Baseball Plays Host to the Akron Zips – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 25, 2001
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Entering this week in third place in the Big Ten Conference, the Ohio State Buckeyes are set to begin one of the biggest weeks of their season. The Big Ten race is extremely tight with one loss separating the top three teams. This weekend, OSU plays host to conference leading Minnesota in a four-game showdown. Prior to the weekend showdown, OSU must get by instate foe Akron in a Wednesday battle. The Buckeyes enter this week as the only Big Ten school with 30 wins (30-10) and with an 11-5 conference record. Last weekend, OSU rebounded to split a four-game series with the Penn State Nittany Lions. The Zips are 7-6 overall and 3-12 in the Mid-American Conference. Last weekend Akron lost 3-of-4 to Kent.
The Broadcast
The Akron game will be televised live by the Ohio News Network (ONN). Jeff Hogan will call the action with former Ohio State football and baseball player Greg Frey providing the color commentary. ONN’s complete statewide channel listings can be found on the Internet at ONNnews.com. ONN is Ohio’s own 24-hour cable news channel, featuring local news, weather, sports and information relevant to the lives of Ohioans. WOSU Radio (820 AM) and ohiostatebuckeyes.com will air the game live with the tandem of Herb Howenstine and the jovial Frank Fraas calling the action.
OSU Adds a Game
The Buckeyes have added a game to their 2001 schedule. Thursday, May 3, Ohio State will play host to Cincinnati at 6:35 p.m. in Bill Davis Stadium.
The OSU Offense
Mike Harris enters this week with a team-high .379 batting average. Nick Swisher is pacing the team with 11 home runs and Doug Dendinger has driven in an OSU best 38 runs. Harris and Mike Check are tied for the team lead with 23 stolen bases. As a team, the Buckeyes are batting .322 with 43 home runs and 263 runs batted in.
The OSU Pitchers
E.J Laratta (6-2) leads the OSU staff with six wins. Kevin Goodrum has struck out a team-best 39 batters. Greg Prenger leads the starting pitchers with a 3.00 earned run average. Cory Cox leads the team with eight saves. As a staff, OSU is carrying a 4.12 ERA and opponents are carrying a .282 BA.
Individual Big Ten Leaders
Entering this week, Mike Check and Mike Harris were tied for the league lead with 23 stolen bases. Nick Swisher leads the league with a .519 on base percentage and 45 walks. Steve Caravati’s four triples tie him for the conference lead. Doug Dendinger is seventh in the Big Ten with 38 runs batted in. On the mound, Cory Cox leads the Big Ten with eight saves and 18 games finished. He is tied for the league lead with 19 appearances and 19 games in relief. E.J. Laratta is pacing the league with six pickoffs and ranks third with six wins. Greg Prenger ranks third with a 3.00 earned run average.
Scouting the Zips
The Akron Zips enter this week with a 7-26 overall record and 3-12 Mid-American Conference mark. Last weekend, the Zips lost 3-of-4 to Kent. They also have lost 11 of their last 13 games. Offensively, the team is led by Clarke White. He is pacing the team with a .364 batting average. Ty Moorhead and Sean Manfredonia supply the power as they are tied for the team lead with four home runs. Lou Pederi and Jim Gemler lead the Zips with 18 runs batted in each. Steve Bowers has been the leading thief with 20 stolen bases in 21 attempts. As a group, Akron is batting .266 with 25 home runs and 163 RBI. On the mound Ben McCauley is the only pitcher with two wins and he has a team-high 41 strikeouts. As a staff, the Zips carry a 7.46 earned run average and opponents are carrying a .304 BA. The Akron head coach is Tim Berenyi. He is in his first year at the helm and is a 1992 graduate of Akron.
OSU vs. UA All-Time
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series, 23-16-7. Last year, the teams met at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. The OSU defense was spotty as it recorded five errors en route to a 5-2 loss on March 4, 2000. Nate Smith took the loss after giving up just three runs (one earned) in six innings of work.
Scouting the Gophers
The Minnesota Golden Gophers (27-15 overall) enter this week in first place in the Big Ten Conference with a 15-4 record. Last weekend, they swept a four-game series at Iowa. Offensively, Sam Steidl leads the team with a .391 batting average. Jack Hannahan brings the power as he leads the Gophers with both 12 home runs and 43 runs batted in. He also is leading the team with 14 stolen bases. As a team, Minnesota is carrying a .322 batting average with 37 home runs and 293 runs batted in. On the mound, Mike Kobow has been the most consistent starter. He leads UM with a 6-2 record and 61 strikeouts. He also is carrying a 4.56 earned run average. C.J. Woodrow has been impressive with a 5-3 record and a 4.76 ERA. As a staff, the Golden Gophers have a 4.77 ERA and opponents are carrying a .290 BA. The Minnesota head coach is John Anderson. He is in his 20th year at the helm.
More on the Matchup
The Ohio State and Minnesota series pits two very evenly matched programs together. The teams have had met four times in the conference regular season over the past eight years and have split every time. The last time a team won a series was in 1993 when OSU took 3-of-4 at old Trautman Field. The teams have met four times in the postseason in the past five years and have split those games as well.
Statistical Breakdown
The series pits the top two hitting clubs and the No. 1 pitching staff in the Big Ten Conference. Minnesota and Ohio State enter this week tied for the Big Ten lead with a .322 team batting average. The Buckeyes also lead the conference with 43 home runs and 68 stolen bases. Minnesota is second in the conference with 37 home runs and leads the league with 324 runs scored. On the mound, OSU leads the conference with a 4.12 earned run average, 30 wins and 11 saves. Minnesota enters this week ranked No. 4 with a 4.77 ERA.
OSU vs. Minnesota Last Year
Last year, the teams split a four-game series in Minneapolis. The Buckeyes won the first two games and the Golden Gophers took the final two. E.J. Laratta and Kevin Goodrum picked up the wins and Cory Cox recorded a save in game two. Nick Swisher batted .333 (3-for-9) with a home run and two runs batted in. Joe Wilkins also batted .333 (2-for-6).
OSU vs. Minnesota All-Time
The Golden Gophers lead the all-time series, 58-53-2.
Big Ten Dominance
With the 2-2 series split with Penn State, the Buckeyes now have won or tied 83-of-95 Big Ten series in the 14-year tenure of head coach Bob Todd. The team won its first three Big Ten series this year (3-1 over Iowa, Illinois and Michigan State).
Home Dominance
In the five-year history of Bill Davis Stadium, the Buckeyes never have lost a Big Ten Series at home. The Buckeyes have compiled an 90-28 overall record at home.
The Slimmest of Margins
This season, the Buckeyes are 6-1 in one-run games this season. To put this statistic in perspective, OSU finished 9-10 last year and 4-2 in 1999 in games decided by a single run.
This is My House
Freshman Steve Caravati has quickly made Bill Davis Stadium his favorite ballpark to play in. In 11 games (five starts), the outfielder is batting .500 (12-for-24) with a double, two triples, two home runs and 14 runs batted in. His home slugging percentage is an astounding .958 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.
Buckeyes Split with PSU
Last weekend, the Buckeyes dropped the first two games of a four-game series with Penn State but rebounded to win the final two games to preserve a 2-2 split. On Sunday, Josh Newman pitched a solid 6.1 innings and recorded a career-high six strikeouts to earn the win. Cory Cox entered the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the top of the ninth inning and recorded the final out to pick up his eighth save and help OSU to a 6-4 win. In game two of Saturday’s doubleheader, Doug Deeds blasted two home runs to help propel the Buckeyes to a 16-6 victory. OSU lost game one of the doubleheader and the series opener on Friday, 8-3 and 9-4, respectively.
Walk This Way
The combination of a selective eye at the plate and respect from opposing pitchers has given Nick Swisher an amazing 45 walks in 37 games. Not only does he lead the Big Ten Conference in this category, he also is tied for fourth 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.
Name Year Walks 1. Mike Lockwood 1997 50 2. Nick Swisher 2001 45 Greg Mohler 1982 45 3. Chris Williams 1995 44 4. Mike Durant 1991 42 Jason Trott 1999 42
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 week with 87 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 Sept. 1, 1977 and is the only member of the team born that year.
The Fireman
Cory Cox enters this week with eight saves. The total is the third most in school history. He already holds the school record with nine saves set in 1999 and recorded the second most last year with eight saves.
Fast Times
The Buckeyes already have totaled 68 stolen bases in 40 games this season. Last year, OSU amassed 49 steals in 60 games. The team single-season record is 84 set in 1993.
Show of Unity
Five 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 “Musty” Calcamuggio, who wears his head shaved all year round, helped convince Chris “Dusty” Alvord to sport the same look during the Spring Break Trip in Bradenton, Fla. In the two weeks since, Derek “Busty” Kinnear, Doug “Clusty” Larason and Brian “Rusty” Panke have followed suit, giving the catchers a more aerodynamic look collectively.
Blank Man
April 14 against Michigan State, Greg Prenger threw a complete game, six-hit shutout to help lead OSU to a 4-0 win. He went seven innings, did not allow a walk and recorded three strikeouts. Prenger was both efficient and dominant throwing 94 pitches, including 64 for strikes (68 percent) and faced just three batters over the minimum. He also became the first OSU pitcher since E. J. Laratta in 1999 to record two complete-game shutouts in a season (first shutout vs. Harvard on March 24).
Going One Way
After starting his career as a switch hitter, Joe Wilkins decided to hit strictly from the right side after the Spring Break trip. The results have been favorable. In 15 games, the OSU starting catcher has compiled a .340 batting average (16-for-47) with four 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.
The Rankings
The Buckeyes are unranked for the first time in four weeks. For the week of April 16, OSU was ranked No. 25 in the USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll. In the Collegiate Baseball poll, the Buckeyes cracked the Top 30 rankings during the week of March 26 and peeked as high as No 23. OSU stayed ranked for four weeks.
Wow … What a Start
The 20-5 start by Ohio State was 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.
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.
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.
Ticket Information
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.
Getting Results
OSU baseball results can easily be found on the Internet at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
On Deck
This weekend, OSU plays host to Minnesota in a four-game series at Bill Davis Stadium. On Friday, the teams play a night game at 6:35 p.m. The twi-night doubleheader on Saturday begins at 4:05 p.m. On Sunday, the series finale begins at 1:05 p.m.
