Baseball Buckeyes Finish First Week of Practice – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Feb. 4, 2017
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Columbus, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team is ready to start a new hunt for a championship following the first week of practice of the 2017 season. After weeks of strength and conditioning workouts with Dean Hansen, it is finally time to get back to baseball. With less than three weeks to prepare for opening weekend Feb. 17-19 at the Sunshine State Series Classic, the Buckeyes are excited to get to work as a team.
“I think the critical thing for me is putting our guys in situations,” head coach Greg Beals said. “We’ve done drill work all winter long and we want to see if we can stay in system with our defensive work. We are trying to get them from drill work to read and react to the game. It’s important for us to create as many scenarios as we possibly can. It’s also important to get the team together and start creating that chemistry around the diamond.”
A GAME OF 27 OUTS
Beals and his staff did just that. Putting the Buckeyes through several defensive training exercises in the first several practices. On Tuesday, the Buckeyes finished practice with 27 outs – which makes the Buckeyes react and make a play to a certain situation defensively. To watch the video, click below.
A game of 27 outs.
The boys are another day closer to #OpeningDay. #GoBucks https://t.co/YeVQbSyEDn
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioState_BASE) February 1, 2017
BUCKEYES RETURN 17, WELCOME 17 TO 2017
The 2017 Buckeyes return 17 letterwinners from last season. The team will be led by a five-member senior class, which includes four fifth-year seniors: Shea Murray, Jake Post, Zach Ratcliff and Joe Stoll. Senior infielder Jalen Washington and redshirt junior pitcher Adam Niemeyer were voted by their teammates as captains last fall. The Buckeyes also welcomed 17 newcomers this past fall, including six junior college transfers that will make an immediate impact to the lineup.
BUILDING ON THE MOUND
The strength of this team is its pitching and the experience is there with this staff, especially in big games. The Buckeyes led the conference with a 2.63 league ERA in 2016. Right-hander Adam Niemeyer and sophomore right-hander Ryan Feltner have solidified spots in the rotation. Right-hander Jake Post and redshirt junior right-hander Yianni Pavlopoulos will both be prime candidates to fill the rotation. An experienced bullpen returns that also includes junior right-hander Seth Kinker and redshirt junior right-hander Kyle Michalik.
“We are continuing to develop the pitch count,” seventh-year pitching coach Mike Stafford said. “We want to build our pitchers to where they are strong, especially our starters. We want to see them give us five-plus innings by the time opening weekend rolls around.”
HOLICK BUILDING A STRONG DEFENSE
The Buckeyes won a championship last season because of excellent infield and outfield defense at the end of the 2016 season. The squad posted a .986 fielding percentage in the last 20 games in route to its first NCAA Regional since 2009. With a bunch of new faces around the diamond, seventh-year assistant coach Chris Holick has been building that foundation with hard work and great energy.
“Last year we won a championship due to our relentless work ethic,” Holick said. “It’s teaching the new guys in the program how to work and how to have a mentality with just relentless effort in everything that we do. The boys are working hard with all the drills and are fine-tuning different aspects of the game each day.”
MEET THE TEAM NIGHT
The Buckeyes are set to hold their Meet The Team Night tonight at the Fawcett Center hosted by the Buckeye Diamond Club. Beals will introduce his team, while former Buckeye Brad Goldberg will be the guest speaker for the program.
“SPRING TRAINING” NEXT WEEKEND
The Buckeyes are ready to head south next weekend for their annual practice trip Friday-Sunday in Port Charlotte, Fla. Ohio State will scrimmage both Saturday and Sunday for its final preparation to Opening Day Feb. 17 in Osceola, Fla. Shea Murray will once again blog the team’s trip in Port Charlotte. The Buckeyes will play Kansas State, Delaware and Pitt at Osceola County Stadium as part of the Sunshine State Series Classic to open the 134th season of Ohio State Baseball.
