End of the road for Softball Buckeyes
By Gabe Norris
Just as the 2007 season was meant to be an outstanding one for the Ohio State Softball team, the 2008 season was a constant, uphill struggle. The season-long battle culminated this past Thursday afternoon for the Buckeyes as they were knocked out of the Big Ten Tournament by Northwestern in the opening round, 8-0. Ohio State, who finished eighth in the conference during regular season play after taking first in 2007, was one-hit by the Wildcats in the loss.
“We played pretty strong there for three innings, and I thought we battled much better in our at-bats. We let the game get away from us and gave them too many bases — five walks and a hit batter. Northwestern is too good. They’re going to take advantage of that,” Ohio State head coach, Linda Kalafats, said after the game. “They’re a momentum team and they certainly carried that momentum. We tried to making a pitching change and stop some of that momentum, but didn’t get the job done there, so Northwestern proved they were the better team today. The score doesn’t look pretty, but I’m proud of the effort our kids gave and the way we prepared to play here.”
The Buckeyes, who lost to Northwestern twice this year at Buckeye Field, held the Wildcats at bay for the first three innings. But in the bottom of the fourth, Northwestern, who would go on to win the tournament with a victory over Iowa on Saturday, provided all of the fireworks that the game would see. They strung together five hits and scored all eight runs to put away the Buckeyes in a rematch from the tournament championship from one year ago.
“I thought Kim was throwing good pitches and was keeping them guessing. Sam (Marder) and Kim called their own game and were doing a good job of mixing it up,” said Kalafatis. “Even some of those hits early on in that fourth inning, I thought we fisted them, balls that just kind of crawled over the infield. I was proud of their effort. We got in a lull there.”
Junior pitcher Kim Reeder, who will return as Ohio State’s ace in the bullpen next season, was also upbeat after the game.
“Even in the fourth inning, I still felt that I was getting them on the pitches I wanted to get them on,” said Reeder. “Like coach said, I was getting them to fist it, and they weren’t hitting it hard until the last two hits I gave up. So, I was still pretty confident in my performance, and I didn’t notice anything they were doing differently.”
On the other end of the spectrum, after her teammates spotted her an eight-run lead, Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, sophomore Lauren Delaney, continued to have success against the Ohio State lineup. Delaney ended up going the complete game (5 innings) while only surrendering one hit and striking out seven. The lone Buckeye to reach first base after a hit was freshman Dee Dee Hillman in the first inning.
“We had some keys we wanted to focus on in our at-bats, and we did that really well at times, and at other times we didn’t. Delaney started to use her change up, which is a great pitch,” Kalafatis said afterward. “She’s a great thrower, and our chore now is to get better to face her the next two years.”
Even after such a tough season, all is not lost for Ohio State (33-23 on the year). The Buckeyes lose only two seniors and also look forward to the return of power hitter Courtney Pruner next season.
“In a lot of ways we’ll show a very different team next year, even though we’ll have a lot of returners,” Kalafatis said. “We’ll have some healthy kids back and some new kids who I think will help us right away.”
One of the graduating seniors, Brittany Vanderink, also sees a bright future for the young Buckeyes. Vanderink and outfielder Liz Caputo make up the softball class of 2008. Vanderink will not be leaving Columbus, however. She will return to the squad as a graduate assistant next season.
“I definitely think the experiences we went through this year and the good pitchers we faced all season will help the team next year,” Vanderink said. “We’re pretty young, and the experience of just going against them and playing these games is a good learning experience for the team, and they’re only going to get better.”
Originally Published: Issue 648 - May 14, 2008
 |
Share on Facebook |
