In the arms of coach Linda Kalafatis, senior pitcher Jamee Juarez cried tears of joy as the Ohio State softball team (35-16, 14-2 Big Ten) defeated Penn State (26-22, 5-9) 4-0 to win their first Big Ten regular season championship since 1990.
“Yesterday they came out a little nervous,” Kalafatis said after sweeping PSU in two games. ” We had a talk about it and today they were much more loose, and they got the job done on the field.”
Going into the weekend, OSU needed to win both games to clinch the championship. The Buckeyes waited through an almost two-hour rain delay on Saturday to win 4-2 setting the stage for a much needed victory on Sunday.
Sunday’s thrilling contest had a little bit of everything: great defensive plays, a controversial call that had PSU coach Robin Petrini ejected and a record crowd of 695 people who saw runners stranded on base almost every inning and the score remained 0-0 after six innings.
“Our team knew we were going to win the game, it was just about getting that one run through and I was happy that I could do it for our team,” Sam Marder said. The freshman catcher broke the scoreless tie with an RBI single that brought home junior second baseman Brittany Vanderink, who led off the inning with a double. With one run in, the RBI opened the flood gates for the Buckeyes to score three more in the inning. Junior Kim Reeder came on late in the game to relieve Juarez and nail down the victory.
This was a bittersweet victory for senior first baseman Christina Douglas, catcher Lauren Daykin, shortstop Nycole Koyano, pitcher Juarez and outfielder Megan Schwab, who all played their final home regular season game.
“It’s a huge part of my life coming to an end,” Douglas said. ” I have played since I was 5 years old, so it’s sad.”
What about us?In big scarlet and gray letters, the phrase “What about us?” hung in the dugout during Sunday’s game. It’s a phrase this team has lived by all season.
Marder said the Buckeyes were disappointed about not being mentioned among the Big Ten’s elite before the season began.
“So we were thinking that kind of sucks, we could be a good team,” she said. “So on the bottom of it coach put ‘What about us?’ in big bold letters, and every time we won I’d say ‘What about us?’ Everyone overlooked us and now we’re Big Ten champs.”
A team coach Kalafatis has referred to as a team of destiny overcame the skeptics and are no longer being overlooked.
What’s next?With the victory, OSU will host the Big Ten tournament at Buckeye Field where the team had a perfect 16-0 record. The tournament will take place Thursday through Saturday with the Buckeyes playing their first game Thursday at 7:30 p.m. against PSU. OSU will host the eight-team tournament for the first time.
Although the Buckeyes have never won the Big Ten tournament before.They are riding a wave of momentum and the five seniors on the team have another chance to close out their careers on a high.
Josh Ellis can be reached at [email protected].
