Baseball Welcomes Wooster to Bill Davis Stadium – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/16/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 16, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will be going for seven straight wins tonight when it plays host to the College of Wooster. Winners of their last six games, two against Oakland and then a sweep of Iowa, the Buckeyes have matched the longest win streak of the season (March 9-21). The sweep of Iowa was the first for the Buckeyes since taking four games from Minnesota in 2001 and moved the team into sole possession of second place in the league standings.
Before returning to Big Ten action this weekend with four home games against third-place Indiana, OSU takes on the Fighting Scots from Wooster. Wooster won last year’s meeting 9-7 and this year, brings a streak of its own to Columbus as a winner of its last five games, that included a four-game sweep of Oberlin last weekend.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes improved to 19-10 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten after winning all six games last week. Ohio State won both games of a Wednesday night doubleheader (2-1 and 2-0) against Oakland, which included a perfect game from senior Greg Prenger, and then swept Iowa with 4-1, 6-1, 9-5 and 11-9 victories. In the opener, pitching ace Scott Lewis followed Prenger’s perfection by tying a school record with 20 strikeouts. The tandem share Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors and were both named National Players of the Week by Louisville Slugger. OSU then won the Saturday doubleheader and came back from a 9-2 deficit entering the bottom of the seventh for an 11-9 triumph in 10 innings.
Derek Kinnear continues his reign as team leader with a .358 batting average, though the story over the last six games lies with Christian Snavely and Cody Caughenbaugh, who are both batting .500 with eight hits in 16 at bats. Snavely, who was named the Big Ten’s Co-Player of the Week Monday, had seven RBI and a slugging percentage of .688. Drew Anderson’s heroics in the Iowa finale also game him seven RBI, though he had just six hits in the six games last week. Ohio State, which had struggled at the plate entering the Iowa series with a .260 batting average, had 50 hits in the four games against the Hawkeyes to up its team average to .279, the fifth best conference average after ranking ninth entering the weekend.
On the mound, the Buckeyes continue to improve. The staff lowered its ERA from 4.02 to 3.88 and that figure is third best in the league. Winning pitchers against Iowa include Lewis, Josh Newman, Chris Hanners and Matt Davis, the last two in relief roles. Lewis has a 1.59 ERA and a perfect 5-0 record to lead the team with an amazing 78 strikeouts in 51.0 innings. Tonight’s pitcher with be either Prenger (2-0, 4.43) or Trent Luyster (2-0, 1.83).
ABOUT WOOSTER
The Fighting Scots are 17-8 on the year and are off to a quick 6-0 start in the NCAC East after taking a home pair of doubleheaders last weekend against Oberlin. Wooster won 10-0, 14-3, 13-2 and 13-8 against Oberlin, but has won its last five games dating back to a 7-0 victory at Baldwin Wallace last Thursday and has won 11 of its last 12 games going back to March 30.
Matt Miller leads Wooster with a .465 batting average. The junior has 47 hits, including 12 doubles, three triples and five home runs. The leading slugger is sophomore Jake Frank, who has an .805 slugging percentage to go with a .448 batting average. Of his 39 hits, he has eight doubles, a triple and a team-leading seven home runs. He also has 39 RBI to pace the squad. As a team, the Fighting Scots are hitting .355, hitting for power with 37 home runs and a slugging percentage of .596.
On the mound, Wooster is led by Justin Alaburda’s 5-0 record and 3.08 ERA. He has 33 strikeouts in 38.0 innings. Jon Oliver is the team leader in strikeouts with 46 in 44.2 innings. He is 4-2 on the year with a 4.03 ERA. The staff ERA is 5.20.
AGAINST THE FIGHTING SCOTS
This will be the just the second meeting between Ohio State and Wooster since 1941. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series, which began in 1884, the fourth season of Buckeye Baseball by a count of 18-13-1. Wooster won that first meeting 11-4. Ohio State won the 1941 game 8-7. The Fighting Scots won last year 9-7.
LAST YEAR’S MEETING
Wooster scored twice in the top of the eighth inning to break a 7-7 tie to knock off Ohio State 9-7 Wednesday night at Bill Davis Stadium. 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.
Snavely finished 3-for-5 from the plate, scoring once with three RBI and Pettorini finished 2-for-5 with the home run. Chris Hanners, who gave up the two Wooster runs in the eighth, his only inning of the game, fell to 1-2 on the year. Ohio State started Matt Davis and went with a total of five pitchers.
FAMILY TIES
The head coach of the Wooster Fighting Scots is Tim Pettorini, the father of Ohio State third baseman Terry Pettorini. Tim attended Bowling Green and was drafted by three major league teams but never signed. Terry’s brother, Tim Jr., played for his father and the Scots from 1992-95. Terry nearly chose to attend Wooster, but decided to attend Ohio State. Coach Pettorini who is among the top-15 active Division III coaches in both victories and winning percentage, has directed Wooster to an overall record of 655-262-6 (.713). Along the way, he has been selected as the North Coast Athletic Conference Coach of the Year five times and the NCAA Division III Mideast Region Coach of the Year in 1989, 1994, and 1997.
OTHER WOOSTER TIES
Ohio State assistant coach Erik Hagen attended Wooster, graduating with a bachelor’s of arts degree in history in 1993. A four-year letterwinner, Hagen was the Scots’ most valuable player in 1993 and a two-time All-North Coast Athletic Conference honoree in 1992 and 1993. He also was a second-team All-Mideast Region selection in 1993 and a honorable mention All-Mideast selection in 1993.
NATIONAL AWARDS FOR 2 BUCKEYES
Greg Prenger and Scott Lewis were named National Players of the Week by Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball, the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) and by College Baseball Insider for their amazing performances last week.
Prenger retired all 21 batters he faced to post a 2-0 perfect game victory over Oakland in the second game of a doubleheader April 9 at Bill Davis Stadium. It was the first no-hitter by an Ohio State pitcher since Eric Thompson no-hit Michigan State on May 10, 1998 and believed to be the first perfect game in Ohio State’s 120-year history. It was the eighth no-hitter in Ohio State history. The right-handed pitcher struck out one batter in the first, two in the third, two in the fifth and one for the seventh out of the seventh and final inning. He had seven fly or pop outs and eight ground or line outs to go with the six strikeouts, which equaled the most in his career. He moved to 2-0 this year with the victory, which was also the 11th of his career against five losses. He has 4.43 season ERA and 16 strikeouts in 20.1 innings.
Lewis fanned 20 batters in nine innings as Ohio State beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 4-1 Friday night in the opening game of a four-game Big Ten series at Bill Davis Stadium. The 20 strikeouts tied the school record held by Steve Arlin, which he set in a 15-inning 1-0 victory over Washington State at the 1965 College World Series. Lewis, whose previous career high in strikeout was 12 last season against Purdue, had that total through the first five innings. The left-hander moved to 5-0 with the two-hit complete game against the Hawkeyes. Iowa finished with just two hits. Lewis has a 1.59 ERA and now has 78 strikeouts in only 51.0 innings.
DUO JOINED BY SNAVELY IN GETTING BIG TEN HONORS
Fresh off a banner week in which the Ohio State baseball team won all six games, three Buckeyes have earned weekly honors, the Big Ten office announced Monday. Christian Snavely joined Greg Prenger and Scott Lewis, who split Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors, to earn Co-Big Ten Player of the Week with Minnesota’s Sam Steidl.
Prenger and Lewis’ accomplishments last week have been well documented, but Snavely hit .538 with six RBI in a four-game sweep of Iowa, as the Buckeyes climbed into sole possession of second place in the conference race. The junior outfielder boasted a slugging percentage of .688 for the week with seven RBI in six games. He finished the week going 8-for-16 (.500) and was 7-for-13 (.538) in the four Big Ten games vs. Iowa. He touched 11 total bases after a two-run home run in the second game vs. the Hawekeyes. Snavely upped his average from .206 at the start of the week to .262 after the six games.
BUCKEYES SWEEP IOWA
Ohio State had its first sweep in the Big Ten this past weekend vs. Iowa. It was the first sweep by the Buckeyes in conference play since they took four games from Minnesota in 2001.
The series began and ended in dramatic fashion. On Friday, Scott Lewis struck out 20 batters in nine innings as Ohio State beat Iowa 4-1. The 20 strikeouts tied the school record held by Steve Arlin, which he set in a 15-inning 1-0 victory over Washington State at the 1965 College World Series. Lewis, whose previous career high in strikeout was 12 last season against Purdue, had that total through the first five innings. He actually had a no-hitter going entering the sixth inning, giving the Buckeyes 12 innings of no-hit baseball in its last two games to go with Greg Prenger’s seven innings of perfection. Lewis’ bid Friday night was broken up in the sixth inning when centerfielder Kyle Thousand led off the frame with a bunt that caught Lewis off guard. Lewis moved to 5-0 with the two-hit complete game against the Hawkeyes.
Christian Snavely homered in the first inning to put Ohio State out to an early 2-0 lead as the Buckeyes took a 6-1 victory in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday. The home run was his fifth home run of the year, a shot that was still climbing when it cleared the fence in right field. He picked up this 12th and 13th RBI of the year in also scoring Drew Anderson, who reached on an infield single to short. Iowa scored one time in the top of the second inning, but Ohio State added two runs in each of the third and fifth innings for the five-run victory. Newman evened out his record to 3-3 in picking up the victory. He went the distance allowing the one run (earned) on five hits. He walked one and struck out four in getting the third straight complete game by Buckeye pitchers.
In the Saturday’s second game, Ohio State scored five times in the bottom of the fourth inning to break a 4-4 tie on its way to a 9-5 victory. The five runs in the inning by the Buckeyes came on five hits, including four in a row. Brett Garrard led off the inning with an infield single and then moved to third as catcher Kelly Houser drew a walk. A fielding error by Iowa pitcher Chris Maliszewski on a bunt by Mike Rabin loaded the bases. Snavely singled through the right side to score both Garrard and Houser to break the 4-4 tie and then Steve Caravati duplicated with a two RBI shot to right-center field to put the Buckeyes up 8-4. After a stolen base by Caravati, Paul Farinacci then doubled down the right-field line to bring in Caravati and give the Buckeyes a 9-4 lead.
The sweep was concluded in come-from-behind fashion as Anderson knocked in five runs on three hits, including a one-out, two-run home run in the bottom of the tenth inning. Ohio State had entered the bottom of the seventh inning trailing Iowa 9-2, but Anderson also delivered with a bases-loaded triple that began an amazing Buckeye comeback. A single by Snavely brought in Anderson to pull the Buckeyes within three runs. The second hit by the Buckeyes in the eighth, a double to center by Kinnear with one out, scored Garrard to close the gap to just two runs. With one out in the bottom of the ninth, Wes Schirtzinger came on to pinch run for Farinacci, who reached via a base on balls. Cody Caughenbaugh singled between first and second to score Caravati from second and put Schirtzinger, the tying run, only 90 feet away. A failed squeeze opportunity prompted a throw from Iowa catcher Brad Husz, who had hopes of catching Schirtzinger at third, but Hawkeye third baseman Luis Andrulonis, could not come up with the ball on the throw and the run scored to tie the game 9-9. The fifth Iowa double play of the game ended the inning and pushed the game to extra innings. It was the Buckeyes’ second extra-inning game this year and the first for the Hawkeyes.
PRENGER PERFECT IN 2-0 WIN
Right-handed pitcher Greg Prenger retired all 21 batters he faced to post a 2-0 perfect game victory over Oakland in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday night at Bill Davis Stadium.
It was the first no-hitter by an Ohio State pitcher since Eric Thompson no-hit Michigan State on May 10, 1998 and believed to be the first perfect game in Ohio State’s 120-year history. It was the first perfect game coached by Ohio State head coach Bob Todd, who is in his 20th year as a collegiate head coach. There had only been seven no-hit games on record by Buckeye pitchers since 1955.
Prenger, a former walkon who missed all of last season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in the summer of 2001, said he once threw a new hitter on his high school junior varsity team when he was a freshman at Upper Sandusky.
OSU shortstop Drew Anderson recorded the final out, a pop-up he caught just into the outfield grass. Anderson did not realize what had happened until the Buckeyes mobbed Prenger in celebration as he was walking off the field.
Prenger struck out one batter in the first, two in the third, two in the fifth and one for the seventh out of the seventh and final inning. He had seven fly or pop outs and eight ground or line outs to go with the six strikeouts, which equaled the most in his career.
He moved to 2-0 this year with the victory, which was also the 11th of his career against five losses. Oakland’s Billy Schmieder got the loss in six innings of work after allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits.
The Buckeyes scored once in the first inning as Mike Rabin turned his free opportunity into the first run of the game. Rabin was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, stole second and then scored on a throwing error by Oakland third baseman Ty Herriott, who threw wide of first on a grounder by Cody Caughenbaugh. The second run crossed the plate in the third inning when catcher Kelly Houser doubled in Caughenbaugh with two outs. Caughenbaugh reached on a fielder’s choice that caught Christian Snavely at second base. Terry Pettorini was stranded at second base after an infield single.
BUCKEYES CLAIM GAME ONE VS. OAKLAND 2-1
The Buckeyes used a sacrifice fly and a passed ball to score both of their runs in the bottom of the fifth inning in beating Oakland 2-1 in the first game of a doubleheader Wednesday at Bill Davis Stadium.
Wes Schirtzinger led off the inning with a walk and then was bunted over on sacrifice by Jedidiah Stephen. Derek Kinnear reached on a throwing error on Oakland third baseman Ty Herriott, who threw wide of first. Schirtzinger moved to third and then scored on a passed ball on Grizzlies catcher John Sullivan. Kinnear, who advanced to third on the passed ball, scored on a sacrifice line out by Christian Snavely to put the Buckeyes on top 2-1.
Trent Luyster picked up the win in five innings, allowing the one run (none earned) on four hits. He struck out four and walked three. Kyle Brown came on in relief and picked up his first collegiate save for his two innings of work.
The Golden Grizzlies broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth inning capitalizing on a lead-off walk and the Buckeyes first error of the game. Will Tollison led off the inning with a walk and then reached third on a throwing error by OSU shortstop Drew Anderson on a ground ball from Brad Leach. Anderson tried to flip the ball from his glove to Snavely at second, but the ball went over his head. Tollison scored on a grounder to third by Peter Varon to give the Golden Grizzlies a 1-0 lead.
BUCKEYE NO-HITTERS
The perfect game by Greg Prenger Wednesday against Oakland is believed to be the first-ever perfect game in the 120-year baseball history of Ohio State. However, there are seven no-hitters listed in the record book, but none before 1955, when Bill Soter and Ron Disher combined to throw a seven-inning no-hitter against Pittsburgh on April 2. Only two of the listed no-hitters were by more than one pitcher. The other was thrown on April 13, 1982 by Bill Cunningham and Jeff Aurentz in a 4-1 win over Bowling Green.
That means, Prenger is just the sixth individual to throw keep an opponent hitless on his own. The last no hitter was thrown by Eric Thompson against Michigan State on May 10, 1998. It had been a little more than nine years since anyone else had thrown a no-hitter, a 2-0 win over Indiana by Dave Mumaw. All eight no-hitters in the history of Ohio State have been thrown in seven-inning games. None have been recorded in a complete nine-inning game.
NO-HITTERS Greg Prenger Oakland W,2-0 4/09/2003 Eric Thompson Michigan State W,3-0 5/10/1998 Dave Mumaw Indiana W,2-0 4/23/1989 Bill Cunningham Bowling Green W,4-1 4/13/1982 and Jeff Aurentz Kerry Sabo Cleveland St. W,12-0 4/16/1980 Gene Rogers Purdue W,6-0 5/23/1969 Joe Sparma Michigan W,3-0 5/18/1963 Bill Soter Pittsburgh W,8-1 4/02/1955 and Ron Disher
LOST IN THE SHUFFLE
Perhaps overlooked Wednesday night in the perfect game by Greg Prenger was the fact that Ohio State committed no errors. The last game the Buckeyes, which rank ninth in the Big Ten in fielding, did not have any errors in a game was in the second game of the Northwestern doubleheader on March 28. Through that game, the team was fielding at a semi-respectable .972 clip. In the last seven games, Ohio State has only fielded a .916 percentage. That was much in part to the six errors Ohio State tallied in the finale against Northwetern and the very next game, a seven-error game the Buckeye overcame to win. Those 13 errors in two games is just five less than the total that Rice, the top-ranked team in the nation, has committed all season, in 35 games. Ohio State has a .956 fielding percentage on the year and had entered the game with 21 errors in its last six games. Considering the fielding effort the Buckeyes displayed Wednesday, Prenger’s perfection is even more impressive.
LEWIS RANKS THIRD NATIONALLY
Scott Lewis is ranked third in all of NCAA Division I in strikeouts per nine innings. The sophomore left-handed pitcher has 78 strikeouts in 51.0 innings a breakdown of 13.8 strikeouts per nine innings pitched. Only Ryan Wagner of Houston (15.8) and Jesse Anziano of Fairleigh Dickinson (13.9) out-rank Lewis, who also is ranked 14th with a 1.59 ERA.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN RANKINGS
Ohio State is ranked third in the Big Ten in pitching (3.88), fifth in batting (.279) and ninth in fielding (.955). Scott Lewis leads Big Ten pitchers in ERA (1.59), strikeouts (78), batters struck out looking (24) and opponent batting average (.160). Josh Newman’s 2.86 ERA is fifth in the league. Sophomore reliever Matt Davis leads the conference with six saves and is tied for second with 13 appearances, all in relief. The only offensive category in which the Buckeyes lead is in walks as Christian Snavely has been awarded a base on balls 34 times, that is 15 more than Indiana’s Vasili Spanos, who has walked 19 times. Derek Kinnear’s team-best .358 batting average is 10th in the league.
In Big Ten games only, Ohio State is second in pitching (3.93), fourth in batting (.298) and 10th in fielding (.931). Lewis’ 0.72 ERA in conference-only games paces all conference pitchers. He also leads in strikeouts (41), batters struck out looking (16), innings pitched (25.0) and opponent batting average (.149).
LEWIS MOVES INTO SECOND
Scott Lewis is 13-2 in his second year as a member of the Buckeye pitching staff, which equates to a .867 won-loss percentage. That figure ranks second in school history among pitchers who have at least 10 wins. He trails only Steve Arlin (1965-66), who finished his career with a 24-3 record, a win percentage of .889.
SCHOOL RECORD BOOK
Christian Snavely has nine triples, which is tied for fifth in the school record book with Mike Lockwood and Gary Jones… His 23 career home runs is tied for 16th… With 81 walks, Snavely needs only two more walks to crack the school’s walks list… His 34 bases on balls already this year is tied for the 20th best season total by a Buckeye… Drew Anderson has 28 career stolen bases and needs only two more to tie for 14th in the record book… Josh Newman’s 19 career wins is tied for 15th… He has pitched 210.2 career innings and needs to pitch 3.2 innings to crack the school’s Top 20 best in innings pitched… For pitchers who have thrown at least 175.0 innings, Newman is second in fewest bases on balls (63), tied for seventh in fewest runs (114), tied for fourth in fewest earned runs (89) and is 12th in ERA (3.80)… Nate Smith’s next appearance will be his 47th as a Buckeye and that figure will crack the Top 20 in school history… Matt Davis’ six career saves is tied for eighth.
