Baseball Hosts Detroit in Three Game Series – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 15, 2002
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Ohio State makes its 2002 debut in Bill Davis Stadium this weekend in a three-game series against Detroit. The teams will play a doubleheader at 1:05 p.m. on Saturday and will close the series with a single game at 1:05 p.m. on Sunday.
The Buckeyes are coming off their first defeat of the season in eight games. OSU is 6-1-1 this season after winning two of the three games in Albuquerque, N.M. last weekend. The Scarlet and Gray scored a school record for runs in a 38-15 triumph over Toledo on Friday before getting the 2,000th all-time victory in a 10-8 win over New Mexico on Saturday. The Lobos handed Ohio State a 22-2 loss on Sunday, the most runs scored against OSU since Miami (Fla.) claimed a 23-3 victory over the Buckeyes in 1999.
Sophomore second baseman Christian Snavely leads the team with a .441 batting average. After batting .571 last week with a triple, home run for five RBI, he is now 15-for-34 for the year. Sophomore rightfielder Doug Deeds is hitting .400 through the eight games. He is 14-for-35, with five extra base hits, including two home runs. He has 11 RBI, one behind senior catcher Joe Wilkins, who leads the team with 12 RBI. Wilkins is batting .393. As a team, the Buckeyes are now batting .335. The pitching staff, which had entered last week’s games with a 1.00 ERA, had a few problems, but now owns a 4.94 ERA after giving up 34 earned runs over the weekend. Chris Hanners has pitched 9.2 innings and maintains a perfect ERA and has allowed just one hit. E.J. Laratta gave up his first earned run of the season in his 14.0 innings. He now has an ERA of 0.64.
The Buckeyes are ranked 22nd by Collegiate Baseball this week. They are also receiving votes (40th) in the Baseball Weekly/ESPN Coaches Poll.
Going for Career Win No. 700
OSU skipper Bob Todd needs only one win to record 700 career victories. He is 699-361-2 in his 19th season as a head coach. The numbers include the 575 wins he has in his 14+ years at Ohio State. The winningest coach in Buckeye baseball history, Todd previously was a head coach at Kent State, where he won 124 games in four seasons.
While at Ohio State, Todd has guided the Buckeyes to seven Big Ten regular season and five Big Ten tournament championships, eight NCAA tournament appearances and five top-20 finishes.
OSU Earns Win No. 2,000
With a 10-8 win on Saturday at New Mexico, Ohio State now has 2,000 all time victories in the 118 years of the program.
The Buckeyes’ all-time record is 2,000-1,287-41 (.607). The school first started playing the sport in 1881, but did not field teams in 1886, 1887, 1908 or 1910. Ohio State ranks 21st nationally in number of all-time victories.
About Detroit
The Titans are 1-5 in 2002 after a six-game road trip to Florida. Detroit defeated Jacksonville in the season opener on March 4, but has lost five in a row, including a 22-1 loss at North Florida, a team Ohio State beat 3-0 in the fifth game of the year. Roger Wechter is batting .417 to lead the team. He is 10-for 24. Juston Davenport has a team-best five RBI and is batting .444. Keith Astrauckas has the best team ERA of the pitchers who have thrown at least five innings. He has a 1.50 ERA in 6.0 innings without a decision.
Against the Titans
The first game of Saturday’s doubleheader against Detroit will just the eighth meeting between the two schools. Ohio State leads the series 5-2 after sweeping the Titans in three games a year ago at Bill Davis Stadium.
Last Year’s Games
Ohio State defeated Detroit by scores of 11-1, 13-0 and 5-4 to open the 2001 home schedule. A total of six batters finished the three-game series with a .500 batting average, including four players that had at least four official at bats. Steve Caravati and Doug Deeds were both 4-for-8. Caravati knocked in eight RBI in hitting for a series cycle. Of the four hits by Deeds, three were doubles. The Buckeyes hit .348 as a team, compared to .207 by the Titans. E.J. Laratta, Kevin Goodrum and Josh Newman got the wins for Ohio State.
In Home Openers
Ohio State is 12-2 in home openers under head coach Bob Todd. The Buckeyes had won the first eight home openers with Todd as the coach, but lost to Iowa to open the 1996 home portion of the schedule. The Hawkeyes claimed a 5-2 win. The only other loss in the home opener under Todd was in 1998 when Ohio Wesleyan won 10-7. The Buckeyes are 4-1 in home openers at Bill Davis Stadium, including last year when they beat Detroit 11-1 on March 9, 2001.
Lobos Win Big
New Mexico used big innings in the sixth and seventh, scoring eight and 10 runs, respectively, to hand Ohio State its first loss of the season, a 22-2 defeat, at Lobo Field on March 10.
It was a pitchers dual until the Buckeye scored two in the fifth. Christian Snavely led off the inning with a base hit to right-center field. Lance Rolston doubled down the left field line, moving Snavely to third and then Brett Garrard flew out to centerfield, a sacrifice that scored Snavely. Drew Anderson batted in the second run of the inning with a base hit to short centerfield. Rolston scored, but Joe Wilkins, who was hit by a pitch, was thrown out at the plate.
New Mexico threatened early advancing a runner to third in each of the first two innings. The Lobos had just one other baserunner until the sixth inning, when they scored eight runs to take an 8-2 lead. New Mexico continued its assault on Ohio State relief pitching in the seventh, scoring 10 runs off nine hits. The Lobo highlight of the inning was a grand slam by Donny Seveiri, the first against Ohio State since the opening weekend of the 1998 season.
De Yapp got the win for the Lobos to improve to 2-1 on the year while Lewis got the loss for Ohio State to fall to 1-1.
Buckeyes Defeat New Mexico for 2,000th All-Time Win
Ohio State scored five runs in the fifth inning en route to a 10-8 victory over New Mexico March 9 at Lobo Field. The win was the 2,000th win in the history of the Ohio State baseball program.
Rightfielder Doug Deeds was 2-for-4 with two RBI and three runs scored. He had two singles in the game that scored two runs for the Buckeyes. Centerfielder Nick Swisher hit his first home run of the season in going 1-for-3 from the plate and had two RBI after walking twice.
Swisher homered in the top of the first inning to give the Buckeyes an early 1-0 lead, but the Lobos scored twice in the bottom of the inning and then added three runs in the second to take a 5-1 lead.
Deeds drew a walk to lead off the fourth inning and was knocked in by Christian Snavely who tripled to the gap in left center, but that was all Ohio State could put together in the fourth to pull within 5-2.
Ohio State scored five runs in the fifth inning despite just three hits to take a 7-5 lead. A single by Deeds in the sixth and a two-base error by the Lobo centerfielder Svetlic scored both Brett Garrard and Swisher to make the score 9-5. New Mexico added three runs in the next two innings to make it 9-8, but Ohio State added an insurance it didn’t need in the top of the ninth for the final 10-8 score.
Newman got his second win of the season improving to 2-0, while Bullens got the loss in relief to fall to 0-2. Chris Hanners picked up his first save of the season, going 2.2 innings giving up no hits.
Record Setting Day in 38-15 Victory over Toledo
Ohio State scored a school record 38 runs, including 13 in the fourth inning, in a 38-15 win over the Toledo Rockets in extremely windy conditions March 8 at Lobo Field at the University of New Mexico.
The Buckeyes also scored eight runs in each of the second and fifth innings and scored in all but the seventh scoring 38 runs off 33 hits with just two errors.
Designated hitter Terry Pettorini went 6-for-6 from the plate scoring six times. Pettorini had home runs in the third and fourth innings and had three singles and a double to knock in five Buckeyes. Doug Deeds and Lance Rolston also had two-homer games. Deeds finished 4-for-6 with six RBI while Rolston was 3-for-7, with a sacrifice fly, to produce a team-best seven RBI.
Second baseman Christian Snavely was 5-for-6, scoring five times with four RBI and centerfielder Nick Swisher was 3-for-5 with five RBI. All nine Ohio State starting batters had at least one hit. Drew Anderson missed hitting for the cycle by a home run and two others also missed hitting for the cycle. Swisher needed a home run, while Deeds needed a single.
Senior righthander E.J. Laratta picked up the win for the Buckeyes, improving to 2-0 on the year, allowing five runs (one earned) on eight hits.
Record Set With 38 Runs
The 38 runs scored against Toledo on March 8 are the most scored by the Buckeyes in the history of the program. Ohio State beat Michigan State on May 7, 1999 by a score of 34-4 at Oldsmobile Park in Lansing, Mich., which had been the runs record. OSU, which had 29 hits in that game, had 33 hits against Toledo.
Buckeyes Hit Seven Home Runs in One Game
Ohio State batters hit seven home runs in the 38-15 win over Toledo on March 8. It was the most home runs in a game for the Buckeyes since they had nine home runs in a 34-4 victory against Michigan State on May 7, 1999.
Through the first five games of the season, Buckeye batters had just one home run amongst them. Joe Wilkins went deep in the fifth game of the year, a 3-0 win over North Florida. Three players belted two homers apiece – Doug Deeds, Terry Pettorini and Lance Rolston each had a pair of home runs – and Christian Snavely added another.
Deeds and Pettorini hit back-to-back home runs in the fourth inning, which was the first time OSU has had two players hit back-to-back home runs since last March in the fourth inning of Ohio State’s 10-5 victory over Northwestern in Bradenton, Fla.
Pettorini’s home runs were in consecutive at bats against Toledo. His bombs were in the third and fourth innings.
Hit Streaks
Both Lance Rolston and Christian Snavely have active hit streaks of seven games, which are both the longest streaks in each’s career and the longest on the team this season. Rolston’s previous long was a three-game stretch that started the third game of last season, while the streak by Snavely is his longest by just one game. His previous long was during the 2001 season, games 10-17. Drew Anderson has a current six-game streak. The longest streak by anyone on this year’s roster is by Doug Deeds, who had hits in 13 straight games in 2001 (games 4-19).
Leadoff Production
Freshman third baseman Drew Anderson is batting in the leadoff spot and is finding a way to get on base. Last Friday in the Buckeyes’ 38-15 win over Toledo in Albuquerque, N.M., he found several ways to reach first base. He was a home run short of hitting for the cycle in the game, but he also reached base by way of a walk, an error and a hit by pitch. He had nine plate appearances in the game and got on base seven times, accounting for five Ohio State runs.
Through the team’s first eight games of the season, Anderson has just one error in 16 fielding opportunities. He is doing an admirable job at the plate as well, batting .303 with 10 hits in 33 at bats with four RBI and nine runs scored. His hits include two doubles and a triple. He has a hit in his last six games.
Ohio State Blanks N. Florida
Rightfielder Doug Deeds broke a scoreless tie in the seventh inning with an RBI single that scored shortstop Brett Garrard and then catcher Joe Wilkins hit a two-run homer as No. 25 Ohio State claimed a 3-0 victory over North Florida, ranked No. 4 in Division II, on March 1.
It was a pitchers dual for most of the game, but Ohio State broke a scoreless tie in the top of the seventh inning when Deeds hit a liner to short right with two outs to score Garrard who walked to lead off the inning. Centerfielder Mike Rabin had bunted Garrard over to second. Second baseman Christian Snavely led off the eighth with a base hit to right field and then Wilkins came to the plate had deposited a Brian Rauch 2-2 offering off the score board in left-center field.
Ohio State freshman lefty Scott Lewis picked up his first win for the Buckeyes in his first career start. He pitched 6 1/3 innings giving up six hits while striking out five batters and walking two. Mike Madsen picked up his first save as a Buckeye.
Rain Cancels Two Games
Constant rain last Saturday and Sunday in Jacksonville, Fla., forced Ohio State to cancel two of its three games at the Kennel Club Classic. The No. 25 Buckeyes were to play at Jacksonville on Saturday and against The Citadel on Sunday. Ohio State will likely add two games later this season.
Wilkins Hits First OSU Homer This Season
Senior catcher Joe Wilkins hit the first home run by a Buckeye this year on March 1 in the 3-0 win over No. 4 (Division II) North Florida. It was just the second home run of his career. He had not homered since his sophomore year in 2000. His first was a grand slam, while this one scored two. Wilkins has a .393 average through the first eight games and leads the team with 12 RBI.
Bulldogs and Buckeyes Tie
Ohio State closed out its stay in Starkville, Miss., Feb. 24 with a rare 6-6 tie at Polk-Dement Stadium at Mississippi State. The game was called because of travel considerations. Drew Anderson led the offense with a 2-for-4 day at the plate and scored two runs for OSU as the Buckeyes remained undefeated to start the season at 3-0-1. MSU improved to 1-1-1 on the year.
The Buckeyes sprinted out to a 6-1 lead and appeared to be handing then-No. 19 Mississippi State its second loss of the year, leading by that margin into the bottom of the seventh inning. Back-to-back home runs by the Bulldogs pulled them within a 6-3 score.
The Buckeyes went three and out in the eighth. Snavely reached on a single but was picked off two batters later to clear the bases and the inning ended with a Rabin ground out to short. Three singles and a Buckeye error allowed Mississippi State to tie the game in the eighth before the game was called.
First Tie Since 1990
The 6-6 tie between Ohio State and Mississippi State during the opening weekend of the season was the first tie for Ohio State since March 21, 1990, at the Spartan Classic in San Jose, Calif. The Buckeyes played Big Ten foe Minnesota to a 9-9 tie, which was the first tie in the Bob Todd era at Ohio State. This was the 41st tie in OSU baseball history.
Buckeyes Get Extra Inning Win Over UAB to Get to 3-0
Lance Rolston lined a single to left center field in the bottom of the 10th inning allowing Christian Snavely to score the game-winning run in a 4-3 contest with the UAB Blazers at Polk-Dement Stadium in Starkville, Miss., Feb. 23. It was the third win in a row for the Buckeyes (3-0) at the NBC Classic hosted by Mississippi State while the Blazers lost their third-consecutive game to slip to 2-6 on the year.
Nate Smith made his first start of the year for the Buckeyes and allowed one hit while the OSU defense retired the side. Offensively, Snavely, Anderson and Rolston chipped in two hits to the OSU total of 10 with Rolston adding two RBI. Chris Hanners pitched six scoreless innings in relief of Smith allowing one hit and striking out two to garner the first win of his collegiate career.
Ohio State Smacks No. 19 Mississippi State
The Ohio State baseball team’s offense broke out for nine runs on 12 hits to defeat Mississippi State, 9-2, in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at the NBC Classic in Starkville, Miss. Nick Swisher went 1-for-3 with two walks and three runs scored to pace the Buckeyes.
Doug Deeds also scored three times and Christian Snavely went 3-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored to support starting pitcher Josh Newman. Newman went eight innings throwing 117 pitches allowing two runs on six hits with nine strike outs. He opened the game limiting the Bulldogs to two hits and recording four strike outs, including three in the first inning.
Buckeyes Open With 2-0 Win
The Ohio State baseball team, behind a solid pitching performance from E.J. Laratta, opened its 2002 season with a 2-0 victory over Alabama-Birmingham in the first game of the National Bank of Commerce Classic in Starkville, Miss., on Friday, Feb. 22.
Laratta struck out nine Blazers en route to the 15th complete game of his career. Doug Dendinger sparked the Buckeye offense with an RBI single in the top of the eighth to break a scoreless tie in a classic pitcher’s dual at Polk-Dement Stadium at Mississippi State.
Laratta Gets 27th Win
With the 2-0 win in the season opener over Alabama-Birmingham, Laratta moved into a tie with Chris Granata (1991-94) for fifth all-time at OSU with 27. He also moved past Granata and Tom Schwarber (1987-91) in innings pitched with 300.1, the third-most in Buckeye history.
Laratta Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week
E.J. Laratta was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Feb. 26 after he started the season opener for the Buckeyes and delivered a nine-inning shutout. The senior righthander struck out nine batters and allowed only three hits in shutting down the UAB attack to spark OSU to a 3-0-1 start to the season. Laratta moved into a tie for fifth on the all-time Ohio State wins list with 27 and tossed the 15th complete game of his career.
Best Start Since 1991
Ohio State had its best start since the 1991 season when the team won its first eight games before losing its ninth. The 1991 team finished the year with a 53-13 record and won the Big Ten. This season, the team is 6-1-1.
The Buckeyes had lost their season opener each of the last two years. The last team to win an opener was the 1999 team, which won its first two games before a loss. That team won four of its first five games and five of its first seven contests.
On the Bases
The Buckeyes stole 12 bases on 17 attempts in the four games of the season. Since that time, also a stretch of four games, they have stolen only 3-of-5. Seven players have at least one stolen base, including Drew Anderson, who is perfect on three attempts. Doug Dendinger has attempted a team-best four steals, but has been successful just twice.
New Year… Same Goals
Regardless of the year, decade or century, the goal of coach Bob Todd’s Buckeyes is always simple and always the same. Just play baseball. Fundamentals and education are the key to success of any organization whether it be a corporate setting, a workroom floor or a ball club.
Ohio State has proven to be the dominant team of the Big Ten and a national contender every season. The Buckeyes won their 14th conference championship, seven of which have come under the leadership of Todd. One of the most impressive streaks in all of college athletics was also continued — Every player recruited by Todd has left school with a Big Ten Championship ring.
The Captains
Seniors Doug Dendinger and Brandon Steen and juniors Nate Smith and Lance Rolston have been elected captains for 2002 season.
“All four of these student-athletes are great representatives of the Ohio State baseball program,” head coach Bob Todd said. “Each of them already has a pair of Big Ten Championship rings. They know what it takes to excel at this level and will be an integral part in what we do as a team this season.”
Dendinger, a two-year starter, will play both first base and outfield this season. Steen enters the year as the team’s stopper out of the bullpen. Smith, who missed last year rehabilitating a shoulder injury, will compete for one of the starting jobs in the rotation. Rolston will contend for a starting job in the outfield.
Swisher Preseason All-American
A couple of national publications have tabbed first baseman Nick Swisher as a preseason All-American. Both Collegiate Baseball and Baseball America have pegged Swisher as a second team selection. Last year, Swisher led the Big Ten with 15 home runs, set a school record with 60 walks and was a First-Team All-Big Ten honoree. He was also a member of the U.S. National team in the summer.
Four All-Big Ten Selections Return
The Ohio State roster returns four All-Big Ten selections, including three first team selections. Nick Swisher (first base), Doug Deeds (designated hitter) and E.J. Laratta (starting pitcher) were all first team honorees. Greg Prenger (starting pitcher) was a third team selection.
Three Freshman All-Americans
OSU’s fabulous freshman class of 2001 should return as super sophomores in 2002. At the conclusion of last season, Doug Deeds, Josh Newman and Christian Snavely were all named to the Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American team.
Only Four-Time Coach of the Year
Bob Todd continues to be the standard bearer for baseball coaches in the Big Ten. Since the inception of the award in 1988, Todd has been named the Big Ten Coach of the Year an unprecedented four-times, including last season. No other coach has won the award more than twice.
Back-to-Back-to-Back
In 1999 E.J. Laratta started a three-year run of Big Ten Freshman of the Year and Freshman All-America selections for the Buckeyes. Following Laratta were Nick Swisher in 2000 and Doug Deeds last year. Since the inception of the award in 1998, Ohio State leads the Big Ten with an unprecedented five selections. No other school has more than two honorees.
The New Faces
The Buckeyes welcomed 12 freshman to the program this fall. This group features six all-state selections and one Major League Draft selection. The freshman class includes: Drew Anderson, Cody Caughenbaugh, Paul Farinacci, Geno Ferraro, Chris Hanners, Brooks Graff, Kelly Houser, Scott Lewis, Trent Luyster, Mike Madsen, Justin Myers and John Toffey.
Bill Davis Stadium
The Ohio State baseball program will call Bill Davis Stadium its home for the sixth-consecutive year. In a short period of time, the venue has established itself as one of the premier college ballparks in the nation. Last year was highlighted when for the second time in three seasons, Ohio State earned the right to host the Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA Columbus Regional. In 1999, the Buckeyes also played host to an NCAA Super Regional.
In 1998, lights, a batter’s eye in centerfield and the matrix score board for animation were added. In 1999, expanded seating was added as additional bleachers were placed along both foul lines to increase the stadium capacity to 4,450. Also, the baseball office was relocated inside the stadium making Bill Davis Stadium the true home of the Ohio State baseball program.
In the 2000 offseason, meeting, equipment and recreation rooms were added under the stadium on the third base side. Prior to last season, a weight room was constructed under the stadium along the first base side.
