Ohio Softball Weekly Release

5/16/2001

The Ohio Bobcats finished the season 32-23 overall and 15-9 in the MAC.

The Ohio softball Team's season came to an end on May 11 after dropping a 6-1, 10 inning decision to Bowling Green at the MAC Tournament. Ohio (32-23, 15-9) was put into the elimination game after falling to Kent State, 5-4, on May 10. Despite the losses, the Bobcats recorded their best season since 1995, when they went 39-22 and participated in the NCAA tournament.

This turnaround season began with the Bronze Championship at the Triangle Classic and ended with their first birth to the MAC Tournament since 1996. In between, there were some highs and lows, milestones reached, records broken and glimpses of a promising future for the Bobcats.


Coaches Corner: "We had an outstanding season, but from a team perspective we were a little disappointed because we thought we could have been even better," head coach Roanna Brazier. "We surprised everybody but ourselves. It was disappointing to us know how much potential we had and never reach that point."

"The taste of winning (going to the tournament) has installed a drive that our kids will carry over into next season," assistant coach Andrea Costa.

"The desire to win a championship is even greater."

"We were impressed with the growth of the team's desire to win and the fact that our kids continued to believe in themselves throughout the season," Costa and Brazier.


The Coach: Head coach Roanna Brazier enters her fifth season at the helm of Ohio's softball program. She was hired in 1997 after spending three years as an assistant under Tracy Bunge.

In her four years at Ohio, Brazier has compiled a 94-122 overall record and 51-57 in the MAC. Garnering post season honors under Brazier was MAC Freshman of the Year Kelli Bankert. It marks the first time an Ohio softball player has earned an individual league award. Bankert was also named to the all-conference first team. Nine Bobcats have earned All-MAC honors under Brazier, 25 in all. Academics have also been a strong area under Brazier's reign. In 1999, Ohio ranked ninth in the nation in GPA among Division I softball programs. During her time at Ohio, there have been five Alumni Association Scholar Athletes, three Academic All-MAC picks, two MAC Commissioner Award winners, and one first-team GTE Academic All-American.

While she was an assistant here, the Bobcats compiled a 92-67 record over a three-year span. In 1995, she helped the Bobcats win the MAC Championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.


Walk on Wonder: Freshman Erin Chapman tied the single season home run record with her fifth of the season against Marshall, tying her with Nicole Tangeman. She is ranked in seven MAC only batting categories. She batted .270 with 10 doubles and leads the team in home runs, stolen bases, walks, outfield assists and two out RBI.


Bright Future: Chapman was just one of five freshmen who played a key role in the Bobcats' turnaround. Being the only true catcher, Georgia Villard gained valuable experience behind the plate. She started 50 games and was instrumental in the success of Ohio's pitching staff being one of the top in the MAC (second best ERA 1.80). Kristie Howe picked up a win in her first collegiate start. She finished 2-2 with a 2.30 ERA. Before utility player Kiersten Scrima tore her ACL, she was batting .265 with six doubles, five RBI, scored 17 runs and stole five bases, the latter two were team highs. After the injury, Sarah Melvin stepped into the role of utility player, seeing time at every position except for pitcher and catcher. She finished second on team in average (.341), stolen bases (7) and on base percentage (.376) and was tops with a .983 fielding percentage.


Terrific Transfer: Junior pitcher Val Wood transferred to Ohio after two successful seasons at El Paso C.C. She made an immediate impact, making five appearances in Ohio's first six games of the season, all at the Triangle Classic. She finished 1-1 with a 0.88 ERA, winning her only start and recording two saves. She gave up five runs, two earned on nine hits, struck out 21 (a season high 11 against George Mason), while walking only three batters.

She finished the season 16-5 with a 1.43 ERA and seven saves (third in the country), striking out 125 and walking only 34 batters, leading the team in all those categories. In 142 innings, she allowed 112 hits with opponent batting .207 against her.


All MAC: Five Bobcats were named to the All-MAC second team at the tournament banquet on May 9. Kelli Bankert, Tiffany Bolton, Erin Chapman, Stephanie Stapleton and Val Wood were honored for the successful seasons. Bankert was Freshman-of-the-Year and first-team member last season. The latter four are all first time honorees.


Scholar Athlete: Bankert was named to the 2001 Verizon Academic All-District Softball Team this season. She finished the season leading the team with a .345 batting average and 59 hits. Her total hits ranks her seventh highest in an Ohio'single season. 50 of those were singles, tying her for fifth in a season. She has maintained a 3.97 GPA in early childhood education.


Tough Tandem: Tiffany Bolton (6Ks in 168 ABs) and Kelli Bankert (11Ks in 171 ABs) combined for only 17 strikeouts in 339 at bats (1 every 20 ABs) this season. Each player ended the season not striking out in their last 20+ games. Bankert in her last 23 games (78 at bats, 83 Plate appearances) and Bolton 30 games (95 ABs and 111 PAs). During those streaks, each player maintained a .300+ average.


Extra Frames: The Bobcats went to extra innings 10 times this season, finishing with a 4-6 record. There season ended with a 6-1, 10 inning loss to Bowling Green. They opened up the season with an eight inning loss to Minnesota. Their first extra inning win was an 2-1 win in eight innings over East Tennessee State. Their longest game was an 11 inning loss to Kent State. The Bobcats were outscored 21-10 in those innings.


MAC Stats: In MAC only rankings, the Bobcats are second in batting (.292) and fifth in pitching (1.89). Kelli Bankert and Tiffany Bolton rank in the top ten in batting average with .403 and .364 averages respectively. Bolton ranks in four other categories with 28 hits (t6th), 16 runs (t6th), eight doubles (t2nd) and a .419 OB% (8th). Erin Chapman is ranked in seven different categories: four homeruns (t2nd), 10 walks (t2nd), 18 runs (4th), 14 RBI (t9th), 41 total bases (t5th), .418 OB% (9th) and slugging% (4th).


Dowd Honored: Kasey Dowd was named MAC East Pitcher-of-the-Week for May 7. She was honored for her complete game two-hit shutout over Marshall on Saturday.


Going Yard: On May 5, senior Stephanie Stapleton hit her first career home run, a grand slam, in her 284th at-bat. She also has career highs in hits (20) and RBI (14).


Senior Superlatives: May 5 was senior day and all three of Ohio's seniors helped the Bobcats sweep Marshall. In game one, Kasey Dowd pitched a complete game two-hit shutout, keeping Ohio's hopes of extending their season alive. For the game, no Marshall baserunner reached third base, with only three reaching second.

In game two, Stapleton and Sara Kraus did the damage at the plate. Stapleton hit the game-winning grand slam and Kraus was 2 for 3 with a triple and two runs scored.


Coaching Milestones: Roanna Brazier (126-145) picked up her 100th career win in her team's 3-0 victory over Eastern Kentucky. She also recorded her first winning season with a 32-23 record.


No-No: Heather Hagen pitched her second career no-hitter, blanking Rutgers 6-0. Her only blemish towards a perfect game was a leadoff walk in the sixth. Her other no-hitter was against Cleveland State (April 13, 1999).


Hagen Honored: Junior Heather Hagen's second career no-hitter earned her MAC East Pitcher of the Week honors. She struck out eight in blanking Rutgers 6-0. Her only blemish towards a perfect game was a leadoff walk in the sixth. For the week, she went eight innings giving up one run on one hit, walked two and struck out nine.


Friendly Confines: Ohio finished 11-5 at home this season. They started off strong winning their first six games, three consecutive doubleheader sweeps, and seven of eight. Then they hit a dry spell, losing three in a row, sandwiched in between two wins. They closed strong, winning their final two games after dropping the first game against Marshall.

As a team they batted .305 compared to .243 on the road and .254 at neutral site games. They hit eight of their 11 home runs at home. 10 players had 10 or more hits at home compared to six on the road and seven at neutral site games. Kasey Dowd went 5-1 with a 1.22 ERA at home, compared to 2-8 and a 1.88 ERA. Tiffany Bolton batted .392 at home compared to .246 on the road and .278 at neutral sites.


Bolton Honored: Tiffany Bolton earned MAC East Player of the Week honors for her play last week. She hit .353 (6-17) with five runs, four RBIs and three doubles to lead the Bobcats to a 5-1 record. She slugged .529 and had a .476 on base percentage.


Key Loss: Freshman first baseman Kiersten Scrima was lost for the season when she tore her ACL in practice at the end of March. She was batting .265 with six doubles and five RBI. She led the team with five stolen bases, five sacrifices and 17 runs scored. She also had a good glove at first, committing only five errors in 263 chances (.981 OB%).


Streaking 'Cats: Longest hitting streak: Kelli Bankert (10), winning streak (6), losing streak (3, twice). Most hitting streaks during season 3+: Kelli Bankert (8), three games (2), four games (4), five games (1), 10 games (1).


30 Wins: The Bobcats recorded their 30th win against Purdue, marking the first time they have reached 30 victories since 1995 and only the second time in their history.


One More Record: Senior Kasey Dowd broke the career strikeout record of 321, previously held by Annie Hare, on Saturday. She struck out Purdue's Keely Povlitz in the fourth inning to break the record. She tied the record earlier in the week, notching four strikeouts against Cleveland State. This is Dowd's sixth career record and eighth overall.


Big Ten Play: After splitting with Purdue on Saturday, the Bobcats finished 3-2 against the Big 10 this year. Prior to Saturday they had faced all three of their opponents at the Triangle Classic in Raleigh, N.C. After dropping a 4-2 eight inning decision to Minnesota in their opening game, they defeated Indiana and Illinois to close out the tournament and win the Bronze Championship.