Youngstown State Visits Ohio State – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/1/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 1, 2002
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Ohio State will play host to Youngstown State Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes have yet to win any of their three Wednesday night games this season, but will be trying to change their luck this week against the Penguins in a televised game by ONN.
Ohio State split the four game series this past weekend against Purdue. The Buckeyes lost the first two games of the series, 7-5 and 10-7, which extended the home losing streak to five games (the longest losing streak in the six-year history of Bill Davis Stadium). OSU pitching allowed just one run in winning the final two games of the series, by 8-0 and 3-1 scores.
The Buckeyes have a 25-13-1 record overall, but still cling to the Big Ten lead by XX games with an 11-6 conference record.
Youngstown State lost two of three games last weekend at Butler and is 12-20 after losing at Kent State 11-5 on Tuesday night.
Nick Swisher extended his hit streak to 17 games with a home run in the series final against the Boilermakers. During that streak, Swisher is batting .442 with three homers and 13 RBI He has a .712 slugging percentage and a .577 on-base percentage. Doug Deeds continues to pace the Buckeye offense. He is batting .399 with a team-best 10 home runs and 36 RBI. He went deep twice against Purdue.
Ohio State will travel to Michigan each of the next two weekends, sandwiching next Wednesday’s home game against Miami (Ohio). The Buckeyes play at Michigan this weekend and at Michigan State May 10-12.
About Youngstown State
The Penguins lost two of three Horizon League games at Butler last weekend and has now lost three in a row after falling to Kent State 11-5 on Tuesday. The Penguins bring a 12-20 record to Columbus. Youngstown State won the opening game of the series Butler series 5-2 in 10 innings but then lost two games on Sunday by identical 2-0 scores.
The Penguins are batting .265 as a team and are led by Kendall Schlabach, who is hitting .361 with 17 RBI, eight doubles, two triples and a home run. Tim Stacey leads the team with four home runs, while he, Schlabach and Jim Lipinski each have 17 RBI to pace the Penguins.
Against the Penguins
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Youngstown State 10-2. The schools have met every year since 1990, with the exception of the 1992 season. The teams played twice in 1991, with the Buckeyes winning both times that year. The Penguins won the first meeting 15-12. OSU has won the last five meetings, including last year’s affair, 4-2. The last win by Youngstown State in the series was an 11-9 victory in 1996.
Todd Eyeing OSU Win No. 600
Ohio State coach Bob Todd won his 700th career game earlier this season against Detroit on March 16. Now, he is within six victories of winning his 600th game at Ohio State. Todd has a 594-291-2 record and is already the winningest baseball coach in Buckeye history, doing that with his 479th win on May 5, 1999 vs. Pittsburgh. He won 500th game on March 19, 2000 against Oregon State. Todd, now in his 15th year at Ohio State, has a career record of 718-373-2 in his 19th season as a head coach, having previously coached at Kent.
Live on the Internet
Fans can follow the Buckeyes live on the Internet at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Broadcasts by WOSU-AM Radio from all games can be heard by clicking on a link on that web site. For home games, fans can also catch the broadcast by OSU student radio, The Underground at www.underground.fm. A live box score is also available on the Ohio State Athletics web site for all home games.
Wednesday Woes
With the loss to Wooster last Wednesday, the Buckeyes have now lost all three Wednesday games this season. Oakland surprised the Buckeyes by winning 10-5 on April 10 and then Dayton did it to the Buckeyes on April 17, sneaking out of Columbus with a 4-3 victory. Wooster, the top-ranked team in Division III and coached by Tim Pettorini, the father of OSU designated hitter/third baseman Terry Pettorini, beat Ohio State 9-7 this past Wednesday. After this week’s meeting with Youngstown State, the remaining Wednesday dates for the Buckeyes include Miami, Ohio (May 8) and Cleveland State (May 15).
Last Wednesday…
Top-Ranked Wooster Wins 9-7
Wooster, the No. 1 ranked team in Division III, scored twice in the top of the eighth inning to break a 7-7 tie to knock off Ohio State 9-7 April 24 at Bill Davis Stadium. It was the third straight Wednesday night loss for the Buckeyes.
Bill Daugherty singled to left-center field to score Luke Ullman and Jared Treadway to give the Fighting Scots the two-run lead in the top of the eighth inning.
Ohio State had tied the game, 7-7, in the bottom of the seventh on solo home runs by Doug Deeds and Terry Pettorini. Wooster would have dominated the game if it were not for four Buckeye home runs.
Joining Deeds and Pettorini in going deep were Paul Farinacci, which gave Ohio State a 3-1 lead in the third, and Christian Snavely, who pulled the Buckeyes within 7-4 in the sixth. It was the fourth game this season and the second time in the last six games, that OSU batters have had at least four homers in a game.
Lewis Garners Pitcher of the Week Honors
Lefthanded pitcher Scott Lewis struck out a career-best 12 Purdue batters on Sunday to earn Big Ten Pitcher of the Week accolades.
Lewis salvaged a series split for Ohio State, maintaining the Buckeyes’ lead atop the Big Ten in the process. He scattered six hits over seven innings, allowing only one run while complementing his strikeout total with no walks. The Ohio native improved to 5-2 on the year and lowered his ERA to 2.67, which ranks second on the team and third in the Big Ten behind conference-leader and fellow Buckeye Nate Smith, who has a 1.87 ERA..
Lewis is the third member of the Buckeyes’ starting rotation to earn the conference weekly honor, joining Smith (April 1) and E.J. Laratta (Feb. 25). Thanks to Lewis’ performance, Ohio State has never lost a Big Ten series in Bill Davis Stadium, which opened in 1997.
Lefties Pave Way for Split
Ohio State went into the series vs. Purdue moving around the pitching rotation from what it had been the first four series in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes had thrown E.J Larrata, Josh Newman, Scott Lewis and Nate Smith, in that order, against conference opposition the first half of league play.
But when Ohio State and Indiana were rained out April 21 in Bloomington, a game that was to be started by Smith with his then-perfect 4-0 record and conference-best 1.25 ERA, the OSU coaching staff thought about tossing Smith Friday against the Boilermakers. After all, he had proven to be worthy of the No. 1 spot in the rotation.
Smith, a righty, was roughed up five runs, four earned, on five hits as the Boilermakers took the opening game of the series 7-5. That set the stage for Laratta in the first game of Saturday’s scheduled doubleheader. He started the game, but it was suspended in the middle of the third inning. The righty came back when play resumed Sunday, but Boilermaker batters made him responsible for nine runs on 11 hits.
Newman went the distance for the Buckeyes to shut out the Boilermakers 8-0 in game three. The win to earn his team-leading seventh win of the year. The left-hander struck out three and walked two as the Boilermakers had six hits.
Lewis started game four for Ohio State. This lefty also pitched a complete game with a career-best 12 strikeouts. After giving up a run in the first inning, he got ground out and two strikeouts to get out of the inning. Purdue third baseman Simon Klink got a base hit off Lewis in the second inning, but the freshman lefthander struck out the next three batters. He also struck out the side in the fourth inning and got his 10th strikeout. Lewis improved to 5-2 with the complete game victory. He allowed just the one run (earned) on six hits. He did not walk a Boilermaker.
Swisher Homer Extends Hit Streak to 17 Games
Junior Nick Swisher hit a home run in the series finale that added a run of insurance in the bottom of the sixth as the Big Ten-leading Buckeyes won 3-1 to save a series sweep against Purdue. He had walked in his two previous plate appearances and a total of six times in the series. He was also hit by a pitch. But his frustration of being pitched around paid off with a shot over the fence in right-centerfield.
The home run extended his career-long hit streak to 17 games. During that streak, Swisher is batting .442 with three homers and 13 RBI He has a .712 slugging percentage and a .577 on-base percentage.
Swisher had homered in the third inning of Saturday’s suspended game, after play resumed on Sunday. He now has a total of seven home runs this season, third best on the team.He is third for the Buckeyes in batting average this season with a .378 average and leads the team with 18 extra base hits, including a team-best nine doubles.
Dendinger Producing
First baseman Doug Dendinger was 6-for-13 in the four games vs. Purdue last weekend. The .462 batting average was second on the team behind Swisher’s .556 in the four-game series. He had a double and a home run in knocking in five RBI. He also scored three times. He also had a sacrifice fly.
The senior from Greenwich, Ohio, struggled to start the season going just 5-for-24 (.208) in his first eight games. Now, he has a hit in each of his last seven games, one game short of last year’s career-long eight game hit streak. In those seven games he has a team-best 11 hits in batting .440 with six RBI, tied for the team lead.
In his 35 games this year, Dendinger is batting .322 with 10 of this 37 hits for extra bases, including four home runs. His average is fifth on the team. In Big Ten games, his average is up to .359, which is fourth best for the Buckeyes. Dendinger batted .291 last year after btting .305 as a freshman and .289 as a sophomore.
OSU Salvages Split
A wild pitch scored the winning run and a Nick Swisher home run added a run of insurance in the bottom of the sixth as Ohio State beat Purdue 3-1 in the second game of a Sunday doubleheader for a split of the weekend series against the Boilermakers.
Ohio State picked up a run in the third to take a 2-1 lead on a wild pitch by Purdue starter Scott Byrnes. Christian Snavely led off the inning with a base hit up the middle and moved to second on Swisher’s second walk of the game. Byrnes’ first wild pitch of the game moved Swisher to second and put Snavely 90 feet away from the plate.
The OSU victory salvaged a series tie for the Buckeyes, which have never lost a Big Ten series at Bill Davis Stadium, which opened to start the 1997 season.
Snavely was 2-for-3 for the Buckeye with one run batted in, while Swisher’s home run was his only of the game. Doug Dendinger also went 2-for-2 from the plate.
Buckeyes Blank Purdue 8-0
After losing the first two games of the series to Purdue, Ohio State battled back to shutout the Boilermakers 8-0 in the first game of a Sunday doubleheader at Bill Davis Stadium.
Ohio State got its first two batters of the game across the plate. Christian Snavely led off the game for the Buckeyes with a double to left field and then scored on a double down the rightfield line by Brett Garrard. Garrard moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a sacrifice fly by Doug Dendinger.
Dendinger and Doug Deeds each had two-run home runs for the Buckeyes in the bottom of the fifth to give Ohio State a 6-0 lead. Deeds’ blast was his second of the day in the 10th of the season. He had a two-run long ball in the third inning of the suspended game. The dinger by Dendinger was his fourth of the season.
Ohio State went on to add two runs in the bottom of the sixth.
Teams Gets Seventh Shutout
The 8-0 shut out of Purdue was the seventh shutout for the Buckeyes this season, which is the third-highest season total in Ohio State history. The most shutouts in a game is eight, which the team pitched last year and also in 1977. The Buckeyes have shutouts this season of Alabama-Birmingham (2-0 on Feb. 22), North Florida (3-0 on March 1), Detroit (10-0 on March 16), Harvard (9-0 on March 25), Penn State (10-0 on April 6 and 11-0 and April 7) and Purdue (8-0 last Sunday).
Purude Takes Suspended Game 10-7
Purdue catcher David Harrell hit a grand slam in the fourth inning to help the Boilermakers back from a 6-1 deficit en route to a 10-7 victory Sunday that gave them a 2-0 lead in the four-game series. The game was the conclusion of Satruday’s game that had been suspended because of rain.
When play resumed with the score tied 1-1, the Buckeyes jumped on top of Boilermakers pitching, batting around to score five runs on six hits, including home runs by Nick Swisher and Doug Deeds. The home run by Deeds was his ninth of the season and scored Brett Garrard. Lance Rolston and Mike Rabin each batted in runs to give the Buckeyes a 6-1 lead after the third inning.
Ohio State squandered two chances to get out of the top of the fourth with no or minimal damage, but Purdue went on to score seven runs to take an 8-6 lead. With one out, Koester hit a ground ball right to Garrard, the OSU shortstop, but the ball went off his chest and he could only get the runner at second failing to get the tailor-made double play. John Gusich scored on the play.
Another base hit scored Adam Fazio and put runners at first and second. Fazio broke for second, forgetting it was occupied by Koester. Buckeye catcher Joe Wilkins ran toward the runner at second who moved towards third, but the runners safely got back to their bases. They did however move up on a walk from E.J. Laratta to load the bases.
A base hit to left by Nick McIntyre scored Fazio and then David Harrell gave Purdue an 8-6 lead with his first career grand slam. Purdue added a pair of runs in the top of the seventh to take a 10-6 lead.
With the defeat, Ohio State’s home losing streak stretched to five games.
Boilermakers Beat Buckeyes
Purdue scored twice in the top of the ninth to break a 5-5 tie to give itself a 7-5 victory over Ohio State in the first game of a four-game weekend Big Ten series Friday night at Bill Davis Stadium.
The loss was the fourth in a row for the Buckeyes, which have also lost each of the last three Wednesday night non-conference games.
With two on and two out for the Buckeyes in the eighth with the scored tied 5-5, it appeared Brett Garrard would give the Buckeyes a one-run lead on a hit to shallow rightfield. But Nick McIntyre, the Purdue second baseman, chased the blooper down grabbing it over his shoulder for the final out of the inning and ending the Buckeye threat.
The Boilermakers carried the momentum of the great catch by scoring the winning run in the top of the ninth on a base hit by third baseman John Gusich. That single through the right side scored McIntyre, who had led off the inning with a base hit to left. First baseman Kris Luce was intentionally walked to put runners at first and second. Gusich’s base hit moved Luce to second and then a sacrifice bunt by Andy Rempel moved him to third. He scored on a wild pitch by Ohio State reliever Brandon Steen to give Purdue the 7-5 lead.
Five Buckeyes on Watch List for Smith Award
Five players are among the more than 150 players that have been named to the midseason watch list for the 15th annual Rotary Smith Award, that was announced April 25. The award will be given to the nation’s top player June 24 in Houston, Texas.
The Buckeyes landed a pair of starting pitchers on the list in E.J. Laratta and Nate Smith, as both own top-10 ERAs in the Big Ten. Smith tops the Conference with a 1.87 ERA and a record of 4-0, while Laratta boasts a 4.15 ERA with a 6-2 mark.
The three other OSU players nominated for this prestigious honor are first baseman Nick Swisher, second baseman Christian Snavely and outfielder Doug Deeds. Swisher was the 2000 Big Ten Freshman of the Year while Deeds copped Freshman of the Year accolades last season. The trio leads the Buckeyes this year in batting.
Voting to determine the 12 semifinalists will begin in mid-May. Three finalists will be announced prior to the start of the NCAA super regionals, June 7-9.
Dendinger Walks into Second
Senior first baseman Doug Dendinger ranks second on Ohio State’s all-time walks list He has 128 career walks, just eight behind Greg Mohler (1981-84), who has 136. Dendinger has 33 walks this season to lead the team and the Big Ten.
Nick Swisher is also up there on the career walks list. The junior centerfielder ranks fifth with 118 career walks. Behind Dendinger is Mark Carek (1995-98) in third with 124 and Robby Cobb (1980-83) in fourth with 123. Swisher has 30 this season and ranks third in the Big Ten, behind Dendinger and Indiana’s Vasili Spanos, who has walked 31 times this season.
Steen Plays in 62nd Game, Earns Fourth Save of Season
Brandon Steen currently has 63 career appearances, which ranks eighth in the school record book. He trail Justin Fry (1995-99), who has 64 in seventh and Gary Fragle (1993-96) who has 66 in sixth.
Steen made his 63 appearance Friday night against Purdue, a game in which he got his first decision of the year. He had not had a decision since the final game of 2001, a loss to Delaware in the NCAA Tournament.
Steeen has four saves this season, which put him in a four-way tie on the season saves list. He is tied with Bob Spears (1995), Chad Hale (1993), Dennis Pachner (1993) and Tony Khoury (1991). Steen, who finihsed with a career-best five saves last season, had a 4-4 record in 26 appearances.
Laratta Second in Wins
E.J. Laratta is currently in second place on the school’s all-time win list and trails Justin Fry (1995-99) by just four wins for the most all time.
In his last outting, he got his second loss of the season. He pitched the first three innings of the Saturday game against Purdue before it was suspended in the middle of the third because of rain. When play resumed on Sunday, he came back to pitch the next three innings. After Ohio State had gone up 6-1 entering the fourth, Laratta allowed seven runs in the fourth inning to give the Boilermakers an 8-6 lead.
Laratta has now pictched 351 2/3 innings in his career at Ohio State. The total is the second most in school history, behind Fry, the all-time leader, who pitched 419 2/3 innings.
Laratta also has 226 strikeouts in his four years as a Buckeye and moved into the top 10 list with three in his start against Purdue. Scott Klingenbeck (1990-92) is ninth on the list with 238 strikeouts.
Big Ten Rankings
Ohio State has the No. 1 pitching staff (4.24 ERA) and the No. 4 batters (.309 BA) when taking all games into account this season. But the numbers flip-flop somewhat when only looking at conference games. In Big Ten games only, the Buckeyes have the No. 2 batting contingent (.323) and the No. 4 pitching staff (4.52).
Regardless of which games are accounted for, Nate Smith is the best pitcher in the Big Ten as far as ERA is concerned. He has a 1.87 ERA overall and a 1.84 ERA in conference games. The junior from Bryan, Ohio, is holding all of the opposition to a batting average of .196. Both figures lead the league.
In all games, Doug Deeds is third in the conference in individual batting with a .399 average. Christian Snavely cracks the top 10 in tenth with his .378 average. However, in Big Ten games only, Nick Swisher is second with a .410 average. Mike Rabin is 10th with a .380 average.
Other Rankings…
In all games, Scott Lewis has the third best ERA (2.67)… Nick Swisher is second in on-base percentage (.497), while Doug Deeds is third (.491) and Doug Dendinger fourth (.481)… Dendinger is the conference leader by two in walks with 33 and Swisher is third with 30… Lewis has 66 strikeouts to rank sixth in the Big Ten and is holding opposing batters to a .249 batting average, sixth in the league.
In conference games only, Swisher has the best on-base percentage (.526), while Deeds is fifth (.476) and Dendinger is sixth (.463)… The Buckeyes are one, two, three in runs scored with Deeds (24), Garrard (19) and Swisher (17), respectively. Swisher has the second-best slugging percentage (.803) in Big Ten games, while Deeds is third (.716). Deeds and Swisher are tied for the lead with 18 RBI and Deeds is alone atop the conference with seven home runs.
Remembering Taylor
The Ohio State baseball team is wearing a black circle patch with a white No. 27 on its right sleeve to remember former Buckeye baseball All-American Fred Taylor. Taylor, who passed away Jan. 6, 2002 after a long illness, was the first baseball All-American from Ohio State in 1950. The former first baseman is probably more recognized as coach of the Ohio State men’s basketball team from 1959-76. Five of his teams earned NCAA Tournament berths (1960, ’61, ’62, ’68 and ’71) with four of those advancing to the Final Four (1960, ’61, ’62 and ’68). His 1960 team won the National Championship. The Buckeyes also made history under Taylor by winning an unmatched five-consecutive Big Ten titles (1960-64).
OSU Takes 2 of 3 from Indiana
Ohio State scored two runs in the top of the seventh inning to defeat Indiana 3-2 in the second game of a doubleheader April 20 in Bloomington to win the series 2-1 after Sunday’s game was cancelled because of rain.
The Buckeyes rallied to score two runs in the top of the seventh and then held on in the bottom of the inning for the win over Indiana, which was then in second place in the Big Ten standings. Drew Anderson drew a walk to lead off the inning and then stole second then advanced to third on a sacrifice bunt by Paul Farinacci. Mike Rabin tied the game 2-2 on a double and later scored when Christian Snavely singled to right.
Ohio State rallied in similar fashion in the first game of the doubleheader but could not hold of Indiana in the bottom of the seventh as Indiana escaped with 5-4 victory.
The Buckeyes scored twice in the top of the seventh to tie the game 4-4 thanks to an RBI single through the right side by Doug Dendinger. A double down the leftfield line by Anderson scored Joe Wilkins, but the Buckeyes stranded two runners in scoring position. Eric Blakeley’s RBI single in the bottom of the inning gave the Hoosiers the win.
Wilkins’ two-run home run in the third inning gave Ohio State the lead for good on its way to a 14-11 win on Friday in the series opener. The Buckeyes pulled out to a 4-0 lead after the opening frame, but Indiana responded to take a 5-4 lead after the first inning. OSU scored 10 times in the third and had to hold off the Hoosiers, which scored six times in the final three innings. Ohio State stranded a total of 12 baserunners in that game and then failed to score another 11 in the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader.
Ohio State left Bloomington with a two-game lead over Indiana and Michigan State.
Rabin Named Big Ten Player of the Week
Mike Rabin was named the Big Ten Player of the Week on Monday (April 22) after going 6-for-9 (.667) in the three games in Bloomington, Ind., scoring three times and knocking in four RBI. The freshman from West Chester, Ohio, hit an RBI double in the second game of the Saturday doubleheader that tied the game in the bottom of the seventh.
Including the game vs. Dayton on April 17, he finished the week 8-for-11 (.727), scoring four times, while batting in four runs. He also walked four times and did not strike out in the four games for an on-base percentage of .800. He was perfect on the base paths with two stolen bases. In his last 10 games, he is batting .412 (14-for-34).
Rabin is now batting .352 on the season, which is third best on the team. He has started the last eight games in left field and is batting .480 in those starts after batting only .283 up to that point of the season. Rabin has started a total of 19 games, but in 14 starts in left, he is batting .419.
Dayton Downs Buckeyes 4-3
Dayton scored two runs in the top of the eighth inning on its way to a 4-3 victory over Ohio State April 17 at Bill Davis Stadium.
Kyle Brown gave up two runs in the eighth when in came on in relief for Trent Luyster. Dayton centerfielder Rory Thornton walked and then Tom Beechem singled through the left side. A double steal moved both runners into scoring position and then Brown fielded a ground ball to retire Aaron Reesh at first, but Thornton was able to tie the game, scoring from third. A sacrifice fly by Shawn Bolinger gave the Flyers the lead, scoring Beechem who had advanced to third on the ground out by Reesh.
Ohio State missed a golden opportunity in the bottom of the eighth, loading the bases without an out, but Doug Dendinger grounded into a 5-2-3 double play that first caught Brett Garrard, the tying run, at home. Designated hitter Lance Rolston struck out to end the inning and strand the tying run at third.
Beechem finished the game 2-for-4 and scored a run for Dayton and Bolinger knocked in two runs in a 1-for-3 night. Christian Snavely led Ohio State was led at the plate going 2-for-5 with the single in the first and a two-run homer in the third. Garrard and Mike Rabin also had multiple hits for the Buckeyes.
Buckeyes Take Three of Four at Iowa
It was the first Big Ten road series for Ohio State of the season and the Buckeyes responded by winning three of four in Iowa City to remain in first place in the conference.
Ohio State had 15 hits in a 7-1 victory in the series opener on April 12. Pitcher E.J. Laratta went the distance to get his fifth win over the year. Laratta threw just 95 pitches scattering 10 fly outs and 11 ground outs in his third complete game of the season and the 17th of his career.
The Buckeyes got their 20th win of the season with a 2-1 triumph over the Hawkeyes in the first game of the Saturday doubleheader. Josh Newman struck out eight batters in pitching 6 2/3 innings. He gave up only four hits for run, which was unearned. At the time, it was a team-best sixth win of the year.
The third game went the way of the Hawkeyes as a three-run home run tied the game at four in the bottom of the fifth and then got the winning run in the next inning to beat Ohio State 5-4 in the second game of the doubleheader.
Pure power led the Buckeyes to an 11-1 victory and 3-1 series win on Sunday. Rightfielder Doug Deeds had two home runs and starting pitcher Nate Smith struck out a career-high 13 batters. Deeds gave the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead in the third inning with his fifth home run of the season and then his sixth homer of the season put the Buckeyes on top 7-0. Paul Farinacci and Doug Dendinger also homered in the game.
Smith Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week
Nate Smith pitched another Sunday gem for the Buckeye, sitting down batters in order in the second, fourth and fifth inning, including nine batters in a row at one point. Smith finished the game with a career-best 13 strikeouts in seven innings of work. He improved to 4-0 on the year with the victory allowing just one run on three hits and was named Big Ten Pitcher of the week in the process. Chris Hanners replaced Smith to start the eighth and had three strikeouts of his owns as the duo combined to strike out a season-high 16 batters.
Buckeyes Stumble vs. Oakland
Oakland starter Dominic Carmosino struck out six and reliever Jared Thomas struck out nine to lift the Grizzlies to a 10-5 midweek victory over Ohio State April 10 at Bill Davis Stadium.
Buckeye pitchers struggled to start the contest, but Ohio State remained in the game until a big fourth inning by Oakland.
The Grizzlies scored five times that inning to seal the victory, taking advantage of a pitching change by the Buckeyes. In an effort to get work for several Buckeye pitchers, some which had not pitched since the Northwestern series at the end of March, Buckeye skipper Bob Todd went with Matt Davis, who had not started since picking up his second win of the season March 30 against Northwestern, in place of starter Chris Hanners to start the fourth inning.
Hanners allowed five runs to come across in the first three innings, but the Buckeyes had pulled within 5-4 before surrendering the big fourth inning. Only three runs scored in the first three innings were earned on a total of seven hits. Davis pitched just a third of an inning yet allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits.
OSU Takes Penn State Series, Despite Game One Loss
After losing 14-2 in the Friday game against Penn State and stumbling out of the gate in the first game of the April 6 doubleheader 6-2, Ohio State huddled together in the dugout prior to the fifth inning and reminded itself it had never lost a Big Ten series at Bill Davis Stadium. A loss Saturday would mean no better than a split with the Nittany Lions, but OSU preferred to get the series win.
From that point on, it was all Buckeyes.
Ohio State scored five times in the bottom of the inning to take a 7-6 lead, which it held to win in comeback fashion.
Scott Lewis pitched a two-hit shutout as the Buckeyes took the second game of the doubleheader 10-0. Lewis struck out six batters and walked four. Offensively, the Buckeyes had 14 hits, including three doubles, two triples and a home run. Christian Snavely was 4-for-4 with four RBI. Mike Rabin was 3-for-4.
The Buckeye assault continued in the series finale as they got their second double-figure shutout in as many games, downing the Nittany Lions 11-0. Snavely and Doug Deeds each hit two-run home runs in the second inning.
Snavely Named Big Ten Player of the Week
Second baseman Christian Snavely was named Big Ten Player of the Week April 8 after leading the Buckeyes to three wins against Penn State while batting .438 (7-for-16) with two home runs and eight runs batted in.
Snavely scored three runs on the weekend and posted a slugging percentage of .938 thanks to 15 total bases, twice as many as any other Buckeye. Snavely’s first homer in the series came in the second game on Saturday, as he went a perfect 4-4 and produced four RBI and two runs. He followed that performance with another long ball and three more RBI on Sunday as Ohio State bounced back to win three straight from the Nittany Lions after dropping the opener on Friday.
Buckeyes Open Big Ten Play Winning Three vs. Wildcats
Rain pushed back the start of the Big Ten opening series against Northwestern. The first game actually got underway, but was suspended until Saturday, meaning the Buckeyes and Wildcats played 22 innings in one day.
Christian Snavely hit home runs in consecutive at bats in the fourth and sixth innings helping guide Ohio State to an 8-5 victory in the suspended nine-inning game from Friday.
Nick Swisher became the hero, hitting an 0-2 slider from Northwestern starter Rayn Bos over the leftfield fence scoring two runs to lift the Buckeyes to a 6-5 win in the bottom of the seventh inning in the game one of Saturday’s scheduled doubleheader.
Northwestern handed the Buckeyes their first loss in Big Ten action, winning the nightcap 11-8. The Wildcats won despite committing four errors in the contest. Northwestern had built a 6-1 lead before OSU fought back for a 7-6 advantage. Swisher hit his third home run of the day in the losing effort as the Wildcats scored four runs in the fifth and another in the sixth.
It was all Ohio State in the series finale. Nate Smith pitched a one-hitter through seven innings and was backed up bye a solid offense as the Buckeyes cruised to a 9-2 victory for the series win.
Smith Named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week
Right-handed pitcher Nate Smith was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, April 1, after guiding the Buckeyes to a 9-0 win over Harvard in the Homestead Challenge and a 9-2 victory over Northwestern last Sunday.
Smith pitched 14 innings and struck out 14 batters last week to get his first two wins of the season. He went seven innings and struck out six batters (all in the first three innings) while walking just one while giving up just two hits in the Buckeyes’ win over Harvard. Against Northwestern on Sunday, the junior from Bryan, Ohio, took a no-hitter in to the sixth inning, when he gave up a home run on the first pitch of the inning. It was the only hit he gave up in the game holding opposing batters to .048 average and fanning eight. He had a 0.64 ERA in the two games last week and now has a 1.71 ERA for the season, second best on the team behind E.J. Laratta (1.50). Laratta was also a Big Ten Pitcher of the Week earlier this season (Feb. 25).
Swisher Belts Three Home Runs in Three Games
Junior Nick Swisher scored the winning runs in the 6-5 victory in the first game of a doubleheader vs. Northwestern March 30 with a walk-off home run that capped a five-run bottom of the seventh. His sacrifice bunt in his previous at bat in the sixth inning helped the Buckeyes score their first run of the game. Swisher hit .333 (5-for-15) in the four games vs. Northwestern and hit three home runs, one each in the first three games of the series, which Ohio State won 3-1. He led the team with seven runs batted in last week and had an on-base percentage of .586.
