COLUMBUS, Ohio – Four members of the Ohio State baseball team have earned All-Big Ten honors, led by senior Zach Dezenzo who was named the second-team shortstop. In addition to Dezenzo, senior Marcus Ernst and sophomore Kade Kern earn earned third team honors and Trey Lipsey was named to the All-Freshman Team.
Dezenzo had a tremendous season. He hit a career-high .319 on the year and tied the OSU single-season home run record with 19. His 66 hits were one-shy of the team lead as he also led the team with 54 runs scored, 18 doubles, two triples, and 54 runs batted in. He slugged .700 and had a .413 on-base percentage. Dezenzo started the season with elbow soreness and moved over to first base. It was no coincidence that when he moved back to shortstop at the end of April, the team started playing its best ball of the season, averaging over eight runs per game over the final 15 games. Dezenzo also earned All-Freshman Team honors in 2019.
Ernst started the year hotter than any hitter in the country and didn’t slow much throughout the season. He joined Dezenzo as the only two Buckeyes to play in all 51 games and led the team in batting at .337. Ernst enjoyed a career-high 13 game hitting streak as well as a streak of 22 consecutive games of reaching base. He had 22 multi-hit games, including seven three-hit games. As the Buckeyes’ leadoff hitter, he had a .441 on-base percentage and was third in the Big Ten with 39 walks. He also was versatile in the field, starting games at four different positions. This was the first All-Big Ten honor of his career.
Kern followed up his Freshman All-American season by hitting .298 with 15 doubles, nine homers and 49 runs batted in. He was second only to Dezenzo in doubles, home runs, RBI and total bases. He had a really tough first month of the season and found himself hitting under .100. But he regained his form, and confidence, and took off over the final month and a half. He had a stretch where he had a hit in 24 of 27 games, including a season-high eight game-hitting streak. Kern also had a .975 fielding percentage manning centerfield all season.
Lipsey started and played in all but one game this season, patrolling leftfield. He hit .293 and led the team with a .461 on-base percentage. The Southfield, Mich., native finished the year with six doubles, two triples and seven home runs, while driving in 26. He also led the team in stolen bases with 14 in 17 attempts. In leftfield, he was perfect on all 84 of his chances.
Senior catcher Brent Todys was honored as the team’s Sportsmanship Award winner. Todys enjoyed the best season of his career, hitting .317 with 10 doubles, four homers and 23 runs batted in. He had 10 multi-hit games including a pair of four-hit games. He was named Big Ten Player of the Week on May 11 after a scorching series at Northwestern. He had an on-base percentage of .632 and in the three games vs. the Wildcats and hit .667 (10-of-15) with nine RBI and two home runs.
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