Buckeyes Head to Daytona Beach for Series at Bethune-Cookman
2/27/2019 2:52:55 PM | Baseball
| Ohio State Baseball Gameday | 2019 NCAA Tournament - Nashville Regional - Opening Round - vs. No. 2 Vanderbilt |
|---|---|
| Site | Hawkins Field - Nashville, Tenn. |
| Date/Time | Friday, May 31, 2019 - 7 p.m. ET |
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| Tournament Info | Nashville Regional Tournament Central Page | Tickets |
| Game Notes | Ohio State Game Notes |
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| Team Links | Roster | Schedule | 2019 Media Guide |
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team travels to the state of Florida for the second time in three weeks as the Buckeyes face Bethune-Cookman in a four-game series Friday-Monday at Jackie Robinson Ballpark in Daytona Beach, Fla. The series opener is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday with game two at 6 p.m. Saturday. First pitch Sunday is set for 4 p.m. and the series concludes at 1 p.m. Monday.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats links can be found by going to the schedule page of Ohio State Baseball on OhioStateBuckeyes.com. The series will be streamed online on the CatEye Network (subscription required). No radio will be available for this weekend series in Daytona Beach.
ON THE BUMP
Friday, March 1: LHP Seth Lonsway (1-1, 6.48) vs. RHP Anthony Maldonado (0-0, 3.27)
Saturday, March 2: RHP Garrett Burhenn (1-0, 2.08) vs. RHP Tyler Krull (0-0, 6.00)
Sunday, March 3: LHP Griffan Smith (2-0, 1.50) vs. RHP Jordan Pinto (1-1, 10.12)
Monday, March 4: RHP Jake Vance vs. (1-0, 2.00) vs. LHP Bryan Melendez (0-0, 11.57)
LEADING OFF
- The Buckeyes will look to bounce back after going 1-3 last weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas. The team began the year with a 4-0 start after sweeping Seton Hall in a three-game set at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. The Scarlet and Gray also have wins over FGCU and Oral Roberts.
- This weekend marks the second trip to Bethune-Cookman in school history. Ohio State is 4-1 all-time vs. the Wildcats. The Scarlet and Gray claimed a series sweep at Bill Davis Stadium during the 2016 season. The lone loss came on the road in 2010. Head coach Greg Beals is 4-0 all-time vs. Bethune-Cookman.
- The 2019 Buckeyes return 15 letterwinners from the 2018 NCAA Tournament team that finished with a 36-24 overall record. Key players returning this year include second team All-Big Ten honoree Dominic Canzone, third team selection Conner Pohl and 2018 All-Big Ten Freshman standout Dillon Dingler.
- The team welcomed 16 newcomers in the fall. Ten Buckeyes have made their debuts this year.
- Ohio State is led by ninth-year head coach Greg Beals. He is 266-206-1 overall at Ohio State and holds a 509-408-1 career coaching record. Beals has guided the team to NCAA Regional appearances in two of the last three years.
- The Scarlet and Gray will open the 2019 season with 16-straight road games. The Buckeyes will play in the state of Florida twice and will also visit Texas and South Carolina.
- The Buckeyes are hitting .230 as a team with 13 doubles, nine home runs and 35 RBI. The OSU pitching staff has combined for a 2.73 ERA with 61 strikeouts in 69.1 innings of work.
A LOOK AT THE WILDCATS
Bethune-Cookman is 3-4 to start 2019. The Wildcats won a home series over Boston College last weekend in Daytona. The BCU bats are hitting .222 with 13 doubles and two homers. The pitching staff has a 9.45 ERA with 51 strikeouts in 60.0 innings pitched. The staff has hit 20 batters and thrown 11 wild pitches in seven games. Friday night right-handed starter Anthony Maldonado is 0-0 with a 3.27 ERA with nine strikeouts in 11.0 innings. At the plate, Brandon Wilkes is hitting .500 with five doubles and one homer. Maldonado made his way onto the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Preseason First Team, and was joined by first Danny Rodriguez (first base), Zach Spivey (outfield) and Nate Sterijevski (shortstop).
LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State went 1-3 last weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas. The team fell, 5-1, against BYU last Friday and lost two one-run games at Texas A&M Corpus-Christi. The lone win was an 8-3 victory vs. Oral Roberts last Sunday. Brent Todys led the team at the Kleberg Bank College Classic with a .417 average (5-for-12) with two doubles and one homer, while Noah West hit .333 (4-for-12) with two doubles. On the mound, Griffan Smith earned his second win of the week after throwing five innings and limited the Eagles to three hits and one run with five strikeouts.
CHERRY LEADING AT THE PLATE
Senior Brady Cherry is guiding the team with a .379 average (11-for-29) with five runs scored, two doubles and three home runs. He started the season on a five-game hit streak and has collected two three-hit games. Cherry went 3-for-7 with four runs scored, and two RBI vs. Bethune-Cookman in the home series sweep in 2016.
SNOWBIRD REWIND
Ohio State began the year 4-0 for the second time under head coach Greg Beals and 12th time in school history. Ohio State swept Seton Hall in a three-game series before taking a 2-0 win at Florida Gulf Coast on Monday, Feb. 18. The story of the opening weekend was the dominant pitching. The Buckeye hurlers threw two shutouts. The Buckeyes, which had five arms make their collegiate debut, struck out a combined 38 hitters, while only allowing five walks. The Buckeyes lost 442.1 innings pitched (IP) of 535.1 total IP from the 2018 NCAA tourney team (83 percent).
GOING YARD
Senior Brady Cherry and junior Dominic Canzone have each cracked three homers this season. The Buckeye began the year hitting a home run in four straight games. Junior Noah West, redshirt sophomore Brent Todys and freshman Zach Dezenzo have one long ball through eight games.
BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Freshman right-handed pitcher Garrett Burhenn was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference office announced Feb. 18. Burhenn, from Indianapolis, Ind., earns his first career weekly honor. Burhenn is the first Buckeye to be named the league’s rookie of the week since Dominic Canzone was honored in 2017.
Burhenn was dominant in his collegiate debut vs. Seton Hall Feb. 16, leading the Buckeyes to a 6-0 shutout victory in Port Charlotte, Fla. He allowed just one hit in eight innings of work and only faced the minimum (24 batters). Burhenn finished with six strikeouts and had no walks to claim his first win of his career. Burhenn became the first Buckeye pitcher to toss at least seven innings in a debut since Brad Goldberg threw seven innings in his debut vs. St. John’s Feb. 17, 2013.
NINE FRESHMEN SEE FIRST ACTION
Coach Greg Beals did not hesitate to initiate freshmen in the team’s first two weekends. Nine freshmen, including eight true freshmen, saw action in Port Charlotte and Corpus Christi. Seth Lonsway and Garrett Burhenn set the tone with fantastic starts in wins vs. Seton Hall. Zach Dezenzo has made seven starts at third base and has one homer and five RBI. Marcus Ernst got the nod at third base in one game and scored two runs with one double. Nolan Clegg started as the Buckeyes’ designated hitter in one contest. On the mound, Bayden Root fired three scoreless innings of relief with five strikeouts at Florida Gulf Coast. Will Pfennig hasn’t allowed an earned run in 8.2 innings out of the bullpen, while Mitch Milheim has thrown four scoreless frames. TJ Brock made his collegiate debut on the mound last weekend in Corpus Christi, Texas.
UP NEXT
Ohio State travels to the First Pitch Invitational in Greenville, S.C., March 8-10, hosted by Michigan State University. The Buckeyes will face Furman, the Spartans and Western Carolina.
