Pitcher impresses with scoreless streak
by: Kevin Wiseman
Natalie Armstrong is by far the best Ohio freshman. She is leading the Bobcats in ERA at 2.00, innings pitched at 94 1-3 and strikeouts with 64. She is Ohio's version of Eric Gagne, the star closer of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Three times in MAC play she has gotten out of late inning bases loaded jams without giving up a run. All three of those games were one-run Ohio victories.
When Ohio wins, Armstrong normally has something to do with it. The Bobcats have won only 12 games, and Armstrong has a part in eight of those, with four wins and four saves. She would have more saves if it weren't for costly errors committed behind her.
Look at last Saturday's performance. Armstrong came into a 0-0 game in the sixth inning. All she did was pitch seven no-hit innings, striking out eight batters in Ohio's 1-0, 12 inning victory. It took her only 10 pitches to strike out the side in the seventh inning.
Finally, take a look at what Armstrong has done in her last 14 appearances, going back to March 24. She has pitched 43 2-3 innings and given up only three earned runs. That comes out to a dental floss thin 0.48 ERA. At one point in that stretch, Armstrong went 27 1-3 innings without giving up an earned run. With numbers like that, how could you go against Natalie Armstrong?
Lacrosse attacker nets goals early and often
by: Mark Shugar
Kevin, Kevin, Kevin- sports at its simplest level is all about the numbers, and my pick for the best freshman wielding a stick for Ohio sports this spring, women's lacrosse midfielder Dana Dobbie, has so many, it is overwhelming.
Take for example 62, the number of seconds it took for Dobbie to score her first collegiate goal for the Bobcats. Just 1,176 seconds later, she did it for the third time and recorded her first hat trick in college play.
How about some national numbers? Dobbie is also No. 5 in the American Lacrosse Conference with 1.27 assists per game. The freshman's average of 3.09 goals per game is good enough to rank her No. 14 in the nation. Averaging 4.36 points per game makes her No. 13 nationally.
The number one proves to be the most important number of all. Dobbie is leading the nation in draw controls with 5.18 draws per game
Sadly, Dobbie suffered a concussion in last week's contest against Vanderbilt when an opponent's stick hit her in the head. As a result, Dobbie is not playing in this weekend's pair of home matches and her playing in any of Ohio's remaining games is questionable.
Regardless, Dobbie has put up point totals in 11 games that most freshmen would never come near in their inaugural season making her the most valuable freshman with a stick in her hand at OU.
17 Archives
Kevin Wiseman and Mark Shugar
