COLUMBUS, Ohio – Tuesday night, for the first time in a long, long time, Columbus’ Division I baseball team, the Ohio State Buckeyes, will meet its Triple-A affiliate from the International League, the Columbus Clippers, in an exhibition baseball game. Game time at Huntington Park is set for 6:35 p.m.

Only $5 Tickets; Students Get in Free!  General admission tickets are available for $5 at the Athletic Ticket Office at the Schottenstein Center and also through the Columbus Clippers. Ohio State students may pick up complimentary tickets at the D-Tix office at the Ohio Union’s Information Desk.

Exhibition Fun  The game between the Buckeyes and the Clippers is an exhibition contest. And with that, there will be some exhibition rules in place, such as:

• The Clippers will supply the pitchers for both teams. With a much deeper bench and staff, and with the Buckeyes coming off a three-game weekend series and looking at a game the following day (Wednesday vs. Miami) and a Big Ten weekend series at Indiana looming, it is most advantageous for the rest of Ohio State’s week to let the Clippers’ pitchers do the pitching. It’s typical, too.
• Both teams will use wood bats. The new BBCOR bat standards have decreased the size of the sweet spot for the college game bats, making them function more like a wooden bat. Still, the Buckeye hitters will use wooden bats, just like the Clippers. The Clippers will supply.
• WMNI 920 AM will carry the audio broadcast of the game.

24 Hours Later … Miami Comes to Town  Less than 24 hours after the game with the Clippers, Ohio State will host Mid American Conference foe Miami in a 6:35 p.m. game at Bill Davis Stadium. This will be the Redhawks’ first visit to Bill Davis Stadium in five years. The two teams last played on April 5, 2006, a 9-2 Ohio State win. The teams have met just five times in the last 30 years…all Ohio State wins. Miami last defeated Ohio State on the ball diamond on April 8, 1980, 7-3, in a game played at Troutman Field. 

Buckeyes Win Series with Northwestern  Ohio State is in a tie for first-place in the Big Ten Conference after the first weekend of action. The Buckeyes defeated Northwestern, two-games-to-one, to win the series and move into a tie for first in the Big Ten with four other teams who also went 2-1 on the weekend. The Buckeyes took the opener, 7-2, lost Game 2, 7-3, and then won Game 3 in dramatic fashion, 15-14. Northwestern had tied the score at 14-all with four runs in the top of  the ninth inning, but Ohio State won it in the ninth when Brian DeLucia scored from first after Tim Wetzel’s sacrifice bunt ended up in right field.

Series Win Ramifications  Ohio State’s series win over Northwestern was the first Big Ten series win for new coach Greg Beals and staff…in their first series, no less. The win snapped a five-series losing streak that Ohio State ended the 2010 season on. The win also positioned the Scarlet and Gray in a first-place tie in the Big Ten Conference with Michigan State, Indiana, Minnesota and Penn State.

Highlights From This Weekend  Ohio State hit .343 in the three-game series with the Wildcats. The team’s earned run average was a deceiving 6.00. It was 4.00 after the first two games but Sunday, with a constant prevailing breeze that hardened the field and helped the hitters, the Buckeyes and Wildcats combined for 29 runs and 37 hits with each team using six pitchers. Some statistics from the weekend:

• Catcher Greg Solomon hit .600 (6 for 10) with two runs scored, two doubles and four RBI. He slugged at an .800 clip and, defensively, threw out three of four Wildcat runners attempting to steal plus he picked a runner off second base.
• Second baseman Ryan Cypret hit .538 (7 for 13) with three runs and two RBI. He also made a huge defensive play of the game in the Game 1 win, a back-to-the-plate diving catch with the bases loaded in the eighth inning and the Buckeyes up by three.
• Josh Dezse hit .417 (5 for 12).
• Matt Streng slugged at a .769 rate and hit .385 (5 for 13) with three runs scored, a triple and the first home run at Bill Davis Stadium for a Buckeye this year, a two-run shot in the Game 3 win. Streng had four hits, three runs scored and three RBI in the series-clinching win.
• Drew Rucinski returned to the mound after missing three weeks and was solid with just one earned run allowed in 6.0 innings pitched in Game 1. He struck out five, walked one and lowered his season ERA to 2.30 in the process.
• Greg Greve pitched for the first time in two weeks and gave up just two earned runs in 4.2 innings in his first Big Ten start. He struck out five and walked just two.
• David Fathalikhani had a 0.00 ERA and four strikeouts in two appearances and 1.2 innings pitched.

This Weekend  Ohio State travels to Sembower Field on the campus of Indiana University for a three-game series this Thursday through Sunday. Game and time info:

Game 1 – Friday at 3:05 p.m.; Streaming video at BigTenNetwork.com;

Game 2 – Saturday at 1:05 p.m.; Streaming video at BigTenNetwork.com; and

Game 3 – Sunday at 1:05 p.m.; Live stats at OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

Note: All Big Ten games will be broadcast at 1460 AM with streaming audio – free! – at OhioStateBuckeyes.com

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