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"We've gotten away from calling them pre-season tournaments," coach Linda Kalafatis said. "But these tournaments are a real critical piece in RPI and making it to the (NCAA) tournament."
The reigning Big Ten Coach of the Year added although the young team, which includes 13 freshman and sophomores, might go through growing pains and lineup changes, it needs to do so while still winning games.
Senior Leader Becomes New Captain One of just two seniors on the team, second baseman Brittany Vanderink was voted as the lone captain of the team for 2008.
"Being named captain was a great feeling, it was an honor that my teammates saw me as a good candidate for the role," Vanderink said.
The second baseman is a two-time All-Big Ten selection and is sixth in program history with a career .338 average.
"What's really neat about our team is there were four or five people that received a significant amount of votes for captain," Kalafatis said. "While Brittany has and will do a good job as captain, other people will also provide great leadership."
Lineup Gets Shaken Up Although OSU will return six starters from the 2006-07 season, they say good-bye to a senior class of five players who all received postseason honors. Also missing from the 2008 early lineup is junior first-team All-Big Ten selection, Courtney Pruner, who is recovering from off-season hip surgery. With positions to be filled, it is going to be a new-look lineup for the Buckeyes.
"We need to see what works best," Kalafatis said. "We are going to have to find a way to be productive."
The Buckeyes retain their offensive MVP from 2006-07, sophomore Sam Marder, who batted .359 with a team-leading 10 home runs and a school record 44 walks. Marder is one of just 50 players to be named to the Player of the Year Watch List. Senior outfielder Liz Caputo returns with a career .317 average, ranking her 11th all-time, but there is a lot of room for new players to make an impact in 2008.
"We have a lot of young players that need to gain some experience and get the feel of how college ball is, and the tournaments are a great stepping-stone to do that," Vanderink said.
Reeder Takes Role of No. 1 Pitcher After two productive seasons backing up arguably the best pitcher in OSU history, Jamee Juarez, junior Kim Reeder is now the team's top option inside the circle.
"I just hope to set the tone being the No.1 pitcher and make everybody play to the highest level possible," Reeder said. "I want to set the tone in the very first inning for the rest of the game."
Reeder boasts a career record of 33-19 with a 2.25 ERA, but at home, Reeder is 15-2 in her career with a 1.85 ERA. Reeder will be joined on the staff by sophomore Megan Miller, 2-1 last season with a 4.32 ERA and transfer sophomore Lindsay Bodeker from Akron, 12-16 in the 2006-07 season with a 2.02 ERA.
Bodeker pitched a complete game-winning effort against the Buckeyes last season and impressed Kalafatis with her performance last year as well as early this year.
"Miller is continuing to develop and build confidence and Lindsay Bodeker has been a wonderful surprise and addition, and she's just going to get better," Kalafatis said. "This year, we feel pretty comfortable that we'll throw a good game and have the depth to save a game."
After coming off one of the best seasons in program history, the Buckeyes are still hungry for more as they are set to kick off the 2008 season.
"Three-fourths of this team has experienced winning a Big Ten championship and now that we know that feeling, we want it again," Reeder said.
Josh Ellis can be reached at ellis.319@osu.edu.
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