Buckeyes and Spartans Meet in East Lansing – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/9/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 9, 2002
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For the first time this season, Ohio State enters a Big Ten weekend series looking up in the standings. With a split last weekend at Michigan and a Minnesota sweep of Purdue in West Lafayette, the Buckeyes (15-8) trail the Golden Gophers (14-6) by just percentage points, sitting in second place in the Big Ten standings. Ohio State and Minnesota will meet next weekend at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus, but first, the Buckeyes have to go to East Lansing for a battle with Michigan State which is tied for third with Illinois with an 11-11 record.
Michigan State became the first Big Ten team to reach the 30-win plateau this season. The Spartans beat Central Michigan 10-7 on Wednesday to improve to 30-15 overall. Ohio State is just one game behind that total in all games, sporting a 29-15-1 record after an 11-2 victory Wednesday over Miami (Ohio) at Bill Davis Stadium. It was just the second win in five midweek games this season for the Buckeyes, which lost the first three such meetings.
Last weekend, OSU saved a series split against Michigan on Sunday with a 9-5 win in Ann Arbor, Winners of the Friday opener, 11-6, the Buckeyes were swept in the Saturday doubleheader by scores of 5-4 and 1-0. The doubleheader sweep was the first against Ohio State since the 2000 season.
Doug Deeds continues to lead the Buckeyes in hitting with a .390 average and 10 home runs. Nick Swisher is third on the team in batting average with a .358 mark average and is now the sole leader with 41 RBI after a three-RBI night against Miami that included his eighth home run this season. Christian Snavely is second on the team with a .380 average. Nate Smith remains perfect on the year with a 5-0 record. His 2.13 ERA paces the Big Ten and the Buckeye staff, which has an ERA of 4.08.
About Michigan State
Michigan State won its 30th game Wednesday night in a 10-7 victory at Central Michigan. It was the first time in the eight years in the coaching tenure of Ted Mahan that the Spartans have won 30 games. They will also be shooting for another milestone in 2002 as Michigan State has not gone to the Big Ten Tournament in that span. The Spartans are tied with Illinois for third place in the conference standings entering the weekend series by playing host to Ohio State at Oldsmobile Field, home of the Lugnuts, an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
Chris McCuiston is the team leader in batting average he has a .391 average. Additionally, he leads the team with 70 hits, 12 home runs and 54 RBI. The Spartans are hitting .336 as a team, second in the Big Ten behind Indiana. The squad has 69 home runs this season. Kyle Geswein also has a double-digit home run total with 10.
The pitching staff is led by Nick Bates, the likely starter in game two against the Buckeyes. He is 9-2 on the year with a 2.91 ERA. The Michigan State pitching staff ranks seventh in the Big Ten in all games with a 4.88 ERA.
Against the Spartans
Ohio State leads the all-time series against Michigan State 110-72-1 after taking three of four games from the Spartans in East Lansing a year ago. The Buckeyes have won or split every season series with Michigan State every year since 1989, including sweeps in 1990, 1992, 1994 and 1996. The two teams split in 1991, 1995 and 2000. The Spartans last series win against the Buckeyes was in 1988 when they won three of four meetings.
Last year, Ohio State won the series opener by a 10-9 count, before losing the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader 14-3. The Buckeyes rebounded to take 4-0 and 13-3 victories to win the series. Nick Swisher was 5-for-11 (.455) in those games with two doubles and a home run. Christian Snavely was 4-for-10 (.400) with three bombs that gave him six RBI for the series.
Todd Eyeing OSU Win No. 600
Ohio State coach Bob Todd is within two victories of winning his 600th game at Ohio State. Todd has a 598-291-2 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 721-375-2 in his 19th season as a head coach, having previously coached at Kent. Todd won his 700th career game earlier this season against Detroit on March 16.
Pettorini Named Second-Team Academic All-District
Sophomore Terry Pettorini has been selected to the Verizon Academic Second-Team All-District IV, which was announced Thursday.
The Buckeye sometime-designated hitter carries a 3.40 GPA in political science. On the field, Pettorini has a .247 batting average having played in 29 games, with 24 starts. He has 16 RBI with four home runs. Earlier this season, he went 6-for-6, scoring six times while driving in five runs.
The district team is made up of student-athletes from Division I schools in Alabama, Kentucky, Michigan, Ohio and Tennessee. To be nominated, a student-athlete must be a starter or important reserve and carry a cumulative grade point average of 3.20 or higher. Team members are selected by a vote of members of the College Sports Information Directors of America within the district.
Buckeyes Bash Miami 11-2
Ohio State smacked out 14 hits, including home runs by Brett Garrard and Nick Swisher, to beat Miami (Ohio) 11-2 Wednesday night at Bill Davis Stadium.
Garrard and Swisher went deep in the bottom half of the sixth inning to give the Buckeyes an 8-1 lead. Garrard’s fourth home run of the season was a solo shot with one out, while Swisher’s eighth blast of the year went over the fence in deep right-centerfield and also scored Doug Deeds, who singled up the middle to get on base.
Swisher finished the game 2-for-5 and batted in three runs. Lance Rolston went 3-for-5 for the Buckeyes on Wednesday as the designated hitter in a different defensive lineup.
Swisher moved from centerfield to first base, where he had played until this season when he moved to the outfield. Doug Dendinger, who had been the first baseman all season, moved to leftfield and Mike Rabin moved over to fill Swisher’s void in center.
Matt Davis made his third start of the season and earned his fourth victory, improving to 4-0 with the win. He pitched a career-high five innings, not allowing a run on four hits. He struck out four and walked two.
Ohio State got its leadoff batter to reach in five innings and brought him across the plate four times.
Walking Into History
After grounding out to first in the first inning Doug Dendinger walked in his next two plate appearances. The pair of walks tied him with Greg Mohler (1981-84) with 136 career walks, which is the most ever by a Buckeye. His next walk will put him alone at the top.
His 41 walks this season tie him for the eighth highest season total in school history. The figure leads the Big Ten by six, in front of Indiana’s Vasili Spanos, who has walked 35 times this season.
Home Run 33 for No. 33
Nick Swisher, who wears No. 33 on his uniform, hit career home run No. 33 Wednesday night in the 11-2 victory against Miami (Ohio). That total moved him into seventh place on the school’s all-time home run list. He trails Alex Eckelman (1994-97) and Mike Lockwood (1997-99), who each have 34 home runs. He is within six home runs of second place on the list, but is still 19 behind the all-time record set by Dan Seimetz (1995-98) who had 52.
Swisher now has eight home runs this season, which ties him for second most on the team with Christian Snavely, behind Doug Deeds, who has 10.
Steen Gets 6th and 7th Saves at Michigan
Brandon Steen got saves in both Ohio State wins against Michigan. The total is the most in a season for the senior from Hendersonville, Tenn. and are the seventh most in a season by a Buckeye.
Steen entered Friday’s game in the eighth inning, replacing Nate Smith, with the Buckeyes clinging to a two-run lead. He allowed just one hit in 1 2/3 innings to pick up his sixth save of the year. On Sunday, Steen pitched the final two innings of the game to pick up his seventh save of the season. He did not allow a run on two Michigan hits. He also pitched the ninth inning earlier in the week against Youngstown State to pick up his fifth save of the season.
He has now appeared in 67 games in his four season at Ohio State. Those appearances rank him sixth all-time in the career record book with Gary Fragle (1993-96). He trails Kevin Goodrum (1998-01) and Chad Hale (1991-94), who are tied for fourth with 68 appearances.
Team Has 10 Saves
Brandon Steen accounts for seven of the team’s 10 saves this season, but the 10 saves equal the seventh most ever in one season. The most ever saves in one season by Ohio State is 15, which happened in both 1996 and 2001. Freshman Mike Madsen has a pair of saves and freshman Chris Hanners has one save to his credit.
Rabin Sports Best Buckeye Average in Big Ten Play
Freshman Mike Rabin leads the team with a .387 (24-for-62) in Big Ten action after leading the team against Michigan with a .417 average in a 5-for-12 effort. He scored three times against the Wolverines and plated the team’s second run in Sunday’s 9-5 victory.
Earlier this season, Rabin was the Big Ten Player of the Week for his efforts against Indiana. Against the Hoosiers, the outfielder batted 6-for-9 (.667), scored three times and knocked in four runs. Including the midweek game against Dayton, he was 8-for-11 (.727) that week.
Buckeyes Win 9-5 for Split
Ohio State scored six times in the fifth inning on its way to a 9-5 victory over Michigan Sunday in the series finale at Ray Fisher Stadium. With the victory, the Buckeyes prevented the first series loss in conference play since the 1996 season when Penn State took a 3-1 series win.
Ohio State won the first game of the series, but Michigan swept the Buckeyes in the Saturday doubleheader, which was the first doubleheader sweep of the Buckeyes since Michigan did that in Ann Arbor in 2000.
The Buckeyes scored six times in the fifth inning to take an 8-1 lead. Dendinger singled to shallow leftfield to score the first run and then Joe Wilkins singled to give the Buckeyes a 4-1 lead before the second out of the inning. Designated hitter Terry Pettorini got his first hit of the game and extended the OSU lead to 6-1 Snavely doubled to left and scored both Pettorini and Rabin to put Ohio State up by seven runs.
Scott Lewis pitched into the fifth inning, but left the game with only one out. Michigan scored one run before Lewis walked designated hitter Gino Lollio to load the bases. Lewis was pulled for Chris Hanners who retired the final two batters to get out of the inning. He pitched 2 2/3 innings allowing two runs in the sixth inning to pick up the victory. He improved to 2-2 on the season.
The Wolverines scored those two runs off Hanners in the sixth to pull within three, 8-5, but could not score the rest of the way. Ohio State was aided in the ninth by two errors on sharply hit ground balls to short and to second. Swisher scored to force Michigan to score five times in the bottom of the inning should it gain victory.
Michigan Completes Double-header Sweep with Shutout
Michigan starting pitcher Jim Brauer struck out eight Buckeyes and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning to beat Ohio State 1-0 in the second game and sweep the Saturday doubleheader from the Buckeyes at Ray Fisher Stadium.
Michigan scored its only run on a pair of base hits and two Buckeye errors. Ohio State threatened in the sixth inning, but left the bases loaded. It was the first shutout pitched against the Buckeyes since Illinois’ Ryan Kvasnicka blanked them on May 20, 2000.
Josh Newman fell to 7-4 with the loss. He allowed only three hits, while walking two and striking out three. But the difference was defense as Ohio State committed two errors.
OSU Falls 5-4 in Game One
Michigan scored five unearned runs in the fourth inning to hand Ohio State a 5-4 loss in game on Saturday. The Wolverines scored five runs on five hits and was aided by a pair of Ohio State errors in the fourth inning.
E.J. Laratta retired the first three batters of the game before walking the next two. He got out of the second inning by sitting down the next three batters. He gave up two hits in the third, but got out of the inning when Blake Rutkowski was thrown out at third after a base hit by Brock Koman. All five runs were unearned for Laratta, who fell to 6-3 with the loss.
Michigan starter Rich Hill pitched masterfully after gaining confidence in the first inning with three strikeouts. He retired the first 10 Buckeyes before walking Garrard in the fourth inning. Hill got out of the inning with a strike out and a ground out. Ohio State scored two runs in the fifth inning to pull within 5-2 and then added a pair of runs in the seventh inning on Anderson’s first career home run to pull within the 5-4 final.
Nick Swisher’s 19-game hit streak came to an end. It was the longest by a Buckeye this season and was only four games short of the Ohio State record of Jay Semke, who had a 23-game hit streak in 1987.
Buckeyes Win 11-6 in Opener
Ohio State scored four times in the first inning and never looked back in beating Michigan 11-6 last Friday at Ray Fisher Stadium.
Nick Swisher went 3-for-6 in the game and knocked in four runs, including a three-run triple in the top of the ninth to give the Buckeyes a five-run advantage. The ball was five feet short of clearing the fence in right-centerfield. Swisher doubled in the first inning to extend his hit streak to 19 games.
Doug Dendinger also had a big day for the Buckeyes. He was 2-for-4 and produced three RBI. Doug Deeds was 4-for-5 without and RBI on four singles. He scored three times.
After Ohio State took a 6-1 lead in the top of the third, Michigan answered with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning thanks to a couple of base hits and an error to pull within 6-3. Two more errors by the Buckeyes led to two more runs for the Wolverines in the fourth.
Dendinger gave the Buckeyes a 7-5 lead with a double down the leftfield line in the seventh inning. Smith remained perfect for the Buckeyes this season, improving to 5-0 with the victory.
Swisher Streaks Snapped
Friday night at Michigan, Nick Swisher went 3-for-6 to extend his hit streak to 19 games. In the first game of Saturday’s doubleheader, he failed to get a hit in three at bats to end the streak within four games of the Ohio State record. Jay Semke (1986-89) hit in 23 consecutive games during the 1987 season.
Swisher also ended another streak in the first game last Saturday. His streak of reaching base in 51 straight games also ended. He had reached base safely in his last 15 games of the 2001 season and his first 36 games this season.
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. 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.
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.
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.
Laratta has now pitched 355 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 227 strikeouts in his four years as a Buckeye. Scott Klingenbeck (1990-92) is ninth on the list with 238 strikeouts.
Big Ten Rankings
Ohio State has the No. 1 pitching staff (4.08 ERA) and the No. 4 batters (.307 BA) when taking all games into account this season. In Big Ten games only, the Buckeyes have the No. 3 batting contingent (.314) and the No. 3 pitching staff (4.21).
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 2.13 ERA overall and a 2.21 ERA in conference games. The junior from Bryan, Ohio, is holding all of the opposition to a batting average of .214. Both figures lead the league.
In all games, Doug Deeds is tied for fourth in the conference in individual batting with a .390 average. Christian Snavely cracks the top 10 in ninth place with his .380 average. However, in Big Ten games only, Mike Rabin is fifth with a .387 average and Nick Swisher is eighth with a .377 average.
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).
Lewis Garners Pitcher of the Week Honors
Lefthanded pitcher Scott Lewis struck out a career-best 12 Purdue batters April 28 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. 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.
Last Wednesday…
Streak Ends with 6-5 Victory
Ohio State finally got in the win column on a Wednesday night defeating Youngstown State 6-5 at Bill Davis Stadium last Wednesday. The Buckeyes had been winless in each of the last three Wednesday midweek games, losing to Oakland, Dayton and Wooster.
Doug Deeds got the Buckeyes third straight hit, a single through the right side, to lead off the first inning for the Buckeyes to score both Christian Snavely and Brett Garrard. Designated hitter Doug Larason singled over the left side to plate Deeds and give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead. Ohio State added three runs in the bottom of the fourth inning to go up by a score of 6-0.
The Buckeyes started Matt Davis, who pitched the first three innings and did not allow a run off just one hit. It was a night OSU would work out the younger pitchers. Mike Madsen came in for the next three innings. The Penguins got their first two runs against Madsen in the fifth.
Trent Luyster then came in to pitch for the Buckeyes to start the seventh inning. He gave up a leadoff double to Clint Ford and then walked the next batter before a sacrifice moved two runners into scoring position. Ford scored on a error by Garrard, the OSU shortstop, who threw high to home plate on a failed run-down play on Swearengen’s grounder. A passed ball and a single pulled the Penguins within one.
OSU Splits with Purdue
Purdue scored twice in the top of the ninth to break a 5-5 tie and give itself a 7-5 victory over Ohio State in the series opener.
The score was tied 1-1 after 2 1/2 innings when rain forced a suspension of Saturday’s first game. When play resumed on Sunday, Ohio State scored five times in the bottom of the third to take a 6-1 lead. In the top of the fourth, Purdue catcher David Harrell hit a grand slam to help the Boilermakers take an 8-6 lead. Purdue won the game 10-7 to take a 2-0 series lead and extend Ohio State’s losing steak to five games.
Ohio State had not lost a series at home since 1996, the final year of Trautman Field, so it would have to rely on its lefthanded pitchers if it were going to earn a series split. The Boilermakers had already beaten the No. 1 and 2 pitcher on the staff in righthanded pitchers Nate Smith and E.J. Laratta.
The Buckeyes battled back to beat the Boilermakers 8-0 in the next game behind the arm of Josh Newman. Ohio State scored its first two batters of the game and then cruised victory, its seventh shutout of the season, which is the third highest total in school history. In the finale, the third game of the day, 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 and earn the series split.
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.
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).
