Buckeyes Picked 5th, Trio Named to B1G Preseason Honors List
2/17/2022 11:05:08 AM | Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The start of the 2022 baseball season is just a day away and the Big Ten has announced its preseason poll along with its preseason honorees. Ohio State was selected to finish fifth in the conference among voting by the league’s 14 head coaches.
The strength of the Buckeyes team this year will likely be its bullpen and it will be anchored by senior closer TJ Brock and junior Ethan Hammerberg. Brock was tied for the lead in the Big Ten last season with nine saves and led the team with a 2.08 ERA in 19 appearances. He registered 33 strikeouts and just 16 walks and earned third team All-Big Ten honors. Hammerberg saw his first action on the mound in 2021 after his freshman campaign was cancelled in 2020. He pitched 5.2 innings in six appearances last spring but really flourished over the summer in the Northwoods League. Regarded as one of the top pitching prospects in the league, Hammerberg had 28 Ks in 17.0 IP. He also appeared in the 2021 Major League Dreams Showcase game, pitching a scoreless inning with a pair of strikeouts.
Senior short stop Zach Dezenzo is the third Buckeye on the preseason honors list. The Alliance, Ohio native was one of the hottest hitters in the Big Ten at the end of the 2021 season and he rolled that into a great summer in the MLB Draft Summer League. He finished last year’s collegiate season hitting .302 and led the team with 11 doubles to go along with nine home runs. Dezenzo will serve as one of two team captains this season.
The Buckeyes will open the season in familiar territory at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. They will play four games on opening weekend, beginning with Marshall at 4 p.m. on Friday.
2022 BIG TEN BASEBALL PRESEASON POLL
(top six teams)
1 Nebraska
2 Michigan
3 Iowa
4 Maryland
5 Ohio State
6 Indiana
#GoBucks
