career win. In four appearances during that week, Juarez struck out 46 batters in 21.2 innings pitched and was named the Big Ten pitcher of the week (April 23).
Juarez leads the Big Ten by far in strikeout to walk ratio at 7.5-to-1 (Michigan's Lorilyn Wilson is second at 5.4-to-1). Of Juarez's eight losses this season, five have come to No. 1 Arizona, No. 5 Arizona State, No. 7 Northwestern, No. 9 Oklahoma and No. 26 Virginia Tech.
In addition, Juarez ranks third all-time at Ohio State in runs batted in with 121 and sixth in doubles with 37.
A LOOK AT THE RAIDERS
After a difficult start in February, the Raiders (19-38, 6-7 Horizon League) went 8-4 in early March and will come to Buckeye Field after taking two of three from Youngstown State last weekend. Wright State has nine letterwinners returning from its 2006 team that went 7-41 and are led by junior Jherica Williams (.353, 3 HR, 24-29 SB) and freshman Kristen Bradshaw (.324, 5 HR). In the circle, freshman Jamie Perkins leads the pitching staff (3.75 ERA, 7-16). Head Coach Mike Larabee is in his second season with the Raiders.
OHIO STATE VS. WRIGHT STATE
The Buckeyes are 23-1 all-time against the Raiders. At Buckeye Field, Ohio State holds a 14-0 record against Wright State. This season, the Buckeyes were scheduled to play the Raiders April 11 before the game was postponed due to weather conditions. In 2006, the Buckeyes swept the Raiders in a doubleheader that ended with a 3-2 decision in game two.
LAST YEAR: OSU SWEEPS WSU
Wright State played its final two non-conference games of its season last year at Buckeye Field. In game one, the Raiders had a 2-0 lead in the second inning, but seven-run third inning and three RBIs in the fourth and fifth led the Buckeyes to a 10-2 win. In game two, then-seniors Chelsea Baker and Stacey Hibma delivered home runs in the second inning, but Wright State tied the game 2-2 in the fourth. In the bottom of the seventh, then-junior Megan Schwab delivered the game-winning RBI, pulling Ohio State to a 3-2 win and sending Ohio State on its way to an 11-0 record in non-conference home games for the season.
SCOUTING THE ZIPS
The Zips (16-21, 7-7 Mid-American Conference) swept Ohio University in Akron at Lee Jackson Field last weekend, which improved their home-game record to 3-3. Head coach Julie Jones is in her first season with the Zips, who have 11 letterwinners returning from their 2006 season that placed third in the MAC East (26-25 overall season, 13-9 MAC). Akron is led by sophomore Cali Stratton (.358, 0 HR, 13 RBI) and junior Katrina Moffett (.327, 1 HR, 14 RBI). Freshman Lindsay Bodeker leads the pitching staff with an 11-14 record (1.67 ERA).
OHIO STATE VS. AKRON
The Buckeyes are 12-7 all-time against the Zips. These two teams last met in 2005 at Buckeye Field, when Ohio State swept Akron 11-3 in game one and 7-3 in game two.
BUCKEYES-OPPONENTS CONNECTIONS
Ohio State soph. RF Courtney Pruner (Akron, Ohio/Ellet) played club softball on Ohio Ice with Wright State fr. C/IF Danielle Philen (Tallmadge, Ohio/Tallmadge). OSU jr. 2B Brittany Vanderink (Hiram, Ohio/Crestwood) and WSU jr. INF Jacqueline Macy (Middletown, Ohio/Madison) were teammates on the Maddogs travel softball team. Two Raiders are from Central Ohio, including fr. INF Ashley Davis (Worthington) and sr. C/OF Kristen Farley (Marysville). Seven WSU players are from southwest Ohio, as is OSU fr. OF Leah Ledford (West Chester, Lakota West).
When the Buckeyes travel to Akron Wednesday, Ledford will be reunited with high school and club softball teammate Lindsay Bodeker. Pruner will also see a former high school teammate, Akron fr. 3B Jessica Davidson. Pruner also played club softball with Zip soph. P/1B Julie Boyes (Uniontown, Ohio). Vanderink was a club teammate of Zip jr. C/1B Deanna McCauley (Canton, GlenOak). OSU soph. C Cortney Cannon was a high school teammate at Hilliard Darby with Akron sr. OF Carrese Moody.
PRUNER HIT STREAK UP TO SEVEN
With a double against Indiana in game two Sunday, junior Courtney Pruner extended her current hitting streak to a career-best seven games. During her hit streak, Pruner is batting .550 (11-20). More impressive, however, is that in her last 12 games, Pruner is batting .576 (19-33) and the only game in which she did not get a hit was April 20 at Illinois, when she hit a game-tying, pinch-hit, RBI groundout
Junior Brittany Vanderink had a team-best 12-game hitting streak going until April 13 at Northwestern. She has hit safely in 28 of her last 31 games and has her hitting streak back up to six games, during which time she is batting .444 (8-18). Other Buckeyes hot at the plate include freshman Sam Marder (.500, 15-30 in last 10 games) and senior Megan Schwab (.375, 6-16, last six games).
MORE STREAKS OF NOTE
Senior Jamee Juarez has won her last seven decisions and 13 of her last 14. After starting the season 3-7, she is 13-1, with her only loss coming at No. 7 Northwestern April 14.
Senior Nycole Koyano and junior Brittany Vanderink have both stolen their last 15 consecutive bases, respectively, which marks personal best streaks for both. Koyano was caught stealing her first two attempts this season, but not since. Vanderink was last caught Feb. 24 in Ohio State's win over No. 17 Cal. Koyano is 73-for-85 in her career, which ranks No. 2 all-time at Ohio State, while Vanderink is 45-for-48, which ranks fifth.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
As of April 30: In overall offensive statistics, Ohio State ranks sixth in the Big Ten in batting (.292), fifth in pitching (2.58 ERA) and eighth in fielding (.958). Freshman Sam Marder leads the Big Ten in on base percentage (.539) and walks (37), is sixth in slugging percentage (.715), eighth in RBI (42) and ninth in batting average (.382). Senior Nycole Koyano ranks second in triples (5) and tied for seventh in stolen bases (15 with junior Brittany Vanderink, who is tied for ninth in sacrifice bunts (11).
In Big Ten games only, Ohio State leads the league in batting (.330) and fielding (.977) and ranks fifth in pitching (2.73 ERA).
Among the league's pitchers, in all games senior Jamee Juarez leads the Big Ten in fewest walks (23) and is tied for first in saves (4), is third in strikeouts (181), fourth in ERA (1.63), seventh in opposing batting average (.217), tied for sixth in wins (16) and eighth in innings pitched (146.1).
RECORD BOOK WATCH
In addition to senior Jamee Juarez (see earlier note), several other Buckeyes are moving up the career record charts. Senior Nycole Koyano owns 107 walks, which rank second in OSU history and are 11 shy of the school record. She ranks second all-time in stolen bases (73) and third all-time in runs scored (148). If Koyano leads the Buckeyes in runs this season, she will be the first to do that all four years.
Senior Megan Schwab is second all-time with 47 doubles and fourth with 18 home runs. Schwab's 113 RBI are fourth and her 117 runs scored are sixth. She has started 109 consecutive games for the Buckeyes, the longest streak on the team.
Sam Marder's 37 walks and 43 RBI this season are already OSU freshman records and her 10 homers are tied for the frosh record. In overall single-season records, Marder ranks third in RBI, tied for third in home runs and second in walks (record is 41).
Five Buckeyes rank among the Top 15 in career batting average at Ohio State, including Brittany Vanderink (.339), Liz Caputo (.324), Nycole Koyano (.314), Megan Schwab (.315) and Jamee Juarez (.301).
OSU COMING OFF 4-0 WEEKEND
Ohio State remained perfect at home this season with four Big Ten wins last weekend, included two that ended after five innings and last less than an hour and 10 minutes. The Buckeyes trailed Purdue 5-0 after two innings Friday night but came back to win 7-5, and then cruised through the rest of the weekend, topping the Boilermakers 8-0 Saturday and sweeping Indiana Sunday, 5-2 and 9-0.
Courtney Pruner batted .636 (7-11) during the weekend with two doubles, while Sam Marder hit .500 (5-10) with a double, home run and four walks. In the circle, Jamee Juarez went 3-0 with a save and a 0.00 earned run average.
HEAD COACH Linda Kalafatis
Head coach Linda Kalafatis is in her 11th season at Ohio State and in her 19th season as a collegiate head coach. She is OSU's all-time wins leader (365-247, .592) and is one of three Big Ten coaches with more than 600 career wins (638-362-2, .634). Seven times the Buckeyes have won at least 30 games under Kalafatis, who has guided OSU to the NCAA tournament three times (2002, 2004, 2006). She is assisted by former collegiate All-Americans Ali Viola (Nebraska) and Erica Beach (Arizona State).
BUCKEYE FIELD TO GET $5.1M FACELIFT
Buckeye Field, home of Ohio State softball since 1988, will get a $5.1 million renovation as soon as the 2007 season is over. The new 1,500 seat stadium will include indoor and outdoor batting cages, a three-plate bullpen, 650-square foot press box, player clubhouse, lounge and locker room, new dugouts, coaches and umpires locker room and a concession area.
### GO BUCKS! ###
