Baseball to Take on Penn State in Big Ten Action – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 3, 2003
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will try to get back on track when it travels to University Park, Pa. this weekend for a four-game Big Ten set against Penn State. The Buckeyes enter the weekend with a two-game losing streak after Northwestern salvaged the final two games of a conference series in Bradenton, Fla.
The Scarlet and Gray opened the series with a 1-0 victory over the Wildcats and then followed up with a 4-1 win in game two. Northwestern then rebounded to take the nightcap of the doubleheader 7-1 and then won the finale 13-4, giving them their first series split against Ohio State since 1998 when the teams each won twice in Evanston, Ill.
That series closed out a nine-game excursion to Bradenton that saw the Buckeyes go 4-5. The trip began with a 6-3 win over Columbia before a 7-6 loss to Vermont at Ed Smith Stadium, the spring home to the Cincinnati Reds, in Sarasota. Illinois then took two of three non-conference games from Ohio State before the trip-ending split with Northwestern.
Despite an 8-10 start overall, Penn State opened Big Ten play last weekend by taking three of four games at Purdue and sit in second place in the conference standings one game behind Minnesota, which swept Michigan State to sit atop the league with a 4-0 mark.
Ohio State and Penn State will open the series Friday with a 3:05 p.m. first pitch before playing a doubleheader Saturday at 1:05 p.m. The series will conclude with a single game at 1:05 p.m. The final three games of the series will be played on WOSB Radio (91.1 and 106.7 FM). All four games can be heard on the Internet at www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com. ABOUT THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State dropped to 11-8 on the year with a series split against Northwestern last weekend in Bradenton, Fla. The Buckeyes are 2-2 in league play for the first time since the 2000 season, when they split four games with Iowa.
Leading the Buckeyes at the plate is junior catcher Derek Kinnear, who is batting .397 (23-for-58). Five of his hits have gone for extra bases, including three doubles and two home runs. His 14 RBI and his .552 slugging percentage also lead the team. He has struck out only four times this year and has walked just twice while appearing at or near the bottom of the batting order. His hit streak reached 13 games before snapping in the third game against Northwestern.
The hot bats belong to Drew Anderson and Steve Caravati, who both hit at least .467 against Northwestern. Caravati, who has split time in the outfield and as the designated hitter, hit .471 (8-for-17) against the Wildcats, while Anderson, the Buckeye second baseman, hit .467 (7-for-15). No other player hit better than .300. For the season, Anderson is second on the team with a .354 batting average, while Caravati is hitting .298, fourth on the team.
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Scott Lewis continues to dominate on the mound. He is 4-0 on the year with a 1.80 ERA and will start the first game against Penn State. He has 47 strikeouts in 35.0 innings with just nine walks. He is holding opposing batters to a .161 batting average. As a staff, Buckeye hurlers have a 4.31 ERA.
AGAINST PENN STATE
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Penn State 34-17 after taking three of four games last year in Columbus. The only series win by the Nittany Lions was in 1996 in University Park. PSU took three of four games that year. The teams only split was in 2000.
ABOUT THE NITTANY LIONS
This weekend’s games are the first games at home for Penn State after playing the first 18 games on the road. The Nittany Lions are 8-10 in those games and are 3-1 in Big Ten play after taking three of four games at Purdue last weekend.
Designated hitter Lance Thompson leads the team with a .438 batting average in 14 games (10 starts) this season. He has 14 hits with three doubles and a home run for nine RBI. Of the players who have played in all 18 games so far this season, leftfielder Wes Reohr and shortstop Willie Melendez both are batting .333. Reohr has 23 hits, 11 of which have been for extra bases (eight doubles, one triple and two home runs). He has 12 RBI. Melendez has 20 hits, which includes five doubles and seven RBI. Penn State is batting .282 as a team.
On the mound, the Nittany Lions staff owns a 5.55 ERA. Clayton Hamilton is the reigning Big Ten Pitcher of the Week after beating Purdue March 28. Hamilton took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and went on to allow two hits and two walks. He struck out 13 batters over eight innings in the 6-0 shutout of the Boilermakers. Hamilton is 2-2 on the year with a 3.04 ERA. Jim Farrell also shared Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honors the week before after his complete game four-hit shutout of Delaware, March 23. Farrell is 2-0 with a 2.92 ERA in 24.2 innings.
Penn State leads the Big Ten in fielding with a .973 fielding percentage.
LAST YEAR AGAINST PENN STATE
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.
KINNEAR NAMED TO JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
Ohio State catcher Derek Kinnear has been named to watch list for the Johnny Bench Award, which is given annually to the National Collegiate Catcher of the Year, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced last week.
Kinnear leads Ohio State with a .397 batting average through the team’s 19 games this season. That is up from a .182 average a year ago in limited action. He has 23 hits in 58 at bats with three doubles and a pair of home runs. His 14 RBI and .552 slugging percentage lead the team. He rode a career-long 13 game hit streak earlier this season and was the Big Ten Player of the Week March 17 after he was 8-for-12 (.667) in four games against Eastern Michigan and Detroit.
The watch list, which currently consists of 32 players, will be updated to include other candidates until May 2 and will then be narrowed down to 10 semi-finalists May 20 and sent to the national voting panel at the end of May to determine the three finalists. Those finalists will be announced June 2, prior to the College World Series and the winner will be announced at the Sixth Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet June 24.
LEWIS WINS 1-0 COMPLETE GAME
Scott Lewis sat down the first 11 batters of the game and gave up just four hits in a 1-0 complete game shutout against Northwestern in the Big Ten opener for both schools March 27 at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla.
Lewis struck out 10 batters and allowed just one walk in moving to 4-0 on the year. He now has 47 strikeouts in 35.0 innings this season with a 1.80 ERA. It was his first complete game of the season and the seventh of a young career, in which he already has 12 victories. His last complete game came in a win over South Alabama in last year’s NCAA South Bend Regional. Lewis has fanned at least eight batters in each of his starts this season and has struck out at least 10 batters three times.
He retired the first 11 batters of the game before his no-hit bid ended in the fourth with a base hit by David Gresky. Northwestern had back-to-back hits in the fifth and another in the sixth.
The game turned out to be an old-fashioned pitchers dual between Lewis and Northwestern starter Dan Konecny, who got the loss to fall to 2-2. Despite a rocky start, Konecny sat down 10 straight batters after Ohio State took a 1-0 lead in the fifth. Konecny struck out five, but walked a career-high four batters as Ohio State had eight base runners in the first four innings.
The Buckeyes scored the only run of the game in the fourth. With two outs, Doug Larason doubled to left-centerfield. A line drive by Derek Kinnear into rightfield moved Larason to third. Jedidiah Stephen drew a walk to load the bases and then Mike Rabin walked to score Larason and give the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead.
BUCKEYES WIN SECOND GAME 4-1
Josh Newman took a shutout into the bottom of the seventh before Northwestern scored its only run of the game in a 4-1 win by Ohio State March 28.
Newman was going for a second straight shutout by the Buckeye pitching staff, but that bid was broken up in the bottom of the seventh inning as Pat McMahon doubled in Mark Ori, who reached on a fielder’s choice on a ground ball to second base. That run ended a streak of 22 scoreless innings by Buckeye pitching.
Newman allowed the one run (earned) on five hits with seven strikeouts, including the final out of the game. He had just one walk in evening his record to 2-2 on the year.
Ohio State scored first, taking a 1-0 lead in the top of the third inning and then added a pair of runs in the fourth inning to take a 3-0 lead. Jedidiah Stephen hit his first career home run to extend the lead to four runs.
NORTHWESTERN TAKES NIGHTCAP
Ohio State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first but did not score the rest of the way as Northwestern cruised to a 7-1 victory over Ohio State in the second game of a doubleheader March 28.
A sacrifice fly by Christian Snavely gave the Buckeyes a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Mike Rabin was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning and then advanced to third on a single to left-centerfield by Steve Caravati. But that would be the only offense Ohio State could put together in game two after winning the first game by a count of 4-1.
Northwestern took its first lead in the series by scoring two runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. Dan Pohlman drew a walk to lead off the inning and then moved to third on a single to right-centerfield by Jon Mikrut. Pohlman scored on a base hit through the left side by pitcher/designated hitter Mark Ori. Pat McMahon bunted Mikrut over to third and then the second run of the inning came on a sac fly to leftfield by rightfielder Brandon Ackley.
Pohlman broke the game open in the fifth inning with a two-run triple to left-centerfield. The ball rolled to the fence and allowed Ken Padgett and David Gresky to score from first and second, respectively. A wild pitch by Buckeye reliever Mike Madsen scored Pohlman and then Mikrut homered way over the fence in leftfield to give Northwestern a 6-1 lead. Second baseman Eric Roeder homered in the sixth to give the Wildcats the 7-1 final margin.
Chris Hanners started the game for Ohio State, going 4.1 innings, allowing four runs (all earned) on six hits. He had two walks and one strikeout. He fell to 1-1 on the year. Madsen pitched the final 1.2 innings, allowing three runs (all earned) on five hits with one strikeout. Ori went the distance for Northwestern, allowing one run (earned) on seven hits with a pair of walks and four strikeouts. He improved to 2-0 on the year.
WILDCATS GRAB SPLIT
Northwestern had 13 hits and benefited from six Ohio State miscues in handing the Buckeyes a 13-4 defeat in the series finale March 29. The loss gave the teams a split in the opening Big Ten series of the year.
Northwestern got on the board in a big way in the bottom of the second, capitalizing on five hits, including two home runs, three errors and a walk to take a 7-0.
Ohio State cut the lead to four by scoring three times in the top of the third, but the Wildcats bought those three runs back and added another as they scored four in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 11-3.
Northwestern added another pair of runs in the fifth inning off back-to-back doubles from Roeder and Gresky to go up 13-3. The Wildcats were also aided in the inning by the Buckeyes’ fourth error of the game. Ohio State committed six errors in the game as Jedidiah Stephen had three, Christian Snavely had two and Nate Smith, who had one.
The Buckeyes added a run in the seventh inning, capitalizing on a lead-off double by Steve Caravati. It was his first extra-base hit of the season in a 3-for-5 effort. Anderson also had two hits in five at bats in a 10-hit effort by Ohio State. Northwestern finished with 13 hits, but the six Buckeye errors were a big difference.
BUCKEYE SPLITS
The split vs. Northwestern was the first series split with the Wildcats since 1998 and was the fifth straight split for the Buckeyes in Big Ten play dating back to the Purdue series April 26-28, 2002. Ohio State closed the conference season with splits against Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State and Minnesota. The series with the Spartans was only a two-game set after rain cancelled two games.
LEADING THE WAY
Second baseman Drew Anderson led the Buckeyes in the seven games played last week (three against Illinois and four against Northwestern). He was 11-for-26 (.423) with three RBI and a double. He also scored three runs.
In the Northwestern series alone, Steve Caravati lead all Buckeyes with a .471 average. He was 8-for-17 with one RBI. Anderson was just behind with a .467 average, going 7-for-15 with a pair of RBI. No other Buckeye was above .300 in the series. Paul Farinacci was the next closest with a .286 average.
LEWIS DOING A-O-KKKKKKKK
Left-handed pitcher Scott Lewis had another good outing against Northwestern. He pitched a complete-game shutout (1-0) of the Wildcats in the Big Ten opener allowing just four hits. He is now 4-0 on the year and has 47 strikeouts in 35.0 innings. In only five appearances this season he has more than half of the 91 strikeouts he had last year as a freshman in 15 outings.
The sophomore from Washington Court House, Ohio, has struck out 10 in each of his last two outings and has not had fewer than eight strikeouts in any of his five appearances this season, including an 8-K effort in 5.0 innings against Eastern Michigan. His season high is 11 at Lamar, which is one under is career best. He had 12 strikeouts last year against Purdue in 7.0 innings and did not allow a walk. In 20 appearances as a Buckeye he has struck out at least 10 batters six times.
Lewis owns a 12-2 record at Ohio State. The win percentage of .857 is the second best ever at Ohio State. He is tied with Ken Hay (1964-64), who was also 12-2, but still trails the top percentage of .889, owned by Steve Arlin, who was 24-3 in 1965-66 in guiding the Buckeyes to the College World Series both season, including the National Championship in 1966.
BUCKEYES GO 2-3 IN NON-LEAGUE SPRING BREAK GAMES
Ohio State opened the annual spring break trip to Bradenton, Fla. with a 6-3 win over Columbia at the IMG Academy before falling 7-6 to Vermont at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla. Then it was back to Bradenton for a three-game non-conference series with Illinois. After a rainout, the Fighting Illini took both ends of a doubleheader (4-1 and 5-2) and then the Buckeyes rebounded to take the finale by a score of 6-3.
In the first game of the trip, Scott Lewis recorded 10 strikeouts to pick up his third win of the season and the Ohio State offense scored all of its runs with two outs as the Buckeyes defeated Columbia 6-3. Brett Garrard had two hits in a 2-for-5 day with two RBI and Mike Rabin batted in another two runs in going 1-for-3. Lewis, who improved to 3-0 on the year, struck out 10 of the 30 batters he faced, but surrendered four walks in his 7.0-inning outing.
Vermont countered a two-run Ohio State rally that had given the Buckeyes a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth by scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning to defeat the Buckeyes 7-6 on Saturday. Ohio State had fought back to tie the game in the top of the eighth inning and then took a two-run lead in the top of the ninth and a win was within grasp, but relief pitching gave up five hits in the bottom of the frame handed the Catamounts the one-run victory.
Illinois won twice to extend the Buckeyes losing streak to three. The Illini scored two runs in each of the fourth and fifth innings to get past Ohio State with a 4-1 victory in the first game and then used two home runs in the first inning to jump out to an early 3-0 lead on its way to a 5-2 victory over Ohio State to complete a non-conference doubleheader sweep of the Buckeyes.
In the third game of the series, Ohio State scored four runs in the fifth inning and had solid relief pitching that limited Illinois to just one hit in the last seven innings as it took a 6-3 win against the Fighting Illini.
Illinois scored in the first and added a pair of runs in the third to better Ohio State’s two-run second inning. The Illini had five hits in the first two innings, but did not get another hit until the fifth, its only hit the remainder of the game. The Buckeyes scored four times in the fifth inning to get the 6-3 win.
CELEBRITY SIGHTING
It might have been in the middle of the NCAA basketball tournament, but ESPN analyst Dick Vitale found time to take in a few innings of Ohio State’s non-conference game against Illinois Tuesday, March 25 at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. Vitale, an avid tennis player who lives near the facility, plays regularly at the Bollettieri Tennis Academy on the campus of IMG, the same academy that has produced some of the world finest tennis stars, including Jim Courier, Andre Agassi, Monica Seles and Anna Kournikova. Ohio State went on to defeat Illinois 6-3 in that game.
BATTING WOES
As a team, Ohio State is batting .272. If the season were to end today, that figure would be the lowest total since 1979, when the Buckeyes hit .251. Ohio State hit .310 last year, led by Doug Deeds’ .386 and Nick Swisher’s .348 averages.
The Buckeyes are struggling to find a lineup to produce at the plate, though much can be made from the injuries the team has had to adjust to so far this season. Terry Pettorini (pectoral) and Steve Caravati (elbow) and most recently Brett Garrard (hamstring) have missed time due to injury. Pettorini tore his pectoral muscle the day after Christmas and Caravati, who had Tommy John surgery in the summer of 2001 and missed most of the 2002 season, re-injured his elbow diving for ball against Oklahoma (March 1). Garrard pulled his hamstring trying to avoid a collision at first base against Illinois (March 25). After an MRI this past Wednesday (April 2), Caravati has been cleared to bat but not throw and as a result will serve only as the Buckeyes’ designated hitter. The sophomore from Dover, Ohio, is batting .298 for the season with 17 hits.
As a result of the injuries, Ohio State has had to play several freshmen. So far, true freshmen Drew Thomas (outfielder), Jedidiah Stephen (shortstop) and Wes Schirtzinger (outfielder), as well as redshirt freshman Cody Caughenbaugh (outfielder) have seen time. None of them has a batting average higher than .182.
Another element missing from last year is Christian Snavely, who batted .360 last year. That total was the second best average by a Buckeye behind Deeds and was the best average among returning players. This season, Snavely is batting only .211, though he has walked 23 times. That is mainly a result of teams pitching around him and the Buckeyes’ inability to put someone in the lineup behind him to force teams to pitch to him. The junior from Defiance, Ohio, has reached safely in all but one game this season. Another part of the puzzle with Snavely, who was the Buckeyes’ second baseman a year ago, is that he has seen time at first and third bases and in the outfield.
CAREER RANKINGS
Junior Josh Newman has 18 wins as a Buckeye and that total is tied for 18th in the Buckeye record book with Kevin Goodrum (1998-01) and Bob Spears (1993-96). Spears currently serves as the color analyst on ONN television broadcasts of Buckeye baseball… For pitchers that have thrown at least 175 innings, Newman ranks second in fewest bases on balls (61), sixth in fewest runs (111), fourth in fewest earned runs (87) and 15th in fewest hits (223). Nate Smith is third in fewest bases on balls (72), 12th in fewest runs (123), ninth in fewest earned runs (95) and 10th in fewest hits (204)… Drew Anderson needs five stolen bases to crack a spot on the school’s all-time stolen bases list. He has 25.
HIT STREAKS
Derek Kinnear and Drew Anderson both took significant hitting streaks with them to Florida, but neither came back with them intact. Kinnear’s reached a career-long 13 before he failed to get a hit in either of his last two games. Anderson’s streak went 10 games, one below his long of 11 games last year as a freshman
The longest current streak is owned by Anderson, who is riding a five-gamer. That 10-game streak he enjoyed snapped in the second game of the Illinois doubleheader on March 25. That was the only time in his last 16 games he failed to collect a hit and was only the second time this season, in 19 games, he did not post a hit.
Steve Caravati has a four-game streak, while Terry Pettorini has hit in his last three games.
OSU SWEEPS FOUR VS. E. MICHIGAN, DETROIT
Ohio State swept a pair of doubleheaders against Eastern Michigan (4-2 and 15-7) and Detroit (5-3 and 7-0) March 15-16.
In the opening game of the weekend, Derek Kinnear went 2-for-3 and doubled in the winning run in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie as Ohio State went on to defeat Eastern Michigan 4-2. Christian Snavely added a home run in the seventh inning for the final margin in the first game of a doubleheader. Scott Lewis pitched the first five innings, getting eight strikeouts against 19 batters. He walked one and allowed the two Eastern Michigan runs on three hits.
Terry Pettorini had a solo home run and a grand slam in a 4-for-6 effort to lead Ohio State to a 15-7 victory over Eastern Michigan in the second game of an opening day doubleheader. Pettorini had an RBI single in the first and then had home runs in consecutive at bats – the first a solo shot and the second a grand slam – in the third and fourth innings before getting a base hit in the fifth. The six RBI were the most of the junior’s career.
In the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader against Detroit, Kinnear hit a three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in a two-homer day to lift Ohio State to a 5-3 victory. Kinnear went 2-for-3 in the game with four RBI and also scored twice. He was the only Buckeye with multiple hits in a five-hit game by the Buckeyes. Chris Hanners was the pitcher of record when the Buckeyes took the lead in the eighth inning. He did not allow a hit and recorded himself three strikeouts.
Eleven hits by Ohio State and 12 strikeouts by the pitching staff led the Buckeyes to a 7-0 shutout victory over Detroit to compete the doubleheader sweep. Drew Anderson led the way for Ohio State hitters as he went 4-for-5 as the lead-off batter. He scored three times and batted in one run. He had a pair of singles, a double and a home run. He led off the game with a double down the right-field line and then singled in the fourth and sixth innings before launching a home run to rightfield. Trent Luyster got his first win of the season, going 5.0 innings and allowing five hits. He struck out four and walked one.
KINNEAR NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ohio State catcher Derek Kinnear, who was 8-for-12 (.667) in four games against Detroit and Eastern Michigan, was the Big Ten Player of the week (March 18). Kinnear knocked in eight RBI and scored four times and doubled in the winning run in a 4-2 game in the first game of a doubleheader against Eastern Michigan. He went 2-for-3 in all four games in improving the Buckeyes to 7-3. A three-run home run in the bottom of the eighth inning in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader with Detroit gave the Buckeyes a come-from-behind 5-3 victory. He also had a solo home run the inning before. At the conclusion of the series, Kinnear was batting .438, up from a .182 average last year.
IN HOME OPENERS
The Buckeyes improved to 12-4 in home openers since Bob Todd took over as the head coach at Ohio State in 1988. OSU, which lost 6-4 to Detroit in the 2002 season opener got back on the winning track with a 4-2 victory over Eastern Michigan on March 15. Since Bill Davis Stadium opened in 1997, OSU is 5-2 in home openers.
PETTORINI’S BANNER RBI DAY
In the second game vs. Eastern Michigan, Terry Pettorini finished the game with a career-high six RBI. His previous high was five in a 38-15 Buckeye win over Toledo last season. Pettorini had an RBI single in the first and then had home runs in consecutive at bats – the first a solo shot and the second a grand slam – in the third and fourth innings before getting a base hit in the fifth. The grand slam was the first by a Buckeye since Christian Snavely belted a pinch-hit, game-winning, top-of-the-ninth slam to beat Michigan State in 2001. It was also the first time a Buckeye had home runs in consecutive at bats since Snavely went yard twice against Northwestern last season.
BUCKEYES GO 2-1 IN LOUISIANA
Scott Lewis pitched another gem and Ohio State banged out 13 hits in helping the Buckeyes to a 7-3 victory over host Louisiana-Lafayette last Friday in the opening game of the Mardi Gras Baseball Classic in Lafayette, La.
Lewis struck out eight and walked two in 7.0 innings, while allowing just one run on three hits against the Ragin’ Cajuns. It was his second win of the season and 10th win of his Buckeye career.
Brett Garrard was 3-for-4 with an RBI and scored twice while Drew Anderson finished the game 3-for-5 and scored one time. Mike Rabin and Steve Caravati each finished with a pair of hits each.
On Saturday, McNeese State scored three times in the bottom of the eighth inning to claim a seesaw battle with Ohio State by a final score of 5-3.
The Buckeyes took a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth but the Cowboys tied the game and added another two runs to take a 5-3 lead and put the pressure on the Buckeyes to even the score in its final at bat. Derek Kinnear was the offensive star for the Buckeyes. His three hits in four at bats led the Buckeye attack as he was the only OSU player with multiple hits.
Mike Madsen was saddled with the loss for Ohio State. He allowed three runs in 0.2 innings with one strikeout and a walk. He came on in the eighth inning in relief of starter Josh Newman, who pitched 7.0 innings allowing just two runs (one earned) on six hits.
Christian Snavely coaxed a bases loaded walk off Wichita State reliever Mike Dennison in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Ohio State a 3-2 victory over the No. 24 Shockers Sunday afternoon in the finale of the Mardi Gras Ball.
Mike Rabin led off the ninth inning with a base hit to left-centerfield and then was bunt over by Derek Kinnear. After a fly out by Wes Schirtzinger to left field, Dennison intentionally walked Drew Anderson. An error on Wichita State third baseman Cody Clark loaded the bases and then Snavely drew a walk to score the winning run.
It was a strange conclusion for a game in which both teams benefited from a pair of solo home runs for the entire offensive run production prior to the winning run. Anderson and Snavely both homered for the Buckeyes, while Drew Moffitt and Logan Sorenson went long for Wichita State. The home run by Anderson was the first of his career as a left-handed batter and was the first run allowed by Wichita State starter Mike Pelfrey, who had not allowed a run in his first 18 innings of the season.
BUCKEYES DROP TWO IN TEXAS
Ohio State opened the season with a 5-3 win over Lamar, but dropped its next two games, losing 5-1 to Oklahoma and 18-3 to Southwest Missouri State at the Tournament of Champions Cardinal Classic Feb. 28-March 1 in Beaumont, Texas.
On Friday, Scott Lewis struck out 11 batters and Ohio State banged out 10 hits in 5-3 opening night win over Lamar. The sophomore, who was 8-2 with 91 strikeouts last season in earning Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors, struck out three in the first inning, and added a pair of strikeouts in the fourth and seventh innings.
Oklahoma capitalized on solid hitting, an Ohio State error and a pair of balks in getting past the Buckeyes 5-1 Saturday. A home run by Jay Yaconetti in the fifth gave the Sooners a 5-0 lead. Ohio State finally got on the board in the sixth inning after designated hitter Paul Farinacci doubled to left-centerfield to lead off the inning. Jedidiah Stephen hit a shot through the right side to move Farinacci to third. He scored on a fielder’s choice by Brett Garrard.
On Sunday, Southwest Missouri State scored three times in the third inning and then added solo runs in the fifth, sixth, seventh and scored twice in the eighth and 10 times in the ninth en route to an 18-3 win over Ohio State.
Jedidiah Stephen’s single in the bottom of the fourth inning scored Terry Pettorini and Wes Schirtzinger to pull the Buckeyes within 3-2, that was as close as it got as OSU starting pitcher Nate Smith lasted only 4.2 innings. The Bears touched up Buckeye relievers for 15 runs in the final five innings, including a 10-run ninth inning.
IN SEASON OPENERS
With the 5-3 victory at Lamar, he Buckeyes improved to 9-7 in season openers under Bob Todd, who took over the program prior to the 1988 season. The victory in the season opener was the second consecutive opening day win for the Buckeyes, who defeated UAB 2-0 last season in Starkville, Miss. In 120 years of Ohio State baseball, the Buckeyes are 74-44-2 (.625) in season openers.
THE CAPTAINS
Senior pitchers Kyle Brown, Greg Prenger and Nate Smith, as well as junior infielder/outfielder Christian Snavely will share captain duties for the 2003 Buckeyes. All captains were selected by a vote of the team at the conclusion of fall practice in October.
SNAVELY NAMED TOP 100 PROSPECT
Baseball America named Christian Snavely to their Top 100 College Prospects list entering the 2003 season. Snavely, who last year played second base, was ranked 64th by the baseball magazine. The junior from Defiance, Ohio, can play a plethora of positions and has already seen time at first and third in addition to left field this season. Snavely batted .360 last season and owns a career batting average of .330 with 127 hits, 19 doubles, seven triples and 19 home runs, not to mention 87 RBI. This season he has just three hits in 20 at bats for a .150 average.
LEWIS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICAN
Left-handed pitcher Scott Lewis received preseason mention as a Third Team Preseason All-American as selected by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Lewis, the 2002 Big Ten Freshman of the Year was a First Team All-Big Ten selection and finished the year with an 8-2 record and a team-best 2.84 ERA. Lewis finished the year with a Buckeye-best 91 strikeouts in 92.0 innings and was named to the all-tournament teams at the Big Ten Tournament and at the South Bend Regional.
SIX ALL-BIG TEN SELECTIONS RETURN
Ohio State will be aided by the return of six All-Big Ten selections. Nate Smith and Scott Lewis were First Team All-Big Ten honorees last season, while Christian Snavely and Josh Newman garnered second team mention. Add Steve Caravati, a second team selection in 2001 and Greg Prenger, a third team honors recipient from 2001, and the Buckeyes will be bolstered by a total of six former all-conference selections.
WHICH FRESHMAN WILL STEP UP THIS YEAR?
For the past four years and seven years since the inception of the award in 1988, Ohio State has been the home of the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. No other school has had more than two recipients.
Last year for the Buckeyes, it was left-handed pitcher Scott Lewis. Other previous winners include: Doug Deeds (2001), Nick Swisher (2000), E.J. Laratta (1999), Dan Seimetz (1995), Matt Beaumont (1992) and Scott Klingenbeck (1990).
Ohio State welcomes nine freshmen for the 2003 season: pitchers Doug Carpenter and Trey Fausnaugh, catchers Phillip Mattingly and Greg Uland, infielders Kris Moorman, Wes Schirtzinger and Jedidiah Stephen, and outfielders Jacob Howell and Drew Thomas.
SCARLET AND GRAY WORLD SERIES
Team Gray defeated Team Scarlet 5-1 in game three to win the Scarlet and Gray World Series at Bill Davis Stadium, 2-1. The Gray squad took a 2-1 victory in the opener, but dropped a 2-1 decision to the Scarlet in the second game.
For the series, Paul Farinacci of Team Gray, went 5-for-9 with a pair of runs batted in. Four other players had four hits apiece, including Christian Snavely, who had a home run and double in the first game of the series. Derek Kinnear, Drew Anderson and Doug Larason also had four hits in the series.
Scott Lewis earned the win in the opening game for the Gray team. He struck out seven batters in 6.0 innings. In Game 2, Kyle Brown evened the series after going the distance. He scattered six hits with two strikeouts. Freshman Doug Carpenter got the decisive win for the Gray in Game 3. In 6.0 innings, he allowed five hits, the solo Scarlet run and recorded three strikeouts.
LAST SEASON
Ohio State might not have won the 2002 Big Ten regular season championship, but the Buckeyes got the better end of the deal when they qualified for their 15th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. That reward came when Ohio State claimed the Big Ten Tournament Championship May 25 at Minnesota’s Siebert Field with a 6-3 victory over the Golden Gophers, which had won the regular season championship by .22 percentage points in front of the Buckeyes the final weekend of the regular season at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus.
OSU was the only team from the conference to earn a bid to NCAA Tournament. Ohio State drew the third seed at the South Bend Regional, but lost its first-round game to second-seeded Notre Dame before bouncing back to win elimination games over Kent State, the fourth seed, and top-seeded South Alabama. Notre Dame beat the Buckeyes to advance to the Super Regional and ultimately the College World Series.
Along the way, several Buckeyes picked up honors. Eight OSU players were named to the All-Big Ten teams, including Nick Swisher, Scott Lewis and Nate Smith, which all three garnered first-team honors. Lewis was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year (the fourth straight such honoree from Ohio State) and Joe Wilkins was voted the Most Outstanding Player at the Big Ten Tournament. The Buckeyes landed six on the 12-member all-tournament team. Additionally, Lewis was named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American.
DRAFTED BUCKEYES
Three Buckeyes were selected in the 2002 MLB First-Year Player Draft, including first baseman/outfielder Nick Swisher, who was the 16th overall selection by the Oakland Athletics. He is the highest draft selection in OSU history. Additionally, outfielder Doug Deeds was taken in the ninth round by the Minnesota Twins and right-handed pitcher E.J. Laratta was taken in the 26th round by the San Diego Padres. Catcher Joe Wilkins signed a free agent contract with the Arizona Diamondbacks.
OHIO STATE TO RETIRE JERSEYS
This season, Ohio State will retire the baseball jerseys of players Fred Taylor and Steve Arlin and player and coach Marty Karow. The three jerseys will be the first retired in the Ohio State baseball program.
Taylor (1947-50) is best remembered as the head coach of Ohio State’s golden era of basketball after his teams made four Final Four appearances and won the 1960 NCAA Championship. However, Taylor wore No. 27 as a baseball player and became the school’s first baseball All-American in 1950.
Arlin (1965-66) is considered the top pitcher in Ohio State baseball history after posting a record of 24-3 in two his two years as a Buckeye. He held OSU marks for victories and strikeouts (294) until 1999 and his .889 winning percentage is the best in school history. He led the nation in strikeouts as a sophomore with 165. Arlin wore No. 22.
Karow (player 1925-27 and coach 1951-75) began his coaching career in 1951 and retired as the winningest coach in the history of the program in 1975 with 478 victories. Karow, who wore No. 13, guided the Buckeyes to a Big Ten championship and an appearance in the College World Series in his first season, but his career did not reach its peak until the mid-1960s when the team made three straight appearances in Omaha in 1965, 1966 and 1967. The 1966 season marked the only National Championship in school history.
BUCKEYES BEGIN 120TH SEASON
2003 marks the 120th season of Ohio State baseball, which first took to the field in 1880, though did not play any games in 1887, 1908 and 1910. Ohio State won its 2,000th game last season and entered this season with an overall record of 2,032-1,306-4, a win percentage of .607.
The Buckeyes have been to the NCAA Tournament of 15 times, four of which have ended with a trip to the College World Series. After finishing second in 1965, Ohio State won the 1966 CWS, its only national championship in baseball. Other appearances in the CWS were in 1951 and 1967. In the NCAA Tournament, OSU is 35-31 (.530)
In Big Ten play, the Buckeyes own a 751-561-2 record, a win percentage of .572. A total of 15 times, Ohio State has won the regular Big Ten title and another six times has won the Big Ten Tournament, including last season when it won the tournament championship at Minnesota.
NEXT ACTION
Ohio State will finally return home next Wednesday (April 9) for a the first of six home midweek games at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes will play host to Oakland at 6:35 p.m. It will be just the fifth home game for Ohio State this season and the first since March 15-16 when Detroit and Eastern Michigan squared off in a pair of doubleheaders. This weekend concludes a span of 19 games away from home. With Wednesday game, Ohio State will play its next 10 games at home and 15 of its next 19 games.
TIME CHANGED FOR GAME AT JACOBS FIELD
Ohio State’s baseball game vs. Cleveland State at Jacobs Field in Cleveland on May 6 has been pushed back from a 2:05 p.m. start to a 6:05 p.m. start to allow more fans to attend the game at the home of Major League Baseball’s Cleveland Indians. This will be the Buckeyes’ first game at Jacobs Field.
All tickets for the game will be general admission tickets and available for $5. No reserved seating will be available. Tickets will be available the day of the game at the ticket windows at Jacobs Field. Large groups are encouraged to contact the Cleveland State Athletics Ticket Office at (216) 687-4848. At this time, no tickets will be sold at the Ohio State Athletics Ticket Office.
