Baseball Prepares for the Winthrop Classic – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/7/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 7, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio — This weekend, the Ohio State baseball team (6-2 overall) travels to Rock Hill, S.C. for the 2000 Winthrop Stateline Classic. The Buckeyes are off to a 6-2 start after a consecutive 3-1 weekends. The trip to South Carolina is the third trip of the season for OSU. On Friday, the Buckeyes are scheduled to play Marshall at 11 a.m. On Saturday, OSU will play Fairfield at 11 a.m. and Winthrop at 3 p.m. Sunday features the Consolation game at 11 a.m. and the Championship game at 2:30 p.m.%^$
%^$Todd Nears 500 Wins Plateau
%^$Head coach Bob Todd, already the winningest coach in Ohio State baseball history, is just five 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.%^$
%^$Sound Bites – Guys that are stepping up
%^$Some can’t miss notes on Ohio State baseball that will make your job easier
%^$- Junior third baseman John Mayor is making his mark on the offensive and defensive sides of the baseball. Entering his first year as the starter on the hot corner, Mayor has immediately stabilized the position with a .440 batting average (11-for-25), three doubles and five runs batted in. He is also on a career-high seven-game hitting streak. Defensively, he has zero errors in 16 chances and has showed a strong arm and above average range.%^$
%^$- Junior reliever Cory Cox is picking up exactly were he left off last year. After leading the Big Ten with nine saves last year and picking up second team all-conference honors, the OSU stopper is 2-of-2 in save opportunities this year with a 0.00 earned run average. In his 4.1 innings of work, he has recorded three strikeouts.%^$
%^$- Junior pitcher Kevin Goodrum is making the conversion from the bullpen to the starting rotation look easy. After spending last year in the bullpen (with the exception of two midweek starts), the big lefty leads OSU with 15 strikeouts and is 1-1. His 2.45 earned run average is over two runs smaller than his career ERA entering this year (4.54).%^$
%^$The Winthrop Classic
%^$The 2000 Winthrop Stateline Classic is hosted by Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C. All games will be played at Knights Stadium, home of the AAA Charlotte Knights, with the exception of games involving Winthrop. Those games will be played at Eagle Field on the Winthrop University campus. Knights Stadium, opened in 1990, is located at 2280 Deerfield Dr., in Fort Mill, S.C. For more information, call the stadium’s office at (704) 357-8071. This year’s tournament field features Ohio State, Marshall, Fairfield and host school Winthrop. For more information about the tournament, please call Jack Frost, Winthrop Sports Information Director at (803) 323-2129.%^$
%^$Tournament Schedule
%^$The Buckeyes are scheduled to play four games in three days at the Knights Castle, home of the AAA Charlotte Knights. The following are the games scheduled for the days that OSU will play. All times listed are Eastern Standard.
%^$Friday, March 10
%^$Ohio State vs. Marshall 11 a.m.
%^$Fairfield vs. Winthrop 3 p.m.
%^$Ohio State vs. Marshall 11 a.m.
%^$Fairfield vs. Winthrop 3 p.m.
%^$
%^$Saturday, March 11
%^$Winthrop vs. Marshall* 11 a.m.
%^$Fairfield vs. Ohio State 11 a.m.
%^$Ohio State vs. Winthrop* 3 p.m.
%^$Marshall vs. Fairfield 3 p.m.
%^$
%^$Sunday, March 12
%^$Consolation Game 11 a.m.
%^$Championship Game 3 p.m.
%^$
%^$* Games will be played at Eagle Field on the Winthrop University campus. %^$
%^$Ticket Information
%^$Tickets for the 2000 Winthrop Stateline Classic are $5. One ticket is good for the entire tournament.%^$
%^$The Weather
%^$The forecast this weekend calls for partly cloudy skies with a chance for scattered showers on Saturday. Temperatures will range from a high of 78 degrees to a low of 43 degrees.%^$
%^$Travel Information
%^$The Buckeyes will depart from Port Columbus International Airport on Thursday, March 9 at 2 p.m. for Charlotte, N.C. via US Airways. The team will stay at the Best Way Inn located at 825 Riverview Rd. in Rock Hill. The phone number is (800) 264-2378.%^$
%^$The OSU Offense
%^$The Buckeyes enter this week with a 6-2 record. Offensively, the team is batting .291 with nine home runs and 46 runs batted in. OSU has homered in seven-of-eight games this season. Four regular starters are batting over .400 (Jason Turner, Chad Ehrnsberger, Mike Check and John Mayor). Jason Turner is the team’s leads the team with a .484 batting average and 11 RBI. Chad Ehrnsberger (.481) leads the team with four home runs. Mike Check (.448) leads the team with four stolen bases. John Mayor (.440) leads the Buckeyes with three doubles.%^$
%^$The OSU Pitchers
%^$The Buckeyes are 8-for-8 in quality starts this season. All four pitchers that have started games have factored into the decision and pitched relatively well in the two tournaments this season. Nate Smith leads the starters with a team low 1.64 earned run average. Both E.J. Laratta and Brandon Steen lead the Buckeyes with two wins. Relief ace Cory Cox has a perfect 0.00 ERA and has two saves. The entire pitching staff has a respectable 3.62 team ERA.%^$
%^$The Kennel Club Classic
%^$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.%^$
%^$Scouting the Herd
%^$Marshall enters this week with a 4-4 record. Last weekend, they swept North Carolina A&T in a three-game series. The team’s leading hitter is Ryan Kobbe. He is batting .450 with two runs batted in. The leading pitcher is Steve Fowler. He is 1-0 with a 1.08 earned run average and 11 strikeouts. The Marshall head coach is Davie Piepenbrink.%^$
%^$OSU vs. Marshall All-Time
%^$OSU leads the all-time series over Marshall, 11-0. The two schools last played on March 26, 1997 with OSU winning, 17-3. Head coach Bob Todd is 8-0 lifetime against the Herd.%^$
%^$Scouting the Staggs
%^$The Fairfield Staggs enter this week with a 0-4 record after being swept last weekend by San Francisco. Offensively, the team is led by Jim Lopusznick. He is batting .438 with four runs batted in. Dan Krines has a team low 4.50 ERA and a team high five strike outs. The Fairfield head coach is John Slosar. He is in his 15th year at the helm.%^$
%^$OSU vs. Fairfield All-Time
%^$Saturday’s game will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.%^$
%^$Ault Added to the Roster
%^$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.%^$
%^$A Look at the Schedule
%^$After the trip to Jacksonville, OSU will play in the Winthrop Classic in Rock Hill, S.C. (March 10-12) and the Aggie Continental Airlines Tournament in Commerce, Texas (March 17-20). The Buckeyes have 15 home dates scheduled at Bill Davis Stadium. The three Big Ten weekends are against Iowa (March 31-April 2), Indiana (April 21-23) and Michigan State (May 12-14).%^$
%^$Fall Recap
%^$Four weeks of practice during Autumn Quarter culminated into Ohio State’s version of the “Fall Classic,” the Scarlet and Gray World Series. The result was a 3-1 series win for the Scarlet team. E.J. Laratta went 2-0 in the best-of-five classic and Nick Swisher paced the Scarlet offense by going 8-for-10 (.800).
