Baseball Returns Home to the Friendly Confines of Bill Davis Stadium – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/29/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Welcome to the fourth year of Ohio State baseball at Bill Davis Stadium. Today’s matchup features the No. 19 (in the NAIA) Shawnee State Bears against the Ohio State Buckeyes. The Buckeyes are excited to be home after a rigorous Spring Break that saw the team play 10 games in two different cities. OSU finished the Aggie Continental Airlines Classic in third place with a 3-3 record. The Buckeyes were the runners-up at the Homestead Challenge with a 3-1 record. Expected to take the hill for Ohio State is freshman right-hander Kyle Brown.
The First BDS Generation
This year’s team marks the first group to have never played a game in old Trautman Field. The senior class of Marcello Garofalo, Jason Driscoll and Jason Turner were freshmen in 1997, the first season of baseball at Bill Davis Stadium.
Scouting Shawnee State
Shawnee State is located in Portsmouth, Ohio, approximately 90 miles from Columbus. This year’s squad is off to a 19-3 start and was also at the Homestead Challenge last week. The Bears are currently No. 19 in the most recent NAIA poll. Last season, SSU won the American Mideast Championship with a 15-5 record and placed fifth at the Great Lakes Regional. The top returning pitcher is Doug Cales and the top returning position player is Chad Fyffe. The Shawnee State head coach is Pat Rigsby.
OSU vs. SSU All-Time
Although both schools participated at the Homestead Challenge last week, Ohio State and Shawnee State did not have the opportunity to play each other. Tonight’s game will mark the first ever meeting between the two schools.
A Power Burger
All-American Chad Ehrnsberger flexed his muscle in the early portion of the season with seven home runs in just 22 games. He leads the team with a robust .772 slugging percentage. His home run against Kansas State was the 30th of his career, making him just the ninth player in school history to hit at least 30 home runs. Last year, Ehrnsberger belted a career high 16 home runs in 62 games. Young Guns Firing
A pair of freshmen, Greg Prenger and Kevin Wynk, made their first career starts at the Aggie Continental Airlines Classic and pitched extremely well. Wynk pitched a complete game against Central Michigan (3/20) but the OSU offense could only muster three hits in the 3-2 loss. The lefthander gave up five hits and three runs in six innings of work. Prenger found himself on the wrong end of a tough 2-1 loss to Texas A&M (3/20). But the righthander impressed by giving up just two runs and striking out three in six innings of work. Prenger also picked up his first career save against Vermont (3/23) by giving up just one hit and striking out four in 2.2 innings of work.
McIlvain Moving Up
Shortstop Trent McIlvain put up some solid numbers during the 10-game Spring Break trip. The junior batted .300 (9-of-30) with two doubles and seven runs batted in.
That’s Mr. Mayor to You
Third baseman John Mayor continues to flourish at the No. 2 spot in the lineup. The third baseman has reached base in 20-of-21 games this season. He enters this week with a . 338 batting average.
Sound Bites – It’s good to be home.
Some can’t miss notes on Ohio State baseball that will make your job easier
Junior Chad Ehrnsberger currently leads the team with afour-game hitting streak. Brandon Steen currently leads Ohio Statewith an eight-game winning streak. The OSU starting pitcher is 4-0this season in five starts and was 4-0 last season in nineappearances. Preseason All-American pitcher E.J. Laratta has givenup just one run and has nine strikeouts in his last 12.1 innings ofwork. Last week’s loss to Northwestern marked the first time thisseason OSU has lost a game entering the ninth inning with a lead.OSU was 10-0 prior to the 7-6 loss to the Wildcats.
Familiar Name on SSU
Shawnee State senior outfielder Tim Lockwood is the brother of former Buckeye outfielder Mike Lockwood.
For the Fans
Fans will have more than just baseball to look forward to this week at Bill Davis Stadium. Tonight, fans can register to win tickets to this Friday’s Red Hot Chilli Peppers concert at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. On Friday, OSU students can “Register to Win” a computer courtesy of OfficeMax and free posters will be given away. On Saturday, schedule magnets will be given away courtesy of State Farm. On Sunday, OSU baseball pennants courtesy of WOSU-AM radio will be given to the first 1,500 fans and the team will have an autograph session at the conclusion of the game.
New Stadium Information
More offseason changes have been made to Bill Davis Stadium. The main ticket entrance has been moved to the front of the stadium. Media and will-call tickets can be picked up at the ticket booth on the third base side of the stadium. Pre-purchased tickets can be picked up at either entrance. ADA parking is available down the third base side or directly behind home plate in front of Bill Davis Stadium. Parking conflicts will arise on dates that concerts have been scheduled at the Jerome Schottenstein Center. Please allow time for possible concert and/or game traffic. Parking for baseball is free. Any further questions on ticket or parking matters, please call the OSU Athletics Ticket office at (614) 292-2624.
Cox and Turner Rewarded
For the week of March 20, The Big Ten Conference announced that Jason Turner and Cory Cox were named the Offensive Player of the Week and the Pitcher of the Week, respectively.
In four games at the Aggie Continental Airlines Classic, Turner put up some sensational numbers. The OSU co-captain batted .667 (8-for-12) with a double, home run and three runs batted in to help lead OSU to 3-1 tournament start. He recorded at least one hit in all four games.
Cox made a huge impact in just three innings of work. The OSU stopper improved to 2-0 on the season when he slammed the door on Texas A&M. In front of a hostile crowd of 3,550, the junior threw three shutout innings of relief to solidify OSU’s 8-7 win at Olsen Field.
Todd Wins No. 500
On March 19, head coach Bob Todd won his 500th game at Ohio State with an 8-3 win over Oregon State at the Aggie Continental Airlines Classic. Todd, already the winningest coach in Ohio State baseball history, entered this season as the 26th wininningest active coach in Division I baseball with a .658 winning percentage.
Spring Tourney Recap
The 2000 Ohio State baseball team took home 2-of-4 possible tournament championships this Spring. 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. In the third tournament, the Buckeyes defeated host school Winthrop to take home the Winthrop Stateline Classic Championship. At the Aggie Continental Airlines Tournement, the Buckeyes finished in third place with a 3-3 record. At the Homestead Challenge, OSU was the tournament runners-up with a 3-1 record. “We did some positive things this Spring,” head coach Bob Todd said. “Five of our losses were by just one run. In most of those games, just one more hit or making a better pitch could have changed the outcomes of those games. The bottom line is that we were able to give a lot of young guys some game experience in some hostile and pressure situations. This will only make us better for the Big Ten Season.
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 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.
