March 1, 2005

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio State softball team (5-5) competes this weekend at the Buzz Classic hosted by Georgia Tech. The Buckeyes, who won the tournament in 2002, will play four games in pool play before entering a single-elimination bracket, which could give OSU up to four additional games.

The tournament will be held at the Al Bishop Softball Complex in Marietta, Ga., approximately 25 miles northwest of downtown Atlanta. In pool play, the Buckeyes will face Gardner-Webb and South Dakota State Friday, followed by games against Boston University and South Carolina Saturday. A total of 19 teams will be in action in the tournament, with the top 12 teams being seeded at the conclusion of pool play for the championship bracket, which will begin Saturday at 8 p.m. for the first round and continue with the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship game Sunday at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m., respectively.

For the complete schedule and tournament information, visit Georgia Tech's athletics Web site at www.ramblinwreck.com and click on the link for softball. Click on the tournament logo on the lower right side of the page for tournament information.

BUCKEYES FARE WELL IN MARCH
The Buzz Classic will usher in the month of March for the Buckeyes, who have an outstanding record in March over the last four seasons. Last season, Ohio State was 12-4 in March, adding to a recent string of March success that included a 12-4 record in 2003, a 20-7 record in 2002 and a 17-7 record in 2001. Winning streaks during those years included seven games in 2004, nine in 2003, 14 in 2002 and 12 in 2001.

BUCKEYES BATTLE IN PALM SPRINGS
Facing three nationally ranked teams among the first four games of the tournament, Ohio State posted a 1-4 record last weekend at the Palm Springs Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. The Buckeyes nearly pulled off an upset of No. 20 Pacific Friday but fell, 7-5, and dropped a 6-0 decision to UNLV later Friday.

Saturday, OSU dropped a 9-2 contest to No. 12 Washington and suffered a hard-fought 2-0 loss to No. 18 Oregon State. The Buckeyes capped off the weekend with an 11-2 win in five innings over Long Island (see next note).

CAREER HIGHS SET IN LIU WIN
Ohio State needed just five innings to defeat Long Island, 11-2, in the Palm Springs Classic finale Sunday, but it was enough time for several Buckeyes to set new career highs.

Though playing in only her seventh game as a Buckeye, freshman Liz Caputo had a game that most players only dream about. The Riverside, Calif., native went 3-for-3 at the plate with a single, a three-run home run and a grand slam for a total of seven RBI. That RBI total is believed to be the most ever in a game by a freshman and is one off the school record of eight set by Shauna Bowman vs. Nevada Reno in 1989. Caputo's three hits are also a career high and her two runs scored tied her career high.

Senior Ashley Cutcliff tied her career high with three hits, all singles, and sophomore Chelsea Baker tied her career high with two runs scored. Sophomore Christina Douglas set a career high with two runs scored and tied career highs for hits with two and home runs with one. Sophomore Jamee Juarez allowed just one hit in her five innings of work, marking the fewest hits she has allowed in five or more innings in the circle.

JUAREZ, KOYANO SHINE IN PALM SPRINGS
Prior to the Buckeyes' thumping of Long Island Sunday, OSU sophomores Jamee Juarez and Nycole Koyano already had turned in solid performances at the Palm Springs Classic against tough competition. In OSU's four losses Friday and Saturday, which included three nationally ranked opponents, Juarez hit .375 (3-for-8) and had a .643 on base percentage, while Koyano batted .364 (4-for-11) with a .500 on base percentage.

OHIO STATE QUICK HITS
The Buckeyes are 5-0 when outhitting their opponent, but 0-5 when their opponent outhits them. OSU is 5-1 when scoring first and 0-4 when its opponent scores first. Ohio State is 5-0 when leading after four innings but 0-5 when trailing after four frames. The Buckeyes are 4-0 when not allowing a home run, but 1-5 when the opposition hits at least one homer. OSU is 4-0 when scoring at least six runs.

Ohio State has more doubles than its opponents, 8-5, and more triples, 5-1, but the opposition has knocked 11 home runs compared to four for the Buckeyes. OSU hitters have struck out 32 times in 262 at bats, while opponents have struck out more times (46) in few at bats (258). The Buckeyes are batting .298, while opponents are batting .271.

In 66 opportunities, Buckeye inning leadoff batters have reached base 30 times for a .455 percentage. Opponents are over 100 point below that mark (.354). Ohio State is batting .301 with runners in scoring position and .500 (10-for-20) with a runner on third base and less than two outs. OSU has 24 two-out RBI and has notched a .534 percentage in advancing runners. Buckeye pitchers are averaging nearly five strikeouts per game (4.95) and just 2.7 walks. 13 Buckeyes have yet to commit an error this season.

NOTING THE BUCKEYES
Junior Chelsea Baker was 2-for-3 against Long Island Feb. 27 and is batting .316 (6-for-19) on the season with two doubles and two RBI. OSU is 3-0 when she starts in the outfield this season. She is batting .316 overall, which jumps to .364 with runners on base.

Freshman Liz Caputo has seven hits in her last 21 at bats and is coming off a two-home run, seven RBI performance against Long Island Feb. 27 (see earlier note). Her 10 RBI are tops on the team and all have come with two outs.

Junior Billie Jo Carder hit an RBI double against Long Island Feb. 27. She was 1-for-3 against Oregon State Feb. 26 and nearly had an RBI had it not been for the OSU runner being called out at home plate. In that game she collected six fielding assists, most by an OSU player this season. Senior Ashley Cutcliff notched three hits in a game for the sixth time in her career when she went 3-for-3 vs. Long Island Feb. 27. She is batting .500 (4-for-8) this season.

Sophomore Christina Douglas has started all 10 games for the Buckeyes this season at first base and has just two errors in 70 fielding chances. She is 3-for-6 in her last two games. Senior Karisa Evans had a big start to the season, collecting five hits in her first 11 at bats. Senior catcher Natalie Hales has thrown out three would-be base stealers this season. Senior short stop Jennifer Johnson has committed just one error in her last 33 fielding opportunities. At the plate, she is 2-for-2 in driving in a runner on third base with less than two outs.

Sophomore Jamee Juarez is batting .476 (10-for-21) and leads OSU with three multiple hit games. Her five game hitting streak to start the season is the best so far on the squad in 2005 and her .621 on base percentage is tops. Juarez is batting .571 (4-for-7) with runners in scoring position. She leads the pitching staff in innings pitched (36), wins (3), strikeouts (32) and lowest opponent batting average (.231).

Sophomore Nycole Koyano tied an OSU single-game record in the Buckeyes' season-opening 8-0 win vs. Rutgers with two triples. She is batting .385 (10-for-26) and leads OSU with nine walks. Koyano is 9-for-16 (.563) when leading off an inning. She does not have an error in 33 fielding opportunities, all at second base, and has struck out twice, fewest among the regular starters.

Junior Nicole Lancaster has two hits in her last four games (2-for-6, .333). Senior Meghan Rowlands had five hits in her first 12 at bats this season, including the game-winning RBI vs. Pittsburgh, Feb. 19. Sophomore Megan Schwab had five hits in her first nine at bats this season and is one of three players to have two or more RBI in a game (Douglas and Caputo are the other two). Freshman Brittany Vanderink is 2-for-4 at the plate against ranked teams this season.

SIZING UP THE COMPETITION
A total of 19 teams are heading to the Buzz Classic and have been divided into four pools. Joining Ohio State in pool three are South Carolina, an NCAA regional tournament selection a year ago, and Gardner-Webb, Boston University and South Dakota State. Other top teams in other pools that the Buckeyes could meet in the single-elimination portion of the tournament include Georgia Tech and Purdue from pool one, Auburn and Iowa from pool two and Virginia Tech and Mississippi State from pool four.

Ohio State will be facing its first three opponents of the Classic for the first time in program history, while the game vs. South Carolina will mark the first meeting between the two schools since 1995 (USC leads series, 2-0).

Ohio State kicks off the weekend with a 1 p.m. game Friday against Gardner-Webb, a squad that was 30-32-1 overall last season and 11-6 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, which earlier OSU opponent Florida Atlantic won last season. The Bulldogs of G-W return just two starters this season and are 6-7-1 heading into the Buzz Classic but are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games. Christie Barlow leads G-W with a .344 batting average and two home runs, while Stacie Reichert owns a 3-4 record in the circle with a 2.28 ERA. Opponents are batting just .216 against her.

South Dakota State has won four straight games heading into the Classic. The Jackrabbits return seven starters from their 2004 squad that went 23-36. Kassy Hernandez (.529) and Steph Kuhl (.500) lead SDSU at the plate and the team overall has outhomered the opposition, 7-1. Kim Westendorf is tops among the pitching staff with a 3-1 record and 1.69 ERA. Though sporting a 4-2 record, the Jackrabbits will be playing their first games outside of the season after playing their first six games in a dome at the St. Cloud State (Minn.) Classic. The Buzz Classic marks the start of a nine day, 15 game road trip for the Jackrabbits.

Boston University was picked first in the America East Conference preseason poll, which is no surprise considering the Terriers have won more AEC softball championships (six) than any other team in the league and have claimed a total of four regular-season championships. Their 156 all-time regular-season wins are also tops in the league. BU (2-3) started its 2005 campaign with a second-place finish at the University of Central Florida tournament in Orlando, Fla., and is hoping to improve on last season's 26-32 record which saw a two-year AEC title string snapped. The Terriers lost just one player from a year ago but are being led by first-year head coach Shawn Rychcik. Three first-team all-league selections return, including senior short stop Jamie Haas, who was the 2002 and 2003 AEC player of the year. She is batting a team-best .353 in 2005.

South Carolina is 11-7 heading into the Buzz Classic after posting a 28-22 record a year ago. The Gamecocks received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and were the No. 4 seed in the Arizona regional. USC has been to the NCAA tournament 14 times, including the last six years in a row. The Gamecocks are being led at the plate by Jessica Josker (.409), Meghan Cornett (.375) and McKenna Hughes (.314), while Melanie Henkes (6-2, 1.27 ERA, 48 K) and Jessica Barnes (4-3, 1.57 ERA, 40 K) lead the pitching staff.

JUAREZ EARNS BIG TEN WEEKLY HONORS
Sophomore Jamee Juarez was named the Big Ten softball co-player of the week Feb.22. At the plate, Juarez went 7-for-10 (.700) during the FAU Doubletree Classic in Boca Raton Feb. 18-20 and fashioned a 2-1 record in the circle with a 0.78 ERA in 18 innings pitched with 18 strikeouts. In the field, she posted a 1.000 fielding percentage on nine opportunities in the circle and at third base. Juarez had at least one hit in each of Ohio State's five games, going 3-for-5 in the first two games and 4-for-5 in the final three games when she also notched both her two pitching wins.

A GLANCE BACK AT 2004
The Buckeyes posted a 35-25 overall record in 2004 and made trips to the Big Ten and NCAA Regional tournaments. OSU earned a No. 6 seed in the Big Ten tournament and knocked off No. 3 seed Iowa before falling to No. 2 seed Illinois. At regionals, the Buckeyes topped Bethune-Cookman but were eliminated from the bracket by South Florida and Cal State-Northridge. Seniors Kristi DeVries, Beth McAbier and Breana Pozzi concluded their Ohio State careers with 160 wins, marking a new school record for wins by one class. DeVries, a pitcher, leaves OSU ranked No. 2 in the career record book for wins (59), strikeouts (624), ERA (1.52) and shutouts (19). She and McAbier return in 2005 as volunteer assistant coaches. The Buckeyes played their final 10 Big Ten games all away from Buckeye Field, but OSU battled to a 5-5 record in those games to finish the league season with an 8-11 record.

FRESHMEN RECORD SETTERS RETURN
Last year's freshman class of P/3B Jamee Juarez, LF Megan Schwab, 2B Nycole Koyano and OF/DP Christina Douglas not only made an immediate impact for the Buckeyes, they rewrote many OSU freshman records along with way. Juarez cracked the Top 10 in every freshman pitching category, ranking fourth in innings pitched (158.1), third in wins (13), fourth in strikeouts (118), seventh in ERA (1.72), sixth in shutouts (3) and fifth in complete games (13). Offensively, Koyano, Schwab and Juarez rank fourth, sixth and eighth, respectively, in hits by a freshman with 55, 54 and 48 apiece, while Koyano ranks sixth in batting average (.327) and Schwab ranks 10th (.295). Schwab's 13 doubles rank second and Juarez ranks fourth in the same category with 12. Schwab's four home runs, and the three by Juarez, rank second and third all-time by a freshman, while Juarez's 36 RBI are the most ever by a rookie. Koyano's 27 walks and 16 stolen bases are also OSU freshman records.

THE BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
In the final 2004 Big Ten regular season statistics report, Ohio State ranked No. 3 in the league in batting average with a .272 average. The Buckeyes ranked fifth as a pitching staff with a 1.70 ERA. In addition, the Buckeyes ranked third among Big Ten leaders in slugging percentage (.387) and third in on-base percentage (.343). OSU was No. 4 in the Big Ten for stolen bases (67). Individually, freshman Megan Schwab tied for third with 13 doubles. Freshman Nycole Koyano tied for sixth among conference leaders in runs scored (33), sixth in on-base percentage (.431), tied for third for walks (27) and tied for No. 5 in stolen bases (16). Freshman Jamee Juarez ranked tied for fifth in RBI (36). Sophomore Chelsea Baker was No. 8 with a 1.58 ERA and senior Kristi DeVries ranked ninth in the league in strikeouts (174).

KALAFATIS IN YEAR NINE AT OSU
Ohio State head coach enters her ninth season at the helm of the Buckeyes' softball program in 2005. She is already OSU's all-time wins leader with 268 victories in Columbus (268-197-0, .578), and her overall record stands at 541-312-2 (.636) in 17 years as a collegiate head coach. Kalafatis has guided Ohio State to the NCAA tournament in two of the last three years and was named the 2002 Big Ten Coach of the Year.