April 29, 2008

ATHENS, Ohio - The Ohio softball team will head down Route 33 tomorrow to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes in a doubleheader starting at 5 p.m. The Bobcats are 22-21 overall this season and 6-11 on the road, while the Buckeyes are 31-22 overall and 8-12 on their home field.

Multimedia
Live stats are available via OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Live audio is available via OhioStateSports.net

Series Information
The Bobcats and the Buckeyes have met 55 times in the all-time series with OSU holding a 35-20 advantage. The teams last met on April 16, 2003 in Athens. The Buckeyes won both games of a doubleheader, 6-1 and 9-1, respectively. Ohio's last win against OSU was on May 6, 1997 in Columbus. The `Cats won the game, 10-2.

A Look at the `Cats (22-21)
Four players are batting above .300 for the Bobcats, led by freshman Melissa Bonner at .349. Since returning to the Bobcat lineup on March 29, Bonner has hit in every game and is on an eight-game hitting streak. Bonner also has a team-high 22 RBI. Sophomore Shalene Petrich bats .341 on the season and has scored 22 runs. She has 46 hits, including three doubles, one triple and 11 RBI. Senior Courtney Waters bats .336 and leads the team with 33 runs scored and 46 hits. Waters has five doubles on the year, three triples and a home run. Sophomore Deanna Hartsough rounds out Ohio's hard hitters with a .311 batting average. Hartsough has 28 hits, including four doubles with eight RBI.

During last week's contests, senior pitcher Michelle Sauter took the reign as Ohio's all-time leader in career strikeouts. Sauter has struck out 394 batters in her four-year career at Ohio and is two wins shy of another program record. Sauter has a 2.22 ERA on the season and an 11-9 record. She has pitched 16 complete games and 142 innings.

Scouting Ohio State (31-22)
Ohio State wrapped up Big Ten play last weekend, going 2-2 on the road at Wisconsin and Minnesota to finish league play with a 7-13 mark. Ohio State is batting .262. OSU pitchers own a 2.75 staff ERA and have struck out 293 batters in 361.0 innings.