Ohio State Baseball Heads to Florida in Search of Sunshine – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/4/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 4, 2004
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OHIO STATE (2-4; 0-0 Big Ten)
at
KENNEL CLUB CLASSIC
March 5-7, 2004
Harmon Stadium, Jacksonville, Fla.
Fri., March 5 – at North Florida, 7 p.m.
Sat., March 6 – vs. Connecticut, 3:30 p.m.
Sun., March 7 – vs. Western Michigan, 11 a.m.
SERIES MEETINGS
North Florida: Ohio State leads 2-1
last game: Ohio State 3-0, March 1, 2002
Connecticut: Connecticut leads series 2-1
last game: Connecticut 9-6, March 20, 1999
Western Michigan: W. Michigan leads 54-36-1
last game: Ohio State 9-6, March 4, 2000
OHIO STATE RADIO/INTERNET
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PROBABLE OHIO STATE PITCHING ROTATION No. Name 2004 Stats NF 23 Josh Newman, LHP 1-1, 6.00, 10K, 12.0 IP CT 6 Mike Madsen, RHP 1-1, 9.00, 7K, 8.0 IP WM 39 Trent Luyster, LHP 0-1, 4.63, 10K, 11.2 IP
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After two tournaments with cool temperatures, Ohio State heads to Jacksonville, Fla. this weekend in search of sunshine. Temperatures are expected to be in the 70s during the three days the Buckeyes will be competing at the Kennel Club Classic, a stark change to the 40s in Houston for the Minute Maid College Classic, Feb. 13-15, and the 50s in Myrtle Beach, S.C. last weekend for Baseball at the Beach.
Like the weather, Ohio State has been cold to start the season, going 2-4 in two tournaments so far. The two wins came last weekend as the Buckeyes went 2-1, beating Richmond and Kent State before falling to Coastal Carolina. The Buckeyes, along with the Spiders and Chanticleers each went 2-1.
Ohio State will play North Florida at 7 p.m. Friday, Connecticut at 3:30 p.m. Saturday before taking on Western Michigan at 11 a.m. Sunday. All three games will be played at Harmon Stadium on the campus of the University of North Florida.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
Ohio State rebounded last weekend at the Baseball at the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. by going 2-1 against Richmond, Kent State and Coastal Carolina. That made the Buckeyes 2-4 combined with their 0-3 start the first weekend of the season. Of the six games the team has played, half have been against teams that played in the 2003 NCAA Tournament. Ohio State has gone 1-2 in those games.
In those three games last weekend, Steve Caravati led the team with a .462 batting average. The junior from Dover, Ohio, was 6-for-13 with a double and home run. He also knocked in four runs and had a slugging percentage of .769. His two-run home run in the top of the seventh inning against Richmond, a team that played in the final of the NCAA Stanford Regional in 2003, tied the game 6-6 before an RBI double by Drew Anderson won the game in the eighth. Caravati also had a two-RBI single in the fifth inning against Coastal Carolina, which netted the team’s first two runs. First baseman Paul Farinacci also had a great weekend going 4-for-9 with a double and his first career triple.
The team upped its batting average from .204 the opening weekend of the season to .240 by hitting .276 in Myrtle Beach. Anderson leads the team with a season batting average of .385. Through six games, the junior from Brownsburg, Ind., has four doubles and one home run for a team-best slugging percentage or .654. He also has batted in three runs. Caravati is batting .320 for the season with eight hits and a team-high two home runs and five RBI.
On the mound, the Buckeyes continue to struggle. The pitching staff did manage to lower its ERA from 7.96 after the Houston trip to 6.40 through six games, but the unit is still walking an unusually high amount of batters. The team has walked 34 batters in six games, an average of 5.7 batters a game. That was especially the case Sunday in the 8-4 loss to Coastal Carolina when four pitchers combined to walk nine batters against just one strikeout. It was the second time this season, the Buckeyes have walked nine batters in a game, also having done that against Kansas State. The staff has only 35 strikeouts. The team actually had more walks (17) than strikeouts (16) in the three games in South Carolina.
Left-handed pitcher Josh Newman and right-handed pitcher Mike Madsen even their record to 1-1 by picking up wins last weekend in respective starts against Richmond and Kent State. Newman has an ERA of 6.00 in 12.0 innings and has allowed 11 runs on 13 hits with 10 strikeouts. Madsen has a 9.00 ERA in 8.0 innings. Lefty Trent Luyster has the lowest ERA on the team among those who have pitched at least eight innings. He has a 4.63 ERA in 11.2 innings with 10 strikeouts and just three walks. Reliever Trey Fausnaugh, who picked up a save against Kent State, has yet to allow a run in 5.2 innings.
ABOUT NORTH FLORIDA
North Florida is off to a 9-7 start overall and a 4-2 record in the Peach Belt Conference. The Division II school is the fourth-ranked team in the South Atlantic Region according to the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
The team has a .263 batting average through its first 16 games. Jon Hodach leads the Ospreys with a .407 batting average. In 11 games he is 11-for-27 with two doubles, one home run and nine RBI. Joey Russell is batting .322 with a team-high 19 hits, while Phil Gaby is batting .308.
The pitching staff has an ERA of 4.39 and is led by Travis Stanton, who is 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA. In 38.1 innings, he has allowed just nine runs while striking out 39 against only seven walks.
North Florida is coached by Dusty Rhodes, who is 689-283 in his 16th season in Jacksonville and 992-401 in his 23rd season as a head coach.
AGAINST THE OSPREYS
Ohio State leads the all-time series with North Florida 2-1. The squads last met two years ago, a 3-0 Buckeye victory on March 1, 2002.
March 17, 1996 – Ohio State 16, at N. Florida 5
March 3, 2001 – at N. Florida 14, Ohio State 10
March 1, 2002 – Ohio State 3, at N. Florida 0
ABOUT CONNECTICUT
The Huskies are 0-3 after opening the season last weekend at Arizona State, which is ranked as high as sixth in this week’s national polls. In three games in Tempe, Ariz., Connecticut lost 18-2, 16-4 and 18-11. Marc Peluso was 5-for-9 (.556) for the Huskies against Arizona State. He had one double and three RBI against the Sun Devils. Dave Tokarz was 4-for-10 (.400) with a pair of double and four RBI, while Mike Mocerino was 3-for-3 with a triple and home run that netted four RBI.
UConn is coached by Jim Penders, who is in his first year at his alma mater and as a collegiate coach.
AGAINST THE HUSKIES
Connecticut leads the all-time series 2-1 after winning the rubber match 9-6 in 1999. The previous two meetings were split with the Huskies winning the first ever meeting in 1970 and Ohio State winning in 1993.
March 26, 1970 – Connecticut 1, Ohio State 0
March 19, 1993 – Ohio State 7, Connecticut 3
March 20, 1999 – Connecticut 9, Ohio State 6
ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGAN
The Broncos traveled to Jacksonville, Fla., Feb. 26 to begin a nine-game spring break trip that will culminate with a game against Ohio State Sunday. The team opened with a 4-1 victory over Florida A&M Friday before losing later in the day to Jacksonville, 8-7. Florida A&M handed Western Michigan a 8-7 setback Saturday and then North Florida won 6-5 Sunday. The team lost 17-2 to Jacksonville Tuesday night and was expected to play Bethune-Cookman Wednesday before tying the cleats back on to face Michigan State and Butler before meeting the Buckeyes.
Western Michigan is coached by Fred Decker, who was 770-678-6 entering his 30th year as a collegiate coach, all in Kalamazoo. He will retire at the end of this season.
AGAINST THE BRONCOS
Western Michigan leads the all-time series 54-36-1 though the Buckeyes won the last meeting 9-6 at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. Some of the biggest games in Ohio State’s history have been played against the Broncos. The Buckeyes qualified for their first ever trip to the College World Series by taking two of three games from Western Michigan in 1951. WMU returned the favor in 1955 and then in 1966, the year Ohio State won the national championship, it beat Western Michigan twice in the District 4 Playoffs. The Buckeyes again advanced to Omaha in 1967 by beating the Broncos.
Last 11 Games vs. Western Michigan
May 5, 1984 – at W. Michigan 5, Ohio State 4
May 5, 1984 – at W. Michigan 2, Ohio State 1
May 3, 1985 – W. Michigan 2, at Ohio State 0
May 3, 1985 – W. Michigan 6, at Ohio State 1
May 4, 1985 – W. Michigan 4, at Ohio State 1
May 4, 1985 – at Ohio State 1, W. Michigan 0
April 4, 1986 – W. Michigan 11, at Ohio State 6
April 4, 1986 – W. Michigan 7, at Ohio State 1
April 5, 1986 – at Ohio State 12, W. Michigan 5
April 5, 1986 – W. Michigan 10, at Ohio State 8
March 4, 2000 – Ohio State 9, W. Michigan 6*
* Jacksonville, Fla.
ON THE RADIO
Ohio State baseball will not be broadcast on the radio until the home opener March 31, once Buckeye women’s basketball and men’s ice hockey have concluded their respective seasons. NPR 820 (WOSU-AM) will again serve as the broadcast home for Ohio State baseball and will broadcast a total of 40 regular-season games, plus all postseason contests. Joining veteran broadcaster Frank Fraas will be newcomers Neil Sika and Paul Barnes.
Of Ohio State’s opponents in Jacksonville, only North Florida will have a radio Internet broadcast and live stats. Please visit the school’s web site at: www.unf.edu/sports
OSU COMES BACK VS. RICHMOND FOR FIRST WIN OF THE SEASON
Drew Anderson doubled in the winning run to lift Ohio State to a 7-6 victory over Richmond Feb. 28 in the Baseball at the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The win by the Buckeyes was their first of the season.
With two on and two out in the top of the eighth inning, Anderson drove the first pitch from reliever Nate Kuchta into left-center field to score Jedidiah Stephen.
The Buckeyes had squandered a 4-0 lead as Richmond went ahead 6-4 after a four-run fifth inning to go with a pair of runs it scored in the fourth. Steve Caravati tied the game, 6-6, in the top of the seventh inning with a home run, his second of the season, over the fence in left field. Anderson doubled to the wall in left-center field and moved to third on a throwing error by LeNoir, the Spiders’ shortstop. Caravati sent a shot over the fence in left to tie the game.
Anderson finished the game 3-for-5 with a pair of doubles and a single to up his season average to .444. Caravati and Stephen each had two hits in the winning effort.
The win evened Newman’s record to 1-1, as he came out of the game after the Buckeyes took the lead. He pitched seven innings, allowing all six Richmond runs on eight hits. He struck out six batters. Trey Fausnaugh came on for Newman before leaving after 1.1 innings in favor of Trent Luyster, who picked up his first career save throwing four pitches.
NEWMAN NOW NINTH ALL-TIME
With his win over Richmond Feb. 28, Josh Newman moved into a ninth-place tie on the Ohio State career wins list with his 25th victory with the Buckeyes. The senior from Wheelersburg, Ohio, who was drafted in the 31st round of the 2003 draft by the Cincinnati Reds, is tied with Matt Beaumont, who pitched with the Buckeyes from 1992-94. Newman won eight games each of his first three seasons and is 1-1 in 2004. The school record for career victories is 36 by Justin Fry (1995-99). Newman’s 277.2 career innings is tied for eighth all-time with Scott Klingenbeck, who pitched for Ohio State from 1990-92.
OHIO STATE ALL-TIME VICTORIES 1. Justin Fry 1995-99 36 2. E.J. Laratta 1999-02 34 3. Pete Perini 1947-50 30 4. Scott Klingenbeck 1990-92 28 Tom Schwarber 1987-91 28 6. Chris Granata 1991-94 27 Bill Cunningham 1982-85 26 Mark Dempsey 1977-80 26 9. Josh Newman 2001-present 25 Matt Beaumont 1992-94 25
BUCKEYES DOWN KENT STATE, 5-3
Ohio State scored four runs in the second inning and hit its way to a 5-3 victory over Kent State Feb. 28 in its second game of the Baseball at the Beach tournament at Coastal Federal Field. Ohio State out-hit the Golden Flashes 12-6 in the two-run victory, which improved Ohio State Bob Todd to 6-3 against the school he coached from 1984-87.
Ohio State came up big in the second inning, scoring four runs on five hits, including the first career triple by Paul Farinacci. That shot to the deepest part of the park in left-center field came with one out and got the inning started for the Buckeyes. Farinacci scored on a double to left-center field by Brett Hatcher to give the Buckeyes an early 1-0 lead.
With two outs, Hatcher scored on a two-base error on Kent State rightfielder Adam Crowder, who misplayed a fly ball hit off the bat of Brett Garrard. Garrard moved to third on an infield single by Derek Kinnear, his first hit of the season. Jacob Howell, who singled to left-center field, scored Garrard before a base hit to right by Mike Rabin scored Kinnear to put the Buckeyes out in front 4-0.
Kent State turned a leadoff double in the top of the fifth inning into its first run of the game to make the score 4-1. The Golden Flashes pulled within one run in the top of the seventh scoring two runs on Matt Sega’s first home run of the season. Also scoring on the shot over the left-field fence was Andrew Davis, who led off the inning with a single up the middle. The Buckeyes got out of the inning with a one-run lead, 4-3. Ohio State scored an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth inning as Rabin knocked in Bourquin, who boarded with a one-out single through the right side. The Buckeyes got three hits in the inning and squandered a chance at another run, leaving the bases loaded.
Steve Caravati had a 3-for-4 game for the Buckeyes while Rabin was 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI. Davis led Kent State with a 3-for-4 effort.
Mike Madsen evened his record to 1-1, going six innings, allowing one run on three hits while striking out seven. Trey Fausnaugh, who picked up his first career save in 2 1/3 innings. He did not allow a run and on one hit with a pair of strikeouts.
COASTAL HANDS OSU 8-4 LOSS
Three Ohio State pitchers combined to allow seven runs on seven hits and eight walks in the first four innings as Coastal Carolina stormed out to a 7-0 lead before holding off the Buckeyes in an eventual 8-4 victory Feb. 29 in the Baseball at the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
In his first career start, Ohio State left-handed pitcher Jesse Paciorek struggled from the start, walking the first two batters he faced in the bottom of the first inning. He then got Adam Pernasilici to ground into a 4-6-3 double play, but back-to-back hits, an RBI single to center by Mike Costanzo, and a single shot to left-center by Jeremiah Grove netted one run and put runners at the corners. Needing just one out, Paciorek walked the next batter to load the bases and then walked Jason Krohn to score the second run of the game by Coastal Carolina.
Paciorek hit the first batter he faced in the second inning, and then coach Bob Todd replaced him with Justin Myers. Myers walked his first batter and then the two base runners were bunted into scoring position by Brett Grandstrand. Pernasilici grounded out to third to score the first run before Myers walked the next two batters. He gave way to Chris Hanners, the third Buckeye pitcher of the game.
Coastal Carolina added three runs in the third inning to take a 6-0 lead. After getting the first two batters out, Hanners gave up a hit up the middle by DeJesus. After a walk to McGraw, Grandstrand’s infield single loaded the bases. Pernasilici sent a tower fly ball to right-center field where a charging Mike Rabin, the centerfielder, and Wes Schirtzinger, the rightfielder, collided and the ball dropped to the ground. The bases cleared and Pernasilici reached third. The Chanticleers added another run in the fourth inning, turning a lead off single into a run on a shot up the middle by Krohn to go up 7-0.
Ohio State finally got on the board in the top of the fifth inning, scoring three runs to make it a four-run game. The first two batters of the inning were retired, but Rabin got things going for the Buckeyes with a single to right-center field. Coastal Carolina starter Kevin Marrie walked Anderson before Steve Caravati knocked in two runs with a single to left field. After Caravati stole second, Paul Farinacci batted him in for the third run with a single through the left side. The Buckeyes added a run in the top of the seventh, turning a two-out walk by Rabin into a run when Drew Anderson doubled to the wall in left-center field to pull within three runs.
The Chanticleers added a run in the bottom of the eighth on a home run by Greg Orsimarsi, who drove a shot over the fence in left.
Farinacci was the only Buckeye with more than one hit. He went 2-for-2 with one RBI. Caravati was 1-for-4 with a pair of RBI. Both Grandstrand and Grove had multiple hits as the Chanticleers out-hit the Buckeyes 10-7.
Paciorek got the loss for Ohio State to fall to 0-1 on the year. He pitched one inning allowing three runs on two hits and four walks.
HURLERS PICK UP SAVES
In the two wins last weekend at the Baseball at the Beach tournament in Myrtle Beach, both Trent Luyster and Trey Fausnaugh picked up saves. Luyster made only four pitches to earn his first career save and then later in the day Fausnaugh picked up his first career save in going 2.1 innings against Kent State. Last season, Ohio State finished with a school record 16 saves, including a record 14 saves by Matt Davis, who was drafted in the seventh round of the 2003 draft by the Cleveland Indians.
IN THE RANKINGS
After starting the season ranked as high as 26th in the four major preseason college baseball polls, the Buckeyes have dropped out of the rankings. Ohio State continues to receive votes in the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Top 35 poll, but are not in any of the other three.
The preseason ranking of 26th was in the NCBWA poll. Ohio State received note in all four preseason polls, ranking 31st in Collegiate Baseball, 32nd in Baseball America. The Buckeyes received the 28th most votes in the USA Today Sports Weekly/ESPN coaches’ poll. Last season, the Buckeyes finished the season ranked as high as 17th and no lower than 21st in any of the polls.
BUCKEYES DROP OPENER TO TEXAS
The Texas Longhorns out-hit Ohio State 8-3 and used a three-run second inning on their way to a 6-0 blanking of the Buckeyes in Ohio State’s season opener Feb. 13 in the Minute Maid College Classic at Minute Maid Park in Houston.
Texas took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning. A throwing error by Buckeye pitcher Josh Newman put two runners in scoring position. The error allowed Taylor Teagarden to score from second after he led off the inning with a double. Michael Hollimon followed Teagarden’s double with a walk before the bunt to Newman, who battled back for a strikeout before a single scored Hollimon and a sacrifice bunt by brought home Drew Stubbs for the 3-0 lead after two innings. The Longhorns added a run in the bottom of the fourth inning and another in the sixth to go up 5-0. A solo home run by J.D. Reninger in the eighth inning off a 2-0 offering from Buckeye reliever Jeffrey Carroll built the Longhorn lead to the final six-run margin of victory. Reninger was 2-for-3 with three RBI and one run.
The Buckeyes had just one runner in scoring position the entire game, but could not get the runner to third base in the fourth inning. Trailing 3-0, the Buckeyes sent Mike Rabin on a tag from second on a fly out to center field by Steve Caravati. Rabin had two hits to lead Ohio State. Newman got the loss as he and the Buckeyes fell to 0-1. In his five innings, Newman allowed five hits, five runs and struck out four batters while walking four. Trey Fausnaugh pitched two innings for Ohio State and Carroll pitched one inning.
KANSAS STATE DOUBLES UP BUCKS
Ohio State right-handed pitcher Mike Madsen gave up seven runs in the first two innings and Kansas State never looked back in a 12-6 victory Feb. 14 in the Minute Maid College Classic. Eli Rumler was 2-for-4 with four RBI and one run to lead the Wildcats.
Madsen walked three and Kansas State had four hits, including a three-run triple to build a 6-0 lead in the top half of the first inning. In the second inning, Steve Murphy scored on an inside-the-park home run that snuck under the glove of rightfielder Wes Schirtzinger and rolled to the wall. Ohio State’s second error of the game yielded a run in the third inning to build the Wildcat lead to 8-0. Kansas State scored its leadoff runner in the fifth inning to build a nine-run lead.
Ohio State got on the board in the sixth inning. Jacob Howell led off the inning with a pinch-hit triple and then scored on a groundout by Mike Rabin. The Buckeyes added three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to pull within a 9-4 score. Caravati led off the inning with a double to right-center field and moved to third on a single to left-center field by Jeffrey Carroll, who had entered the game at first base in the top half of the inning. Cody Caughenbaugh launched a shot over the fence in right field to score three runs.
The Wildcats countered the Buckeyes’ three runs with a three-spot in the top of the eighth inning, benefiting from two hits, two walks and a balk to build a 12-4 lead. After stranding two base runners in the eighth, Ohio State got a pair of runs in the bottom of the ninth. Brett Hatcher drew a pinch-hit walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Ronnie Bourquin doubled down the right-field line to score Hatcher. Bourquin scored on an error by Marc Chabot, the Wildcat second baseman on a ball hit off the end of his glove by Howell that rolled into right field.
Madsen was tagged with the loss after allowing seven runs on five hits with three walks and no strikeouts in two innings of work. Bourquin and Drew Anderson each had two hits to lead the Buckeyes, who finished the game with nine hits and three errors.
OHIO STATE DROPS MINUTE MAID FINALE TO TEXAS TECH
Ohio State kept it close, but Texas Tech scored four runs in the final two innings to hand the Buckeyes a 9-4 loss in the finale of the Minute Maid College Classic for both teams.
The Buckeyes pulled within 5-4 in the bottom of the sixth inning, but the Red Raiders got four runs on six hits against reliever Justin Myers the final two innings of the game. Trent Luyster got the start for Ohio State and went seven innings allowing five runs on seven hits with nine strikeouts and had more than 115 pitches.
Texas Tech scored four runs in the top of the third inning to take a 4-1 lead. The Buckeyes got two of the runs back in the bottom of the fifth inning to close within a 4-3 score. Ronnie Bourquin led off the inning with a single through the left side and then with two outs, moved to third on a throwing error by Red Raider catcher Cooper Fouts. Brett Garrard singled to center field to score Bourquin and then stole second. Jacob Howell grounded to short, but a throwing error by Blair, the Texas Tech shortstop, allowed Garrard to score from second.
The Red Raiders added to their lead in the top of the sixth before Steve Caravati answered in the bottom of the inning with a home run to the Crawford Boxes in left field. The run pulled the Buckeyes within one run, 5-4, which held until the top of the eighth inning when Brady homered to left and Mask followed with a double. Mask moved to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a ground out by Matthew Coco to give the Red Raiders a 7-4 lead. In the ninth, Texas Tech turned a leadoff single into a run when Delgado singled up the middle. Delgado was the ninth run when he scored on a base hit by Mask.
Anderson was 2-for-4 with a home run and a double that missed clearing the wall in left field by only three inches. Garrard was 2-for-3 with one RBI. Luyster got the loss.
2003 SEASON REVIEW
The 2003 Ohio State Buckeyes knew they were a good team last year, but just how good was not discovered until its postseason run in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
Needing two wins on the final day of the conference tournament against Minnesota, Ohio State rallied for a 13-3 win in game one and a 10-8 victory in game two to claim its second straight and sixth ever Big Ten tournament championship.
The win also handed the Buckeyes the league’s automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Now, Ohio State, as a No. 3 regional seed, was faced with an even greater challenge against a trio of Tigers, including two southern baseball powerhouses: Auburn, Clemson and Princeton. Yet the Buckeyes again rose to the challenge, shocking the nation with a sweep of the Auburn Regional, defeating Clemson, a 2002 College World Series participant, in the opening round, before taking a pair of victories from host and national No. 4 seed Auburn.
That set up a super regional matchup with Southwest Missouri State, which itself came out of the Lincoln Regional as a No. 3 seed. The NCAA awarded the super regional to Ohio State, yet the Buckeyes fell two games short of advancing to the College World Series for the first time since 1967 despite crowds of more than 5,000 fans each game at Bill Davis Stadium.
TWO BUCKEYES NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
Left-handed pitcher Scott Lewis and second baseman Drew Anderson were named Third Team Preseason All-Americans by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
Lewis was the 2003 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and a Louisville Slugger First Team All-American last year after finishing 9-1 on the mound. Lewis ran his record to 9-0 before suffering a loss in his last outing of the regular season, May 16, when he tore his ulnar collateral ligament in a game at Minnesota. That loss snapped a string of 15 consecutive victories. His 17-3 career record gives him a win percentage of .850, which is third best in school history. He finished with a 1.61 ERA in 2003 and held opposing batters to a .160 batting average. His 127 strikeouts in 83 2/3 innings was the third highest total in school history. Lewis underwent Tommy John surgery the week of regional play and could return to the mound in April.
Anderson was a Second Team All-Big Ten selection in 2003 after leading the Buckeyes with 77 hits. He batted .307 for the season and had 12 home runs and 34 RBI. Anderson was unanimously named the most outstanding player of the NCAA Auburn Regional by batting .429 (6-of-14) with two doubles and four home runs. Also a member of the all-regional team, he touched 20 bases for a slugging percentage of 1.429.
FIVE ALL-BIG TEN PICKS RETURN
Five Buckeyes who won All-Big Ten honors last season are back in 2004. Scott Lewis, the 2003 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year, is the lone first-team selection returning, but the date of the return is unknown pending his rehabilitation from Tommy John surgery May 29. Second baseman Drew Anderson and left-handed pitcher Josh Newman were second team selections while catcher Derek Kinnear and designated hitter Steve Caravati earned third-team honors.
LEWIS RANKED 43RD BEST PROSPECT IN 2004 DRAFT
Baseball America listed Scott Lewis No. 43 on its Top 100 College Prospects for the June amateur draft by Major League Baseball. Lewis, who is undergoing rehab following Tommy John surgery last May, could pitch for the Buckeyes as early as mid-April. Lewis struck out 127 batters in 83.2 innings and finished with a 9-1 record and 1.61 ERA. Baseball America lists Lewis’ breaking ball as one of the best in college baseball with Rice’s Jeff Niemann and South Carolina’s Matt Campbell. Lewis was drafted following high school by the Anaheim Angels in the 33rd round of the 2001 draft.
BASEBALL AMERICA BIG TEN HONORS
In the 2004 College Baseball Preview by Basebaall America, several Buckeyes received preseason honors. The publication named catcher Derek Kinnear, second baseman Drew Anderson, designated hitter Steve Caravati and left-handed pitcher Josh Newman to its preseason all-conference team for the Big Ten. Baseball America also mentioned Scott Lewis as the Big Ten’s top overall prospect while listing Newman as the sixth-best prospect and Anderson as the ninth-best prospect while tabbing him as the league’s fastest runner and best base runner. Kinnear was named the best defensive catcher. Baseball America penciled in Ohio State and Minnesota for the NCAA tournament.
2004 TEAM CAPTAINS
The Buckeyes elected four of their fellow teammates to serve as team captains for the 2004 season: outfielder Steve Caravati, shortstop Brett Garrard, catcher Derek Kinnear and pitcher Josh Newman.
Bob Todd RADIO CALL-IN SHOW BEGINS MARCH 30
The Bob Todd weekly radio call-in show will begin Tuesday, March 30 and run every Tuesday night through the remainder of the season. The show will be hosted by Skip Mosic on Sports Radio 1460 The Fan (WBNS-AM). The program has received mention in Baseball America for its promotion of college baseball.
UP NEXT…
The Buckeyes continue their 16-game road trip at the Coca-Cola Classic in Mobile, Ala., March 12-14. Ohio State will meet McNeese State at 3:30 p.m. Friday, South Alabama at 3:30 p.m. Saturday before closing the tournament vs. Winthrop at noon Sunday. The three games, two against 2003 NCAA Tournament teams, will be played at Stanky Field on the South Alabama campus.
