Joe Wilkins Named Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/26/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 26, 2002
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State catcher Joe Wilkins (Sr., Grove City, Ohio/Dublin Scioto) was named the Most Outstanding Player at the Big Ten Tournament won by the Buckeyes Saturday with a 6-3 victory over top-seed Minnesota.
Wilkins was joined on the All-Tournament team by fellow Buckeyes Drew Anderson (Fr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) at third base, Doug Dendinger (Sr., Greenwich, Ohio/South Central) and Doug Deeds (So., Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) in the outfield, and E.J. Laratta (Sr., Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) and Scott Lewis (Fr., Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington Court House) on the mound.
Wilkins, also honored on the All-Tournament team behind the plate, batted .545 (6-for-11) with three RBI, four runs scored and a sacrifice fly. He had a double and a triple in addition to his walk-off home run in the bottom of the 10th inning in the 11-10 victory over Indiana on Thursday.
Anderson went 5-for-12 (.417) from the plate with three RBI, a team-high five runs and a home run. Dendinger finished the tournament 5-for-14 (.357) with a team-best five RBI, but the biggest hit of the tournament was a two-run double in the bottom of the ninth against Indiana that sent the game to extra innings. His homer in the sixth inning against Northwestern broke a 2-2 tie and sparked the Buckeyes to a 5-2 victory. Deeds batted 5-for-13 (.385) with a double, a homer and two RBI and scored three times.
Laratta and Lewis each pitched complete games in picking up wins in the tournament. Laratta allowed two runs, both earned, on nine hits with three strikeouts in the 5-2 win over Northwestern. Lewis pitched his first nine-inning complete game giving up three runs, two earned, on six hits with six strikeouts and a pair of walks in the Big Ten Championship clinching victory. With the sixth Big Ten Tournament championship in program history, the Buckeyes earned the school’s 16th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. All 64 teams that will be selected to participate in this year’s NCAA Tournament will be announced Monday at 12:30 p.m. on ESPN2. The 16 regional sites will also be announced at that time.
2002 Big Ten All-Tournament Team Catcher: Joe Wilkins, Ohio State First Base: Brad Carlson, Iowa Second Base: Luke Appert, Minnesota Third Base: Drew Anderson, Ohio State Shortstop: Eric Blakeley, Indiana Outfielders: Doug Dendinger, Ohio State Doug Deeds, Ohio State Bob Malek, Michigan State Designated Hitter: Ben Pattee, Minnesota Pitchers: E.J. Laratta, Ohio State Scott Lewis, Ohio State Gabe Ribas, Northwestern
Most Outstanding Player: Joe Wilkins, Ohio State
