The Ohio State softball team hopes to improve upon last year’s momentous season as they travel to Miami, Fla. tomorrow to take part in the Florida International Tournament.
Last season was one of the best season in school history, as the Buckeyes went 55-14 and ended the season No. 13 in the national rankings. The team also broke 21 team records, 15 individual records, and earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1990.
Although the success in 2002 helped build hopes for this season, coach Linda Kalafatis said this year will be different.
“It’s a brand new season,” she said. “We have seven different people on our team and a difficult schedule. We’re counting on our veterans this year.”
Kalafatis said she has many goals set for the team this year, including winning the Big Ten Conference title, qualifying for the postseason and making it to the Women’s College World Series.
“In order to achieve these goals, we need to have confidence and continue to play aggressive,” Kalafatis said. “Our young players need to mature and contribute, and our seniors need to have their best year yet.”
The team has a lot of talented veterans returning, including Jenn Link at second base. Link was a third team All-American and started all 69 games last season.
“The most important thing for this team to do is to have fun,” Link said. “We all go in there wanting to win, but I think our biggest problem last year is that we didn’t have fun every game.”
The Buckeyes face a variety of difficult opponents this year, including No. 6 Washington, No. 11 DePaul, defending national champion California, and Big Ten rival Michigan.
“I try to take one game at a time, but I am a little more excited to play Michigan because of the rivalry,” Link said. “I also want to beat them because we didn’t beat them last year, and it’s my senior year.”
OSU’s No. 16 ranking in the preseason polls does not seem to mean much to the team.
“The ranking is more of a reflection of last year. The team hasn’t earned anything yet,” Kalafatis said. “We don’t talk about that much. I’m not sure whether this will give the team confidence or be a curse.”
Link said she doesn’t pay much attention to the preseason rankings.
“The ranking really makes no difference to me,” Link said. “We weren’t even ranked last year and look how much success we had.”
With so many young players being added to the mix this season, the Buckeyes will have to balance both veteran leadership and inexperience in order to continue their success.
“We have a great mix of senior leaders and younger players,” said senior Amy Ellis. “Our pitching needs to stay strong in order for us to have success this year.”
The softball team will be adding seven new members to it, which can lead to inconsistency in performance, said Kalafatis.
“You might say that having younger players is a weakness, but I think it’s a strength.” Link said. “This is the hardest working team I’ve ever been on.”
OSU plays two games on Friday. The first starts at 1:30 p.m. against Florida Atlantic, followed at 6:30 p.m. against Florida International.
As far as a gameplan, Kalafatis suggests the team be aware of the importance that mental aspects have on the game.
“More than anything, the team needs to realize that this game is played one pitch at a time,” she said. “You never know which pitch will decide the game. Your mind and thoughts are extremely significant, and you have to be able to respond quickly. While the season is just beginning, Kalafatis believes the Buckeyes are ready for the start of the season.
“I think we’re right where we want to be,” Kalafatis said. “I expect us to compete very well.”
