Baseball Plays Host to Michigan State in Final Home Weekend at Bill Davis Stadium – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/12/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 12, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio — With a spot at the Big Ten Tournament already clinched, the Ohio State baseball team is still looking to make a late season surge up the Big Ten standings. The Buckeyes enter this weekend’s play in fifth place but could possibly finish as high as second with a good weekend and some help from other teams. Welcome to the final home weekend of the 2000 season at Bill Davis Stadium as the Buckeyes play host to Michigan State in a four-game series. The Buckeyes are as hot as they have been all season after knocking No.22 Penn State out of first place last weekend with a 3-1 series victory. In their last three conference series, the Buckeyes are 8-4 with a 3-1 series win over Indiana and a solid 2-2 split at Illinois. For the Spartans, they find themselves in ninth place after splitting with Michigan last weekend. Prior to the Michigan series, the Spartans had lost all five Big Ten series they had played. On Friday, game one will begin at 6:35 p.m. On Saturday, the two teams will play a twi-night doubleheader beginning at 4:05 p.m. On Sunday, the series finale will begin at 1:05 p.m.
The Broadcast
Both games of Saturday’s doubleheader will be televised by Sport! Television. The channel, created through a partnership between Insight Communications (Channel 36) and Time Warner Communications (Channel 24) reaches more than 300,000 households in the central Ohio area. The games will air back-to-back on Sunday May 14 at 7:30 p.m. and on Tuesday, May 16 at 7:30 p.m. Randy Rhinehart will call the action with former Major League catcher Larry Owen providing color commentary. This weekend WOSU Radio (820 AM) will broadcast games one, two and four live with the tandem of Herb Howenstine and Frank Fraas calling the action.
Academic Awards
On Thursday, Chad Ehrnsberger and Jason Turner were named by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) to the 2000 Baseball GTE Academic All-District team for District IV. A total of 11 student-athletes were selected to this year’s team. The duo will now appear on the GTE Academic All-America national ballot. The GTE/CoSida Academic All-America Baseball team will be announced on June 6. Swisher Awarded Again
For the second-consecutive week, first baseman Nick Swisher has been named the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week. He is the first player to win back-to-back honors this season. With his impressive clutch hitting, Swisher helped guide OSU to a 4-1 record for the week, including a 3-1 series win that knocked Penn State out of first place in the Big Ten. For the week, he reached base in every game and batted .333 (6-for-18) with nine runs batted in. In game one of the PSU series, he hit a key triple that helped propel OSU to an 8-5 win. In game two, with OSU down, 1-0, in the top of the fourth inning, Swisher belted a two-run double to give OSU a 2-1 lead. The very next inning, he put OSU ahead for good with his second grand slam in two weeks. OSU won the game, 9-3. In the series finale, Swisher drove in three runs, including the game-winning RBI on a sacrifice fly in the eighth inning. This season, Swisher has established himself as a bona fide Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate. The sweet-swinging first baseman enters this week with nine home runs and 43 runs batted in. His home run and RBI totals are the most by an OSU true freshman since Matt Middleton blasted nine home runs and drove in 39 RBI in 1996. In 1995, Dan Seimetz set the OSU freshman records with 10 home runs and 58 RBI.
Spot Clinched for Tourney
With Sunday’s win over Penn State, the Buckeyes have clinched a spot at this year’s Big Ten tournament. The Buckeyes can finish no worse than in sixth place after this weekend.
OSU Can Still Finish Second
The Buckeyes enter this weekend four games out of second place, two games out of third place and one game out of fourth place. On the flip side, OSU has a two game lead over sixth place Northwestern.
The Big Ten Tournament
Some changes have been made to this year’s Big Ten Tournament, to be held May 17-21. As always, the regular season champion will be the host school, but this year, the field has been expanded to the top six finishers in the conference standings. All six teams will play on the first day with elimination games beginning on the second day of play. The tournament still carries the double-elimination format.
Sound Bites – Ohio State vs. Michigan State
Some can’t miss notes on Ohio State baseball that will make your job easier
Entering this weekend, Doug Dendinger leads the Buckeyes with afour-game hitting streak. John Mayor holds the season-high hittingstreak after hitting safely in the first 14 games of the season.Jason Turner leads OSU with 16 games with multiple runs batted in.Jason Turner also leads Ohio State with 23 multiple-hit games. ChadEhrnsberger is second with 20 games with multiple-hits. Mike Checkcontinues to excel with runners in scoring position. This season,he is batting .541 (20-for-37) with runners on second or thirdbase.
Welcome Diamond Club
Saturday will be a full day of events for members of the Diamond Club. The annual Captains Luncheon will be held at noon in the Jerome Schottenstein Center followed by the Alumni Game at 2 p.m. in Bill Davis Stadium. The second Diamond Club cookout of the season will then begin at approximately 3:30 p.m. For more information, call the Diamond Club at (614) 771-7070.
Seniors Last Home Weekend
The senior class of Jason Driscoll, Marcello Garofalo and Jason Turner will play their last home weekend as members of the Ohio State baseball team. The trio enter this weekend with a 162-67 (.707) four-year record at Ohio State.
Doing Well vs. Ranked Teams
After last weekend’s 3-1 series win over Penn State, the Buckeyes have compiled an impressive 4-1 record against ranked teams. On the first day of this season, OSU defeated No. 25 Notre Dame, 5-4 at the Service Academies Classic in Millington, Tenn.
Stealing Check
Mike Check enters this weekend with 20 stolen bases. The total gives him sole possession of eighth place on the OSU all-time single-season records list. The OSU season record is 34 set by Roy Marsh in 1994.
The Fireman
OSU reliever Cory Cox enters this weekend with 26 appearances this season, placing him for 7th place on the OSU all-time single-season records list. The OSU season record is 33 set by Bob Spears in 1995. For his career, Cox has now made 63 appearances, giving him sole possession of sixth place on the OSU all-time career list. The OSU all-time record is 79 set by Andy Lee (1996-99). Cox also has eight saves this season, tying him for third place on the OSU all-time single-season records list with Ron Nelson (1996) and Chad Hale (1994). Cox (1999) and Mark Mesewicz (1992) own the single-season saves record with nine.
Turner Cracks Home Run List
Senior co-captain Jason Turner belted his 23rd career home run against Youngstown State. He is now tied for 12th place on the OSU all-time career list with Matt Furrey (1993-96), Gary Jones (1991-94), Scott Meadows (1985-88) and Jason Trott (1996-99).
Injury Report
Last Friday, sophomore pitcher Nate Smith underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right throwing shoulder. He will return next season. Freshman pitcher Jason Bullens re-aggravated a stress fracture in his right arm and is expected back next season.
Scouting the Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans (18-34 overall, 7-16 in the Big Ten) enter this weekend in ninth place in the conference standings. Last weekend, MSU split its first series of the season against Michigan. The Spartans have won two out of their last five games but had an eight- game losing streak prior to this. Offensively, the team is led by Mike Pisanti. He leads the team with a .369 batting average and 18 doubles. Bob Malek has a team-high eight home runs and 50 runs batted in. As a unit, the team is batting .280. On the mound, Josh Axelson has been the No. 1 starter. He is carrying a 2-6 record with a 5.46 earned run average. The pitching staff has a 6.38 combined earned run average. The MSU head coach is Ted Mahan. He is in his fifth year at the helm.
OSU vs. MSU All-Time
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series between the two schools, 105-69-1. Last year, the Buckeyes won a four-game series in East Lansing, 3-1. In game one of the series, OSU erupted for one of the finest offensive displays in school history. The Buckeyes used nine home runs and 20 extra-base hits to notch a 34-4 win over the Spartans. The 34 runs scored were the second most ever by an OSU team in 119 years of Buckeye baseball, and the most runs scored since 1902. That season, Ohio State beat Capital, 44-2. In game two, OSU won its school record-setting 21st consecutive game.
Life On the Road
The top three teams currently in the Big Ten standings have one thing for certain in common – they have all been able to play Ohio State at home. A quirk in OSU’s season schedule has already sent them to No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Penn State and No. 3 Illinois. This season, OSU will play a total of 12 weekends (not including possible postseason play) with only three at home.
Twin Killings
In the April 30, 9-3 win over Indiana, the OSU defense set a Bill Davis Stadium and school record by recording six double plays. The total ties OSU for the second most in NCAA Division I history. The Buckeyes became the 12th team to record six twin kills in a game. Coincidentally, Indiana was the last school to do it on March 4, 1995 against Kent. This season, OSU has totalled 43 double plays.
Our House
The Buckeyes have never lost a Big Ten series at Bill Davis Stadium. In 13 series since the stadium opened in 1997, OSU has gone 10-0-3.
Berger Becoming a Big Mac
Chad Ehrnsberger is climbing the OSU career home runs list after hitting his 32nd at Minnesota. He is currently tied in seventh place with Mark Chonko (1993-96). The OSU all-time leader is Dan Seimetz (1995-98) with 52 career blasts.
Driscoll Moves Into Top 10
Senior Jason Driscoll enters this weekend with 648 career at bats, tying him for ninth place on the OSU all-time list with Chris Williams 1992-95). The OSU all-time leader is Mark Carek (1995-98) with 823.
Big Ten Streak Ended
The series loss to the Michigan Wolverines ended OSU’s string of winning or tying the last 23-consecutive Big Ten series dating back to 1996. The series loss was just the 12th ever under Todd, who has won or tied 78-of-90 Big Ten series in his career. Ohio State has never lost a Big Ten series at Bill Davis Stadium.
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 Tournament, 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.
Winthrop Classic Champs
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.
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.
