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2008 Lady Buckeyes Softball. Defending Big Ten Champions

Dispatch

Ohio State sports
Well-adjusted
Brittany Vanderink hasn't let a rare eye disorder keep her from being a smashing success
Wednesday, April 30, 2008 3:27 AM
By Tom Reed


THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
OSUSOFTBALL_SLL_1_-_04_24_20.jpg_04-30-08_C1_S8A2JBF.jpg
SHARI LEWIS | DISPATCH
Ohio State senior captain Brittany Vanderink faces the second baseman while in her batting stance so that her left eye is focused directly on the pitcher.

OSUSOFTBALL_SLL_2_-_04_24_20.jpg_04-30-08_C1_S8A2JBI.jpg
SHARI LEWIS | DISPATCH
Vanderink, who plays second base, right field and left field, will finish her career as one of OSU's top hitters.

  • How Vanderink has fared
  • Where Brittany Vanderink ranks among career leaders at Ohio State:
  • Stolen bases: Fourth with 62
  • Triples: Tied for fourth with 11
  • Runs: Fifth with 126
  • Hits: Tied for fifth with 215
  • Batting average: Sixth at .345

As a child, Ohio State softball player Brittany Vanderink recalls the awkward stares from kids and the furtive glances from adults. The second baseman would have preferred seven innings worth of bad hops as opposed to fielding one question: "Brittany, what's wrong with your eye?"
Vanderink, an ebullient OSU senior, suffers from a congenital condition that, beyond its cosmetic impact, affects her depth perception.
But there was one place, remarkably, where Vanderink could always escape feelings of inadequacy -- a 3-foot-by-7-foot plot of dirt where her self-esteem took root and grew. It was a batter's box.
The Buckeyes captain has overcome a rare disorder in her right eye to become one of the top hitters in school history.
Cont...
 
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Regular Season Wrap-up

After a split at Wisconsin, the Lady Buckeyes split a series with Minnesota and swept the Ohio Bobcats to finish with a 3 game winning streak and 33-22 overall (7-13 Big 10). The juuuuuust made it into the tournament as the #8 seed. They open tournament play against regular season champion and #1 Northwestern in Evanston, IL on Thursday at 5:30pm


Softballers Review Season, Preview Tournament


Ohio State Softball Quotes - May 6, 2008
Linda Kalafatis, Ohio State Head Coach
On the team going 7-2 in its last nine games
'We had some adversity through the mid and late part of the season and it took us a while, which can happen with a young team, to find ourselves again. I think we've done that. I think out kids are ready to fight hard.'
On the seniors end their careers soon
'I guess it gets a little sentimental, but you try to keep your focus on the mission at hand, which is to win the game. That's on all 18 kids and the mission of the team. That's what banquets are for, to reflect on the seniors and their time here.'

Continued...

 
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Link

Softball claims final spot in Big Ten tourney



Josh Ellis

Issue date: 5/8/08 Section: Sports


After getting some help from other Big Ten teams, the Ohio State softball team (32-22, 7-13 Big Ten) will travel to Evanston, Ill. as the eighth seed in the conference tournament.

"We had to sit home and wait and a lot of people will say we backed in, but we earn what we earn," coach Linda Kalafatis said. "We certainly would have liked to make it not so close, but I think the kids are excited for a new opportunity because it was uncertain going into the weekend if we would be in."

Continued.......
 
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Northwestern eliminates Ohio State

From the Official Site


EVANSTON, Ill. ? Top-seed and 12th-ranked Northwestern scored all eight of its runs in the fourth inning and Big Ten Pitcher of the Year Lauren Delaney held the Ohio State softball team to one hit as the host Wildcats eliminated the Buckeyes, 8-0, Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament at Sharon J. Drysdale Field in Evanston.
It was a rematch of the 2007 Big Ten Tournament championship game in Columbus that defending Big Ten champion Ohio State won, 2-1. The Buckeyes are now 33-23 overall and will await the NCAA tournament selection show Sunday night to see if their season will continue.
Big Ten co-champion Northwestern is now 35-13 and will play either Minnesota or Purdue in a semifinal game Friday afternoon.


Continued...
 
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INDIANAPOLIS—The University of Florida was named the No. 1 seed in the
NCAA Division I Softball Championship today when the NCAA Division I Softball
Committee announced the 64-team field. The Gators, champions of the Southeastern
Conference, are 62-2 and will play Georgia Tech, an at-large selection from the
Atlantic Coast Conference, May 16, in front of a home crowd in Gainesville.
Thirty conferences were awarded automatic qualification, and the remaining
34 slots were filled with at-large selections to complete the bracket.

The top 16 teams were seeded nationally and will play at campus sites this
weekend. Team pairings were determined by geographical proximity, with
the exception that teams from the same conference were not paired
during regional competition, when possible.

The SEC led all conferences with eight teams in the championship, while
the Pacific-10 placed seven. Six conferences tied for third with four bids
to the tournament. California State University, Fresno, remains the only
team to be selected to all 27 championships. Four teams are making their
initial appearances in the tournament: Delaware State, Purdue, Stephen
F. Austin and Stony Brook.

Only eight schools have been crowned the NCAA Division I softball champion
since the tournament started in 1982, and all are in this year’s bracket.

DATES/SITES/PAIRINGS:

Gainesville Regional - May 16-18 at Gainesville, Florida
* Indicates host institution
*No. 1 seed Florida (62-2) vs. Georgia Tech (31-29)
Central Florida (46-18) vs. South Florida (44-18)
Fresno Regional - May 16-18 at Fresno, California
San Diego State (43-15) vs. California (40-24)
Sacramento State (32-19) vs. *No. 16 seed Fresno St. (51-11)

Baton Rouge Regional - May 16-18 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana
*No. 9 seed LSU (42-16) vs. Mississippi Valley St. (28-26)
East Carolina (36-28) vs. La.-Lafayette (46-12)
Houston Regional - May 16-18 at Houston, Texas
Washington (28-23-1) vs. Texas (28-21-2)
Delaware State (29-23) vs. *No. 8 seed Houston (50-9)

College Station Regional - May 16-18 at College Station, Texas
*No. 5 seed Texas A&M (49-7) vs. Stephen F. Austin (36-23)
Louisiana Tech (35-27) vs. Auburn (37-20)

Amherst Regional - May 16-18 at Amherst, Massachusetts
* Massachusetts (36-11) vs. Princeton (25-22)
Lehigh (38-15-1) vs. No. 12 seed Stanford (46-12)

Knoxville Regional - May 16-18 at Knoxville, Tennessee
*No. 13 seed Tennessee (47-14) vs. Winthrop (36-17)
Louisville (30-21) vs. Virginia Tech (44-15)

Ann Arbor Regional - May 16-18 at Ann Arbor, Michigan
Notre Dame (37-20-1) vs. Kent State (44-10)
Wright State (33-24) vs. *No. 4 seed Michigan (48-6)

Tuscaloosa Regional - May 15-17 at Tuscaloosa, Alabama
*No. 3 seed Alabama (51-6) vs. Chattanooga (41-20)
Jacksonville St. (38-14) vs. Florida St. (37-26)

Iowa City Regional - May 16-18 at Iowa City, Iowa
Missouri (44-15) vs. *Iowa (40-18)
Creighton (43-15) vs. No. 14 seed Long Beach St. (39-15)

Evanston Regional - May 16-18 at Evanston, Illinois
*No. 11 seed Northwestern (37-13) vs. Western Illinois (14-31)
Drake (29-24) vs. DePaul (48-16)

Tempe Regional - May 16-18 at Tempe, Arizona
Mississippi St. (40-20) vs. Hawaii (38-18)
Stony Brook (33-21-1) vs. *No. 6 seed Arizona St. (56-5)

Hempstead Regional - May 16-18 at Hempstead, New York
No. 7 seed Arizona (36-16) vs. Canisius (38-12)
Long Island (34-15) vs. *Hofstra (43-11)

Norman Regional - May 16-18 at Norman, Oklahoma
Arkansas (36-27) vs. Tulsa (34-23)
Oregon (33-27) vs. *No. 10 seed Oklahoma (43-12)

Chapel Hill Regional - May 15-17 at Chapel Hill, North Carolina
No. 15 seed Georgia (43-22) vs. Campbell (41-23)
Brigham Young (42-18) vs. *North Carolina (50-10-1)

Los Angeles Regional - May 16-18 at Los Angeles, California
Nevada (42-16) vs. Purdue (34-21)
Cal St. Fullerton (27-26-1) vs. *No. 2 seed UCLA (45-7)
* Hosting institution.
 
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The ground breaking for the new softball Stadium was a few days ago. The 2009 Lady Bucks will be playing in a brand new, state of the art stadium.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the new facilities.
 
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