No. 5 Seed Baseball Buckeyes Return to the Tourney – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/16/2000 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 16, 2000
COLUMBUS, Ohio — For the fourth consecutive year and the 12th time in head coach Bob Todd’s 13 years as the mentor, the Ohio State Buckeyes have advanced to postseason play. The defending Big Ten Champions enter the tournament as the No. 5-seed and will play its first game on Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. (EDT) against the No. 2-seed Penn State Nittany Lions. Illinois and Purdue will kick off the tournament at 1 p.m. (EDT).
The Broadcast
WOSU Radio (820 AM) will broadcast every Big Ten Tournament game involving the Ohio State Buckeyes. The tandem of Herb Howenstine and Frank Fraas will call the action.
Setting Up the Tournament
The University of Minnesota captured the 2000 Big Ten Baseball Regular Season Championship with a 20-8 overall record. This marks the Golden Gophers’ 19th regular-season championship and second in the `90s as they also claimed the title in 1992. By capturing the crown, Minnesota earns the right to host the 2000 Big Ten Baseball Tournament. The top-seeded Golden Gophers will take on No. 6 Northwestern in first-round. Other first-round match-ups include No. 3 Purdue versus No. 4 Illinois and No. 2 Penn State versus No. 5 Ohio State.
First Round Games
All games at this year’s Big Ten Baseball Tournament will be played at Siebert Field. The first round goes as follows:
Game 1
No. 3 Purdue vs.
No. 4 Illinois
1 p.m. (EDT)
Game 2
No. 2 Penn State vs.
No. 5 Ohio State
4:30 p.m. (EDT)
Game 3
No. 1 Minnesota vs.
No. 6 Northwestern
8 p.m. (EDT)
Ohio State at the Tourney
For the 14th time in school history, the Ohio State Buckeyes advance to the Big Ten Tournament. OSU carries a 23-19 all-time record and has won four tournament championships. Last year, the Buckeyes entered as the No.1 seed but went 0-2 losing to Michigan and Minnesota at Bill Davis Stadium. The last time the program won the tournament was in 1997 when it went 3-0 at Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. That year, Mike Lockwood was named the tournament’s most outstanding player. OSU also won the tournament in 1991, 94 and 95. A total of 37 Buckeyes also have been named to the all-tournament team. More on Last Year
After dominating the Big Ten regular season, OSU went two-and-out in last year’s tournament. As the host school, OSU slumped to back-to-back losses to Michigan and Minnesota. In the 8-6 loss to Michigan, OSU fell behind 7-1 after the second inning and never recovered. In the 10-1 loss to Minnesota, Marcello Garofalo, Chad Ehrnsberger and Jason Driscoll combined for three of OSU’s six hits off current UM pitcher Chadd Clarey.
More OSU at the Tourney
Since 1993, OSU is 13-7 in the Big Ten Tournament. Six OSU players – Mike Lockwood (1997), Scott Kaczmar (1995), Mike Repasky (1994), Matt Beaumont (1993), Keith Klodnick (1991) and Jeff King (1982) – have been named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player.
OSU vs. the Tourney Field
Ohio State was a combined 7-6 against teams in this year’s Big Ten tournament. The scores of those games are listed below:
March 26* Northwestern – 7 Ohio State – 6
April 8 Ohio State – 6 Minnesota – 3
April 8 Ohio State – 7 Minnesota – 3
April 9 Ohio State – 5 Minnesota – 13
April 9 Ohio State – 1 Minnesota – 7
April 28 Ohio State – 2 Illinois – 5
April 29 Ohio State 6 Illinois – 4
April 29 Ohio State 6 Illinois – 1
April 30 Ohio State 3 Illinois – 6
May 6 Ohio State – 8 Penn State – 5
May 7 Ohio State – 9 Penn State – 3
May 7 Ohio State – 1 Penn State – 4
May 8 Ohio State – 9 Penn State – 8
*non-conference game
More OSU vs. the Field
In the 13 games against the other teams in the tournament field, the Buckeyes have combined for a .286 batting average, 12 home runs and 64 runs batted in. Jason Turner leads the Buckeyes with a .381 BA followed by John Mayor (.362), Nick Swisher (.333) and Jason Driscoll (.320). Swisher leads OSU with five home runs and 19 RBI. From the mound, OSU has a 5.81 earned run average and have recorded 56 strikeouts. Cory Cox has been solid with a 2-1 record, two saves and a 2.00 ERA. Greg Prenger has been the top starter with a 1-1 record and a 2.77 ERA.
The Big Ten Tournament
Some changes have been made to this year’s Big Ten Tournament. 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.
Check This Out – Ohio State at the Big Ten Tournament
Some can’t miss notes on Ohio State baseball that will make your job easier
Entering this tournament, Nick Swisher and Jason Turner leadthe Buckeyes with a three-game hitting streaks. John Mayor holdsthe season-high hitting streak after hitting safely in the first 14games of the season. Jason Turner leads OSU with 18 games withmultiple runs batted in. Jason Turner also leads Ohio State with 25multiple-hit games. Chad Ehrnsberger is second with 20 games withmultiple-hits. Mike Check continues to excel with runners inscoring position. This season, he is batting .465 (20-for-43) withrunners on second or third base. All-time, the Buckeyes are one ofthree schools with a winning record at the Big Ten Tournament(23-19).
Driscoll Brings Experience
At the 1997 tournament in Ann Arbor, Mich., current senior outfielder Jason Driscoll went 5-for-10 (.500) and was named to the all-tournament team.
The Fireman
OSU reliever Cory Cox has established himself as one of the most effective and dominant closers in the Big Ten Conference. He enters the tournament with a 5-2 record with eight saves and a minuscule 1.90 earned run average. In Big Ten games, he is 3-0 with three saves and an incredible 0.53 ERA in 12 appearances. For the season, he has made 28 appearances, placing him fourth 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 65 appearances, giving him sole possession of fourth place on the OSU all-time career list. The OSU all-time record is 79 set by Andy Lee (1996-99). Cox’s save total this season ties 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.
Stealing Check
Mike Check enters the tournament with 26 stolen bases for the season. The total is the third highest on the OSU all-time single-season records list. The OSU season record is 34 set by Roy Marsh in 1994. Marsh also has the second most thefts in school history with 32 in 1993. For his career, Check has 31 stolen bases placing him No. 11 on the OSU all-time career records list. Marsh holds the OSU career record with 73 stolen bases.
Homer Happy Turner
Senior co-captain Jason Turner enters the tournament with 14 home runs this season, tying him for ninth on the OSU all-time season records list with Mark Chonko (1996), current assistant coach Brian Mannino (1994) and Jamie Taylor (1991). The OSU season record was set by Dan Seimetz in 1997 with 19 home runs. For his career, Turner’s 25 home runs places him in 12th place on the OSU all-time career list.
Driscoll Moves Into Top 10
Senior Jason Driscoll enters this weekend with 666 career at bats, placing him in eighth place on the OSU all-time list. The OSU all-time leader is Mark Carek (1995-98) with 823.
Sweet Swisher
This season, Nick Swisher has established himself as a bona fide Big Ten Freshman of the Year candidate. The sweet-swinging first baseman enters the tournament with nine home runs and 44 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 OSU freshman records with 10 home runs and 58 RBI.
The Seniors Class
The senior class of Jason Driscoll, Marcello Garofalo and Jason Turner will play in their final Big Ten Tournament this week. The trio enter the tourney with a 164-69 (.704) four-year record at Ohio State.
Doing Well vs. Ranked Teams
This season, 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. On May 6-8, OSU won a four-game series at Penn State, 3-1.
Swisher Awarded Again
For the week of May 8, first baseman Nick Swisher was the Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week. He became 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.
Injury Report
Two weeks ago, 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.
Life On the Road
The top three teams in the final 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 sent them to No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Penn State and No. 4 Illinois. This season, OSU will play a total of 13 weekends 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 14 series since the stadium opened in 1997, OSU has gone 10-0-4. This year, the Buckeyes split with Iowa and Michigan State and defeated Indiana, 3-1.
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.
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 79-of-91 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 winningest 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.
