The Aggie Continental Airlines Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/15/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 15, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio — After four days of final exams, Spring Break has finally arrived for the Ohio State baseball team (9-3 overall). But the Buckeyes will not have much time for rest or relaxation as they begin a rigorous 10 day jaunt that will take them from College Station, Texas to Homestead, Fla. The longest road trip of the season begins at the Aggie Continetal Airlines Classic – in would should be OSU’s toughest test of the early season. OSU is scheduled to play Texas A&M, Oregon State and Central Michigan. Every team in the field will have to play four games in six days and every team enters this weekend with a winning record. Following the tournament, the Buckeyes will fly directly to Homestead, Fla., for the Homestead Challenge.
Tournament Champs Again
The 2000 Ohio State baseball team is now 2-for-2 in claiming tournament championships this year. In the season opening tournament, OSU defeated Air Force to win the Service Academies Classic. The second tournament OSU competed in, the Kennel Classic, did not award a champion but the Buckeyes finished that weekend with the tournament’s best record, 3-1. Last weekend, the Buckeyes defeated host school Winthrop to take home the Winthrop Stateline Classic Championship.
Two Wins Away From No. 500
Head coach Bob Todd, already the winningest coach in Ohio State baseball history, is now just two wins away from his 500th win as the OSU mentor. Entering this season, Todd was the 26th wininningest active coach in Division I baseball with a .658 winning percentage.
That’s Mr. Mayor to You
Third baseman John Mayor is establishing himself as the most consistent hitter on this year’s ballclub. The junior is second on the team with a .378 batting average and has had a base hit in every game he has played in this season. He is currently leading the team with an 11-game hitting streak.
Sound Bites – March Madness…Baseball Style
Some can’t miss notes on Ohio State baseball that will make your job easier
Sophomore Brandon Steen is quickly establishing himself as aquality starting pitcher. OSU opened this season having to replacethree of its top four starting pitchers from last season. Steen sawthe opening and has experienced some early success. He currentlyhas a team best 3-0 record and has averaged 6.2 innings per start.He leads all OSU starting pitchers by allowing an opponent low .197batting average and his 20 strikeouts rank him second on the squad.Last weekend, Doug Dendinger raised his season batting average froma paltry .154 to a more than respectable .320. The leftfielderbroke out of his early season funk by going 6-for-12 with twodoubles and five runs batted in at the Winthrop Stateline Classic.Senior Jason Turner continues to play like an All-American. Lastweekend, he continued his hot hitting with a .350 batting average(7-for-20), two home runs and four runs batted in. For the season,OSU’s clean-up hitter leads the team with a .431 BA, and 15 RBI. Inthe field, he is perfect with a 1.000 fielding percentage in 20chances.
The Aggie Tournament
The 2000 Aggie Continental Airlines Tournament will be played at Olsen Field on the Texas A&M campus in College Station, Texas. This year’s tournament field also includes Oregon State, Central Michigan and host Texas A&M. Olsen Field (7,053 capacity) has been the home of Aggie baseball since 1978.
Tournament Schedule
The Buckeyes are scheduled to play six games in four days at Olsen Field. Games on Friday and Sunday will be nine innings or no new inning will start after three hours and 30 minutes. Games on Saturday and Monday will be seven innings or no new inning will start after two hours and 50 minutes. The last game of each day will have no time limit. All times listed are Eastern Standard.
Friday, March 17
Central Michigan vs. Oregon State 2 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Ohio State 8 p.m.
Saturday, March 18
Ohio State vs. Oregon State 11 a.m.
Ohio State vs. Central Michigan 2 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Central Michigan 6 p.m.
Oregon State vs. Texas A&M 9 p.m.
Sunday, March 19
Oregon State vs. Ohio State 2 p.m.
Central Michigan vs. Texas A&M 8 p.m.
Monday, March 20
Central Michigan vs. Ohio State 11 a.m.
Oregon State vs. Central Michigan 2 p.m.
Texas A&M vs. Oregon State 6 p.m.
Ohio State vs. Texas A&M 9 p.m.
Ticket Information
Tickets for the Aggie Continental Airlines Tournament are $8 for reserved seats and $6 for general admission. For more information please call the Texas A&M Ticket Office at (409) 845-2311.
Live Webcasts
OSU’s games against Texas A&M on Friday and Monday can be heard live on the TAMU website (www.aggieathletics.com). The website will also have live inning-by-inning recaps for all games throughout the tournament.
The Weather
The forecast this weekend calls for partly cloudy skies with temperatures will ranging from a high of 68 degrees to a low of 44 degrees.
Travel Information
The Buckeyes will depart from Port Columbus International Airport on Thursday, March 16 at 5:45 p.m. to Houston, Texas, via Continental Airlines. Once there, the team will make a 90 minute charter bus trip to College Station. The team will stay at the Ramada Inn located at 1502 Texas Ave. South. The phone number is (409) 693-9891.
Scouting the Aggies
The Texas A&M Aggies enter this weekend with a 12-11 record and have already played nine conference games (5-4 in the Big 12). Last weekend, the Aggies took two-of-three from Texas Tech. Jason Gremminger leads the team with a .419 batting average and six home runs. Grant Gregg is carrying a team low 3.12 earned run average. Todd Deininger leads the team with 37 strikeouts and is carrying a 5-2 record. TAMU participated in last year’s College World Series and they are the two-time defending Big 12 Champions. Mark Johnson is the head coach. He is in his 16th season at the helm.
OSU vs. Texas A&M All-Time
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series over the Aggies, 8-4 The last times the two teams played was in 1952 when OSU swept a three-game series 8-4, 8-7 and 5-0 in College Station.
Scouting the Beavers
Oregon State enters this week with a 10-7 record. Last weekend, they took three-of-four from Pac-10 rival Washington State. Offensively, the team is led by Joe Gerber. He is batting .403 with a team high 29 runs batted in. As a unit, the Beavers carry a .330 team batting average. On the mound, Mark Newell has been the most effective starter. He has a 4.70 earned run average and a 3-1 record. Scott Nicholson has a team high 30 strikeouts. The head coach is Pat Casey. He is in his sixth year as the helm.
OSU vs. Oregon State All-Time
The only ever matchup between OSU vs. OSU came in 1990 when the Oregon State Beavers defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes, 11-10.
Scouting the Chippewas
The Central Michigan Chippewas enter this weekend with a 7-4 record. They opened their season at the 2000 Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., and even recorded wins over two Big Ten Schools – 11-6 over Michigan and 9-3 over Iowa. Offensively, the team is led by Jake Sanborn’s .422 batting average and nine runs batted in. Pitcher Nick Zastrow has team high 2-0 record. Judd Folske is the head coach. He is in his second year at the helm.
OSU vs. CMU All-Time
Central Michigan won the only meeting between the two schools 24-22 on May 8, 1990 in Columbus. OSU head coach Bob Todd is 5-10 lifetime against the Chippewas.
The Winthrop Classic
The third tournament of the season sent OSU to Rock Hill, S.C. for the Winthrop Stateline Classic. The Buckeyes again finished with a 3-1 record and took home the tournament championship.
The Kennel Club Classic
The second tournament of the year sent Ohio State to Jacksonville, Fla., for the 2000 Kennel Club Classic – the largest collegiate tournament in the country. The Buckeyes finished with a 3-1 record and Chad Ehrnsberger led the way with a .625 average. The KCC does not crown a tournament champion.
Service Academies Champs
The Buckeyes opened the 2000 season by winning the Service Academies Classic (2/25-27). The Buckeyes finished the tournament with a 3-1 record, including a 5-4 win over No. 25 Notre Dame. Mike Check was named the tournament’s most valuable player while John Mayor, Jason Turner and E.J. Laratta were named to the all-tournament team.
Ault Added to the Roster
The Buckeyes have added Ryan Ault to the team. Ault, an infielder, is a freshman from Reynoldsburg, Ohio. At Reynoldsburg High School, Ault earned a school record 12 varsity letters and all-conference honors in three sports (baseball, basketball and golf). As a senior, he batted .437 and was also a first team all-district baseball selection.
Getting Results
Results will can be easily found on the Internet at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
OSU Season Tickets
The Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office has announced that season tickets for the 2000 baseball season are now on sale. The entire season is $128 and the Big Ten Grand Slam package is $72. Renewal applications have already been sent out to past season ticket holders. These applications can be renewed by either mail or via the Internet (www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com). On Monday, March 6, single game tickets will go on sale and will be based on availability. Box seats are $10, general admission is $5 and student general admission is $3. Groups of 10 or more will be able to purchase general admission seats for $2 each. For questions or to order tickets, please contact the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-BUCKS or at (614) 292-6861.
The Captains
The baseball team announced its team captains for the 2000 season. Seniors Marcello Garofalo and Jason Turner were elected by their teammates to lead them into the upcoming season. Garofalo, from Worthington, Ohio, will see action this season at both first base and designated hitter. Turner, from Versailles, Ohio, started last year in right field and is expected to win the starting nod this season.
Preseason All-Conference
In the Baseball America preseason poll, Ohio State is the highest ranked Big Ten school at No. 31. As a conference, the Big Ten is ranked as the sixth toughest in the nation. In their conference preseason prognostications, the Buckeyes are predicted to win the championship and earn an NCAA Tournament berth. Both second baseman Chad Ehrnsberger and pitcher E.J. Laratta were named to the preseason all-conference team. Laratta is also the preseason Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and Nick Swisher is the magazine’s choice as the preseason Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Ehrnsberger was voted as the conference’s best defensive second baseman while Laratta was voted as having the best breaking ball. To read more about Baseball America’s preseason prognostications, log on to their website at www.baseballamerica.com.
Baseball America Predicted Finish (rank)
1. Ohio State (31)
2. Penn State (41)
3. Illinois (56)
4. Minnesota (70)
5. Michigan (76)
6. Purdue (100)
7. Indiana
8. Northwestern
9. Iowa
10.Michigan State
Preseason All-American
The National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association has named pitcher E.J. Laratta to its 2000 Preseason All-America baseball team. The sophomore hurler was a third-team selection. Laratta returns after a stellar 1999 season. He carried a 10-3 record with a 3.74 earned run average and 59 strikeouts. At the conclusion of the season, he was named a Freshman All-American, first-team all-Big Ten and the 1999 Big Ten Freshman of the Year. The sophomore was the Big Ten Conference’s only representative on the NCBWA Preseason All-America team.
All-American Ehrnsberger
Chad Ehrnsberger was named to the 1999 National College Baseball Writers Association All-American team. A second team selection at second base, Ehrnsberger led the Buckeyes with 16 home runs and 73 runs batted in. These numbers placed him third in both categories in the Big Ten Conference. Ehrnsberger also carried a .356 batting average and a .648 slugging percentage.
Four All-Big Ten’s Return
Last season, the baseball team had nine student-athletes named to the all-Big Ten team. Of these nine, four are returning this year -first team selections pitcher E.J. Laratta and second baseman Chad Ehrnsberger, second team selection pitcher Cory Cox and third team selection shortstop Trent McIlvain.
Media Opportunities
Every Tuesday throughout the season, the Ohio State baseball team is available after practice at Bill Davis Stadium. Please call the OSU Athletics Communications Office for practice times.
