Baseball Primed ForBlue-Gray’s Tough Competition – Ohio State Buckeyes
2/24/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
February 24, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will play three storied baseball programs this weekend, including Big Ten rival Minnesota, the preseason favorite to win the conference title.
THE KENTUCKY WILDCATS
Kentucky started the season rough, losing a three-game series (18-2, 11-10, 19-6) at Florida Atlantic and then dropping two games at the Franklin Life Shootout (4-1 to The Citadel and 6-3 to Old Dominion). Sophomore outfielder Beau Moore leads the Wildcats with a .316 average (6-19), two homeruns and six RBI. Junior right hander Ben Shaffer has recorded 13 strikeouts on the year while senior southpaw Jason Chaney picked up the lone win against Richmond.
KENTUCKY SERIES HISTORY
The Buckeyes lead the series 8-3, winning the last contest 19-5 in 1942. OSUs last loss to Kentucky came in 1941 when the Wildcats snapped a four-game Buckeye winning streak over UK with a 6-2 win in game two of a doubleheader.
THE TROY STATE TROJANS
Troy State opened the season with a 5-0 blanking of Alabama state at home but dropped the next three to Florida State at Tallahassee (17-3, 21-2, 10-2). The Trojans bounced back from the Seminole sweep and are currently on a three-game winning streak downing Auburn 12-5 on the road and sweeping Western Illinois at home 10-1 and 6-2. Troy State is predicted to finish second in the Trans American Athletic Conference behind Central Florida. Eric Ernsberger, Tom Gregorio and Jorge Soto were all preaseason all-TAAC selections.
TROY STATE SERIES HISTORY
The series is tied 1-1 with the Trojans claiming the most recent victory, 9-4 in 1996. The Buckeyes won 10-0 in 1993 in the inaugural meeting.
THE MINNESOTA GOLDEN GOPHERS
Minnesota, predicted to win the Big Ten this year, returns seven starting position players and 12 pitchers. Robb Quinlan (Sr., 1B/RF) headlines the Gopher act after posting a .408 average with 24 homeruns in 1998, earning second team All-America honors. The pitching staff is dubbed the best Minnesota compilation ever by head coach John Anderson. Ben Birk (Jr., LHP), the ace of the staff, recorded an 8-2 mark and a 2.65 ERA in 1998 and was invited to the USA baseball tryouts. Not to be outdone is No. 2 hurler Brad Pautz (Sr., RHP) who was drafted in the sixth round by the Minnesota Twins last June. MINNESOTA SERIES HISTORY
This one is close as the Gophers hold a slim series lead at 54-51-2. Although both squads hail from the Big Ten, this is a non-conference game. Minnesota won the previous meeting, 10-3 at last years Big Ten tournament in Champaign, Ill. The win ended Ohio States season, knocking the Buckeyes out of the playoffs. The two teams have not met in a regular season series since 1997 (split 2-2 at Columbus).
