The Big Ten Race is Heating up for No. 26 OSU Baseball – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/13/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 13, 2001
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The No. 26 Ohio State Buckeyes are in a heated race for the top spot in the Big Ten Conference. Entering play this weekend, the Buckeyes find themselves percentage points out of the No. 1 spot. Because of game cancellations during the first two weekends of the conference season, teams have played anywhere from eight to 11 games. Five teams enter this weekend with either two or three losses in conference play. The Purdue Boilermakers are in the top spot with an 8-2 record (.800) followed by the Buckeyes at 6-2 (.750). Minnesota (8-3), Penn State (7-3) and Michigan (5-3) all have three losses each. This weekend, Ohio State (24-7 overall) travels to East Lansing, Mich., for a four-game series against the Michigan State Spartans at Kobs Field. The series opener Friday begins at 3 p.m. Saturday, the teams engage in a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The series finale begins at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Broadcast
The games can be heard live on WOSU (820 AM) and on-line at ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Longtime voices of OSU Baseball Herb Howenstine and the jovial Frank Fraas will call the action. This weekend, the first game Saturday and series finale on Sunday, will be broadcast on both WOSU and ohiostatebuckeyes.com. The series opener Friday and second game Saturday can only be heard via the Internet.
Walk This Way
The combination of a selective eye at the plate and respect from opposing pitchers has given Nick Swisher an amazing 38 walks in 30 games. Not only does he lead the Big Ten Conference in this category, he also is tied for ninth on the OSU single season record list for walks. He is well on pace to obliterate the school record of 50 set by Mike Lockwood in 1997.
The Old Man
Friday, April 6 against Illinois, stopper Cory Cox set a school record by making his 80th career appearance as a Buckeye. The old record of 79 was held by Andy Lee (1996-99). Cox enters this weekend with 84 career appearances. He (23 years and 1 month) may be the senior member of the pitching staff, but he isn’t the senior member of the team. Catcher Chris Alvord (23 years and 7 months) was born on Sept. 1, 1977 and is the only member of the team born that year. Home Cooking
Freshman Steve Caravati has quickly made Bill Davis Stadium his favorite park to play in. In six games (four starts), the outfielder is batting .529 (9-for-17) with a double, two triples, two home runs and 12 runs batted in. His home slugging percentage is an astounding 1.176 percent. On March 10, he became the first player in Bill Davis Stadium’s 5-year history to hit for the cycle. Against the Detroit Titans, he opened the game with a one-run double in the first inning. In the third inning, Caravati belted a solo home run. With the bases loaded in the fifth inning, he sent a shot off the center field wall for a bases-clearing triple. In his final at bat, Caravati spanked a RBI single to left field. For the game, he finished 4-for-4 with eight RBI.
Show of Unity
Four members of the Ohio State catching corps have shaved their heads in a show of unity. Self nicknamed “The Usty’s,” the trend was started when Todd Calcamuggio, who wears his head shaved all year round, helped convince Chris Alvord to sport the same look during the Spring Break Trip in Bradenton, Fla. In the two weeks since, Derek Kinnear and Doug Larason have followed suit giving the catchers a more aerodynamic look collectively.
Big Ten Leaders
Entering this week, Ohio State was leading the Big Ten Conference with a .322 batting average and 31 home runs. Nick Swisher leads the conference with 10 home runs, a .540 on base percentage, a .778 slugging percentage and 38 walks. Mike Check and Mike Harris rank first and second in stolen bases with 19 and 17, respectively. Steve Caravati is tied for the Big Ten lead with four triples. John Mayor ranks fifth with a .396 batting average. On the mound, the Buckeyes rank third with a 3.34 earned run average. E.J. Laratta is tied for the league lead with six wins and leads all pitchers with six pickoffs. Cory Cox leads all relievers with six saves, 15 relief appearances and 14 games finished.
OSU Defeats Oakland
On Wednesday, Ohio State used stellar relief pitching and a late offensive outburst to defeat Oakland (4-24 overall), 8-2, in front of a season-high crowd of 1,734 at Bill Davis Stadium. Buckeye relievers Kyle Blachuta, Kevin Wynk, Jason Bullens, Brandon Steen and Cory Cox combined to stymie the Golden Grizzlies, firing six innings of two-hit relief while allowing just six baserunners.
Scouting the Spartans
The Michigan State Spartans (16-15 overall) enter this week in seventh place in the Big Ten Conference with a 3-7 record. Last weekend, the team lost 3-of-4 in Minneapolis, Minn., to the Minnesota Golden Gophers. On Tuesday, the Spartans defeated Western Michigan, 9-4. On Wednesay, MSU defeated Grand Valley State, 6-4. Entering this week, the Spartans were carrying a team batting average of .295. Bob Malek leads the team and the Big Ten with a .453 BA. He is also pacing the Spartans with 27 runs batted in. Brett Wattles has a team high 10 stolen bases. From the mound, the team is carrying a 6.21 earned run average. Bryan Gayle has a team high four wins (4-0) and is carrying a 2.25 ERA. Dylan Putnam is 1-5 but has a team high 34 strikeouts. Domanick Squires has been the team’s stopper with four saves. The head coach is Ted Mahan. He is in his sixth year at the helm.
OSU vs. MSU All-Time
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series against the Spartans, 107-71-1. Last year, the two teams split a four-game series at Bill Davis Stadium. OSU won the series finale, 7-3.
Big Ten Dominance
With the 3-1 series win over Illinois, the Buckeyes now have won or tied 81of-93 Big Ten series in the 14-year tenure of head coach Bob Todd. The team now has won both weekend series this year (3-1 over Iowa).
Home Dominance
In the five-year history of Bill Davis Stadium, the Buckeyes have never lost a Big Ten Series at home. The Buckeyes have compiled an 86-25 overall record at home.
Offensive Leaders
Entering this weekend, John Mayor leads OSU with a .409 batting average. Nick Swisher is powering the Buckeyes with 10 home runs and 32 runs batted in. He also leads the team with a .756 slugging percentage, .527 on base percentage and 38 walks. Mike Check leads the team with 19 stolen bases. Mike Harris has a team-high 40 hits. As a team, the Buckeyes are batting .322 with 33 home runs and 209 RBI.
Pitching Leaders
Entering this week, E.J. Laratta leads OSU and is tied for the conference lead with six wins (6-1). Cory Cox leads the Big Ten with six saves. Kevin Goodrum is pacing the staff with 39 strikeouts. As a staff, OSU is carrying a 3.65 earned run average.
Fresh Faces
Going into this season, head coach Bob Todd stated his freshmen class was one of the best at OSU in recent memory. So far this season, the Buckeyes already have used nine freshmen in the lineup. Doug Deeds is second on the team with seven home runs and 26 runs batted in. Christian Snavely is batting .311 with 22 RBI. Brett Garrard, Steve Caravati, Terry Pettorini and Derek Kinnear each have started a game in the field. Jason Siler has appeared in three games off the bench. From the mound, Josh Newman has started five games and Kyle Blachuta has made three appearances.
Getting Ranked
In this week’s Collegiate Baseball poll, the Buckeyes were ranked No. 26. OSU cracked the Top 30 rankings during the week of March 26.
Wow … What a Start
The 20-5 start by Ohio State is the best 25 game start the program has seen since 1991 when the Buckeyes opened the season with a 21-4 record. That year, OSU won the Big Ten and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. In 1994, the Buckeyes streaked to a 19-6 start and eventually finished with the best record in the nation at 49-9.
The Winning Streak Ends
The series finale loss to Iowa on April 1, marked the end of OSU’s 17-game winning streak. The Buckeyes truly were dominant during the 17-game binge. The team compiled a .314 batting average and hammered 15 home runs and 114 runs batted in. Opponents batted just .224 with eight home runs and 34 RBI. The pitching staff was sensational, carrying a 2.01 earned run average with 88 strikeouts and 34 walks. Opponents had a 7.41 ERA with 74 strikeouts and 88 walks. The school record for a consecutive-game winning streak of 21 was set in 1999. That year, the Buckeyes won the Big Ten Championship and advanced to the NCAA Super Regional.
Thievery
The Buckeyes already have totaled 56 stolen bases in 30 games this season. Last year, OSU amassed 49 steals in 60 games. Mike Check has been near perfect swiping 19-of-20 bases. Mike Harris is hot on his tail with 17 stolen bases.
The Leading Thief
Mike Check enters this week with 50 career stolen bases, ranking him second on the OSU all-time career list. Roy Marsh (1992-94) holds the school record with 73. Check’s 19 swipes this season ranks tied for No. 9 on the OSU single season records list.
Going One Way
After starting his career as a switch hitter, Joe Wilkins has decided to hit strictly from the right side. The early results have been favorable. In eight games, the OSU starting catcher has compiled a .320 batting average (8-for-25) with three runs batted in. In 17 games prior to the decision to hit just from the right side, Wilkins was carrying a .222 BA with eight RBI. “It has really helped my balance,” Wilkins said. “It has been easier for me to find a rhythm in the batters box hitting from just one side. I’ll probably stick with this until the end of the season.
Lights Out Baseball
The April 4 game against Wright State marked the first game in Bill Davis Stadium history delayed and ultimately suspended because of light failure. Initially, the lights went out during daylight and were temporarily restored. The game was then delayed at 8:32 p.m. after another outage and was restarted at 9:08 p.m. The final power outage occurred at 9:26 p.m. in the top of the ninth inning and the game was then suspended by the umpires.
Triple Play
On April 1, 2001, the Buckeyes hit into the rare triple play. Mike Harris lined a ball to Iowa third baseman Ian Mattiace, who then tagged third base to putout Joe Wilkins and then immediately threw to first base to eliminate Trent McIlvain. OSU won the game over the Hawkeyes, 8-1, in Iowa City. When was the last triple play that involved OSU? Good question. The OSU coaching staff and radio broadcast team of Herb Howenstine and Frank Fraas could not recall a triple play in their collective years of association with the OSU baseball program.
Sweet Swisher
For the week of March 26, the Big Ten Conference named first baseman Nick Swisher as its player of the week. The reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year, he helped lead Ohio State to six wins in Florida while hitting .400 (6-of-15) with three home runs and nine runs batted in. He posted a slugging percentage of 1.067 and each of his homers proved to be the game-winning run in each respective contest. Swisher also collected nine walks (three intentional) while helping the Buckeyes to a perfect 10-0 Spring Break trip (OSU played 10 games in 10 days). Swisher took the award home twice in his freshman season.
Tough Schedule
Two of Ohio State’s four losses have come against ranked opponents and in games decided in the ninth inning. On Feb. 23, OSU opened the 2001 season at the Mardi Gras Ball in Lafayette, La., with a game against No. 11 Nebraska. Going into the ninth inning, OSU was down 6-5, before the Huskers broke the game open with four runs. The following day against No. 25 Wichita State, the two teams played scoreless baseball for the first six innings. In the seventh, both teams scored five runs each and in the bottom of the ninth, the Shockers won the game on a RBI single.
A Perfect Spring Break
Faced with nearly every conceivable type of game (doubleheaders, cancelled games, makeup games, night games followed by early morning games), the Buckeyes stood strong and finished their Spring Break trip with a 10-0 mark in Bradenton, Fla. Ohio State posted wins over conference rival Northwestern along with Harvard, Fairleigh-Dickinson and Vermont.
Kennel Club Classic Recap
On, March 2-4, OSU finished the 2001 Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., with a 2-2 record. The Buckeyes opened the tournament with a thrilling, come from behind 10-9 win over Jacksonville. The following day, OSU upset No. 16 Stetson, 13-5. The Buckeyes concluded the tournament with losses to North Florida and Austin Peay.
Mardi Gras Ball Recap
On Feb. 23-25, the Buckeyes opened the 2001 season at the Mardi Gras Ball in Lafayette, La. OSU opened the tournament with a 10-5 loss to No. 11 Nebraska. Going into the ninth inning, OSU was down 6-5. But the Huskers broke the game open with four runs. Against No. 25 Wichita State, the two teams played scoreless baseball for the first six innings. In the seventh, both teams scored five runs each and in the bottom of the ninth, the Shockers won the game on a RBI single. Against host school Louisiana-Lafayette, the Buckeyes put together their best game of the weekend. Starting pitcher Greg Prenger gave up just four hits in seven innings of work. Steve Caravati drove in four runs to help lead OSU to the 10-2 win.
USA Baseball Adds Todd
USA Baseball has named Ohio State baseball head coach Bob Todd as the third and final assistant coach of the 2001 USA Baseball National Team. The team will consist of collegiate all-stars that will play approximately 30 games on the USA Baseball Red, White and Blue Tour this summer. Pat McMahon of Mississippi State is the head coach and will be assisted by Paul Stevens of Northwestern and Dusty Rhodes of North Florida. In June, USA Baseball, McMahon and his coaching staff will select a team comprised primarily of the nation’s top freshman and sophomore collegiate players. The players will assemble at the training site in Tucson, Ariz., then depart for Japan to play a five-game series against the Japanese Collegiate All-Stars in Tokyo and Okinawa. Upon returning from Japan, the team will play approximately 25 additional games in July in various states on the USA Red, White and Blue Tour, including Alaska, Ohio and New York.
Laratta and Swisher Listed
The 2001 Rotary Smith committee has released a preliminary watch list of over 160 Division I college baseball players who are under consideration to become the winner of the 14th annual Rotary Smith Award, which will be handed out in Houston, Texas June 28. Junior pitcher E.J. Laratta and sophomore first baseman Nick Swisher have been named to the preliminary list. To view the complete list, log on to www.smithaward.com.
Swisher Picked by Magazine
Sophomore first baseman Nick Swisher was Collegiate Baseball’s preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. Last year, Swisher won Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-America honors.
Ticket Information
The Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office has announced that season tickets for the 2001 baseball season are now on sale. The entire season is $176 and the Big Ten Grand Slam package is $96. Single game tickets are currently on sale and will be based on availability. For the general public, box seats are $10 and general admission is $5. For Ohio State students, box seats are $6 and 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 Athletic Ticket Office at 1-800-GO-BUCKS or at (614) 292-6861 or log on to www.hangonsloopy.com.
The TV Schedule.
Prior to this season, the Ohio News Network (ONN) agreed to televise nine OSU baseball games at Bill Davis Stadium. Central Ohio Sport! television also has agreed to televise four additional games. The Buckeyes will now have 13 home games televised this year.
Getting Results
OSU baseball results can easily be found on the Internet at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
On Deck
On Wednesday, April 18, OSU returns to Bill Davis Stadium when they play host to Youngstown State at 6:35 p.m. On Friday, April 20, OSU plays host to Penn State in a four-game series.
