April 8, 2011
Complete Printable Weekly Notes 
Illinois (16-14, 3-1 Big Ten) vs. Ohio State (10-21, 2-2)
Eichelberger Field; Urbana, Ill.
Game 31: Saturday, April 9 // 1 p.m. CT
Game 32: Sunday, April 10 // 2 p.m. CT
Live Stats: link available on fightingillini.com at game time
Live Blog: available on fightingillini.com (Saturday only)
TV: Big Ten Network (Sunday only)
Illinois-Ohio State Series: 6-14
Last Meeting: L, 10-2, in Urbana, Ill. (4/11/10)
Streak: L 1
Follow Along: Live stats will be available on fightingillini.com for both contests. A live blog of the first contest will be hosted by Sports Information Graduate Assistant Cody Lahl, with the link available on fightingillini.com at game time, while Sunday's game will appear on the Big Ten Network.
Opponent Insider
The Ohio State Buckeyes (10-21 overall, 2-2 Big Ten) host the Illini for a game each on Saturday, April 9 and Sunday, April 10. After a tough record in their non-conference schedule, the Buckeyes opened the Big Ten slate with two losses to Iowa before sweeping Minnesota to even their conference record at 2-2. Following its contests against the Gophers, Ohio State split a doubleheader with Pittsburgh on Wednesday, April 6 to enter the weekend series against Illinois winners of three of their last four.
Three hitters are connecting consistently for Ohio State, with Alicia Herron leading the way by batting .404 in 31 games with eight doubles, four homers and two triples. Herron has driven in 21 while scoring 25 runs. Herron shows great plate discipline, walking 22 times against only 16 strikeouts, to earn a .527 on base percentage. Brittany Goodchild follows with a .360 batting average (32-of-89), scoring 11 runs while driving in eight more. Melissa Rennie is the final Ohio State hitter connecting for hits in at least 30% of her at bats (18-for-53, .340). Rennie has also scored 11 runs, while driving in 10 more - showing power at the plate with three homers and two doubles. Together, this trio is efficient on the base paths as well, successfully stealing in 11-of-12 attempts.
Karisa Medrano sports the lowest ERA (3.56) and most wins (5) on the season for the Ohio State staff. Medrano started 12 of the 20 contests she pitched in, throwing five complete games. Medrano's 72.2 innings of work also leads Ohio State, while she allowed 64 hits and 53 walks against 59 strikeouts. Kasi Kelly (5.60) ERA pitched the second-most innings on the staff, 65.0 frames, while allowing 52 earned runs on 82 hits and 27 walks.
The Buckeyes suffered three season-ending injuries to players expected to make significant contributions to Ohio State. 2010 Big Ten Freshman of the Year Melanie Nichols went down with an arm injury after throwing 10.1 innings in 2011 and will apply to redshirt the season. Rachael Shepard, a senior catcher, will miss the season due to persistent shoulder issues after opening the 2011 slate with three hits, including a homer, in five games. Junior outfielder Katie Simonton, the speed threat, suffered an ankle injury during the fall, 2010 schedule and will miss the entirety of the 2011 schedule.
In their most recent Big Ten action, Ohio State claimed a doubleheader sweep, taking the first game with a strong pitching performance by Medrano before a seventh-inning rally secured the second game. Medrano shut down Minnesota over five innings, holding the Gophers to one hit and five walks. Nine Buckeyes produced at least two hits, with Goodchild and Julie Pecina producing two base knocks a piece. After being held scoreless over the first two frames, Ohio State tallied at least one run in each of the final six innings to reach the NCAA mandated mercy rule. Six runs in the seventh inning pushed the Buckeyes past Minnesota in game two. Rennie tallied the game-tying single, plating two runners, to knot the contest at 5-5. Megan Coletta followed with a homer in the next at bat to create the difference.
The Buckeyes hosted Pittsburgh for two games on Wednesday, April 6 - coming away with a victory in game one, 4-3, before falling, 5-2, in the second contest. Ohio State tallied a run in the sixth inning of the first game on a Pecina RBI-single to create the difference. In the second match-up between the teams, Goodchild took to the circle for the first time as a Buckeye and allowed four costly runs, including a three-run fourth frame, en route to the 5-2 defeat.
The Illini split the last series, when the Buckeyes traveled to Eichelberger Field on April 10-11, 2010. In the first game, the Illini used a walk-off home run off the bat of Ashley Conrad to come away with a 3-2 victory. Conrad went 2-for-3 on the game with a leadoff single in the fifth inning as well. The Illini tallied in the first inning on an RBI-single by Hollie Pinchback and a Linnea Detrick RBI-single in the sixth. Nichols was tagged with the loss in the circle for the Buckeyes while Monica Perry came away with her 14th win of the season. Ohio State was victorious in the second game, 10-2, with Pepper Gay taking the loss, the first of her collegiate career after 10 consecutive victories.
Weekly Recap
Illinois split two contests with Penn State on April 2-3 before falling in midweek action to Illinois State, 10-6, on Wednesday. The Illini dropped a tough game, 4-2, to Penn State on Saturday, April 2 before exploding for 12 runs during a five-inning mercy-rule victory over the Nittany Lions, who only managed two runs on the contest, on Sunday. The Orange and Blue followed with their second loss to Illinois State on the season, 10-6, despite the Illini attempting a furious late-innings rally.
The Illini fell, 4-2, in their first game against Penn State, giving up four unearned runs in the third inning to create the difference in Saturday's contest. The Orange and Blue tallied two first-inning runs on two Penn State errors, scoring runners from second and third on a dropped pop up in shallow left field. However, with two outs in the third, a fielding error followed by a throwing error on the same play scored the first Penn State run and allowed the Nittany Lions to extend the inning and plate three more runners.
Illinois responded the following day, dismantling the Penn State pitching staff in route to a 12-2, mercy-rule shortened victory. Danielle Zymkowitz and Meredith Hackett each tallied two hits in the contest with Zymkowitz scoring a game-high three runs and Hackett producing a game-best four RBIs, three coming from a long home run to straightaway center field. Pepper Gay was masterful in the circle again, holding Penn State to two hits and one unearned run while striking out two in three innings or with to earn her 10th win of the year.
The Illinois State lineup used extra base hits to open a commanding 9-0 lead before the Illini cut into the deficit. A two-RBI single by Hollie Pinchback and two runs forced in on illegal pitches by Redbirds reliever Taylor Baxter decreased the Illinois State advantage to 9-4 in the bottom of the fifth. After the Redbirds tacked on one more run, Hackett drilled her seventh homer of the season to right-center field in the last frame to reach the final score, 10-6.
Lowe's Senior CLASS Award Recognition
Senior second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz was selected as one of 10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award finalists on Monday, March 28. Zymkowitz was one of only two players from the Big Ten selected as a candidate, with Zymkowitz joined by Michigan's Dorian Shaw on the ballot.
In 2011, Zymkowitz continues to steal bases at a program-best rate, finding success on 12-of-14 attempts. Against Longwood on March 4, Zymkowitz broke the program record for career runs scored, needing only 175 games to record her 168th run scored, besting Angelena Mexicano's program total of 167. The West Hills, Calif., native continues her streak of consecutive starts throughout 2011, securing second base for the Illini in all 30 games this year to total 191 consecutive starts at second since her freshman season at Illinois in 2008. Zymkowitz also sits among current NCAA leaders in triples and runs scored per game. The 2009 All-American is tied with 10 other players for second in the nation for triples, with five, while she is 26th overall in runs per game with 32 in 30 games played (1.1).
Last year, Zymkowitz earned her second consecutive All-Big Ten First Team award after finishing with a .409 batting average and a single-season Illinois record of 76 hits, while the Chaminade College Prep graduate scored 59 runs to go with 23 RBIs and 93 total bases. Zymkowitz's hits, runs scored, RBIs, total bases and stolen base (36) marks on the season all bested her 2009 All-America numbers, while her stolen bases total ranked first in single season thefts in Illini history.
Zymkowitz sports a .371 career batting average, the highest in Illinois softball history. Zymkowitz is also the career leader in stolen base percentage, finding success on 82 of 94 attempts (.872) while her career thefts total ranks second all-time. Zymkowitz is also featured on 13 more Illinois career lists, including highest on-base percentage, most hits and most runs scored.
In addition to her work on the field, Zymkowitz remains active in the community through the Illini Jock Jams fundraiser, the Hometown Heroes outreach program and visits to the Cantebury Ridge assisted living community. Also, Zymkowitz continues to be a leader on the Illinois softball team, receiving the Illini Igniter and Power Awards following the 2010 campaign. The Illini Igniter Award was given in recognition of her ability to get the team in game mode and keep the "fire" throughout the contest while the Illini Power Award was earned due to her hard work in practice and in the weight room to set the standards for Illinois players.
Career Milestones for Zymkowitz
Senior second baseman Danielle Zymkowitz earned the top spot on the all-time runs scored list in Illinois softball program history when she crossed the plate for the second time against Longwood on March 5. Zymkowitz has totaled 183 runs scored for her career - surpassing Angelena Mexicano's career total of 167. Zymkowitz is currently in first in career batting average (.371) and stolen base percentage (.872), resides in second for most triples (12) and stolen bases (82) and places third all-time for on base percentage (.434).
Hitting With The Best of Them
One season removed from earning first in the Big Ten in batting average, junior Meredith Hackett is once again an offensive leader among conference players. In addition to being in the top-20 in batting average (.366), Hackett is currently tied for first in doubles (11) and sacrifice fly outs (3) and is in slugging percentage (.756) courtesy of her seven homers in tandem with the league leading doubles numbers. In the field, Hackett has been equally impressive, recording the second-most double plays turned (10) on the season. In addition, Hackett's single-game performance of 11 total bases against UTSA on Feb. 12 ranks first among all Big Ten Conference players while she is tied with teammate Jessica Davis and Purdue's Molly Garst for the most RBIs recorded in one game (6).
Constantly Connecting
Since beginning Big Ten play against Michigan State on March 26, a handful of Illini have found constant success at the plate. Through the last six games, Danielle Zymkowitz leads all Illini with a .500 batting average (9-for-18). Zymkowitz scored six runs and drove in five more over the six games, while her five walks bump her on base percentage to 60.9 percent. Jessica Davis follows with a .467 clip (7-for-15), including two doubles and a homer. Davis has totaled four runs scored and four RBIs during the time span, while her five walks push her on base percentage total to .600, the second highest among all Illini. After a slow start to her season, Audrey Gallien found her stroke in the first contest with Michigan State, driving two doubles to the fences. Including the initial match up with the Spartans, Gallien is batting .353 (6-for-17) with three doubles, two RBIs and two runs scored while starting all six games at catcher.
Finding Ways On
Junior Meredith Hackett (20 walks), senior Ashley Conrad (16) and redshirt sophomore Jessica Davis (13) have combined to earn 45.4 percent of the team's bases on balls (49-of-108) this season. In addition to their hits, Hackett has been struck by three pitches while Conrad was hit twice and Davis once. Currently, Hackett leads the Orange and Blue with a .491 on base percentage, Conrad earns third on the team by reaching 41.5% of the time she steps to the plate and Davis is fourth with a .410 on base mark.
No Easy Outs
Through the first 30 games, six Illini batters have hit at a rate of at least .280, earning a combined average of .334 (159-for-476) in the process. Danielle Zymkowitz leads the team with a .368 average following her strong play since opening the Big Ten season, where she is hitting .500 (9-for-18) with six runs scored and five RBIs. Meredith Hackett is second on the team at .366, connecting for 29 30 hits in 82 plate appearances while Danielle Vaji is third at .326 (30-for-92). Jessica Davis (.318), Alex Booker (.295) and Kelley Wedel (.282) round out the Illini hitters connecting for hits in at least 28% of their at bats.
As a team, Illinois earned a .285 clip, good for fifth among Big Ten Conference squads. Within the Big Ten, Illinois sits in the top half of the league for on base percentage (.383), runs (169), doubles (35), triples (9), home runs (20), RBIs (142), slugging percentage (.426), total bases (341), sacrifice fly outs (7) and hit by pitches (24).
