Buckeyes Open 10th Year at Bill Davis Stadium vs. Toledo – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/28/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 28, 2006
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OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
11-5, 0-0 Big Ten
vs.
TOLEDO ROCKETS
9-7, 2-1 Mid-American
March 29, 2006 o 2 p.m.
Bill Davis Stadium (Capacity: 4,450)
Columbus, Ohio
Series History: Ohio State leads 21-6
Last Meeting: Ohio State 12-4, March 30, 2005
PROBABLE PITCHING MATCHUP
Greg Gompf (Toledo) vs. J.B. Shuck (Ohio State)
TELEVISION/RADIO
None
GAMETRACKER
ohiostatebuckeyes.com
After playing the first 16 games in the state of Florida, Ohio State makes its season debut in Columbus Wednesday when it opens the 10th season of play at Bill Davis Stadium with a 2 p.m. matinee vs. Toledo.
The Buckeyes are 169-67 (.716) during the first nine seasons in the facility which opened in 1997. The venue has played host to two Big Ten tournament championships (1999 and 2001), two regional championships (1999 and 2001) and two super regional championships (1999 and 2003).
Ohio State will play 23 games at Bill Davis Stadium in 2006. Toledo is the first of seven home midweek opponents, which also include Miami (Ohio), Central Michigan, Oakland, Cleveland State, Eastern Michigan and Pittsburgh. Defending Big Ten champion Illinois will be the first of four conference opponents to visit Bill Davis Stadium when it comes to Columbus April 7-9. The Scarlet and Gray also will welcome Purdue in late April and close the season with back-to-back home weekends against Minnesota and Penn State. The Toledo game will not be broadcast on the radio but, like all home games this season, the game will feature Gametracker at ohiostatebuckeyes.com
ABOUT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are tied atop the Big Ten standings with a 11-5 record after winning nine of their last 10 games, including a 5-1 mark on their annual spring break trip last week in Bradenton, Fla. Ohio State opened its spring break with a 14-0 victory vs. Massachusetts and then beat Cornell 12-4 before falling 7-1 to Illinois-Chicago. The Buckeyes rebounded to beat Cornell 6-0 and won two games vs. Vermont (14-1 and 6-5).
The Scarlet and Gray batted .335 in the six games and were led by Jacob Howell, who batted .571 in the six games. He was 12-for-21 with one double, two triples and a sacrifice bunt for five RBI and nine runs scored. He also drew three walks and was hit by one pitch with only two strikeouts. He added two stolen bases. Matt Angle hit .435 and scored 11 runs on the trip and Eric Fryer hit .421 and batted in 10 runs. Ronnie Bourquin was one of three with more than 10 hits. The Buckeye third baseman batted in 10 runs and scored eight times. Ohio State is now hitting .352 as a team and is led by Angle, who is batting .446. Bourquin is batting .443 for the season and Howell is batting .433.
On the hill in Bradenton, Dan DeLucia was 2-0 while J.B. Shuck, Jake Hale and Josh Barrera also earned wins. DeLucia pitched a three-hit, complete game, 14-0 shutout vs. UMass in the opener of the spring break trip and then closed the week with a 6-5 victory vs. Vermont. Shuck combined with Dan Barker for the team’s other shutout win of the week. Each kept Cornell off the scoreboard and allowed two hits. Hale picked up his first win as a Buckeye in the 12-4 win vs. Cornell, while Barrera claimed his first win in the 14-1 victory vs. Vermont. Cory Luebke was the losing pitcher vs. Illinois-Chicago. As a pitching staff, Ohio State had a 2.77 ERA and held opposing batters to a .211 average. For the season, Shuck is 3-0 with a miniscule 0.86 ERA and DeLucia is 3-1 with a team-high 21 strikeouts and 3.68 ERA. Luebke is 2-2 with 20 strikeouts and a 2.96 ERA.
DELUCIA, HALE HONORED NATIONALLY
Dan DeLucia and Jake Hale were named to the College Baseball Foundation Weekly Honor Roll March 21 after combining to allow just seven hits in two games last week against UMass and Cornell. Delucia allowed only three hits in a nine-inning complete-game shutout, 14-0, over the Minutemen March 19. The junior did not allow the first hit until the fifth inning, and threw 106 pitches to pick up his second win of the season. The in the team’s next game, Hale, a freshman, picked up his first career win, allowing only two runs on three hits, with five strikeouts, as he combined with two relievers to limit the Big Red to only four hits in a, 12-4, victory.
BOURQUIN SHARES BIG TEN HONORS
Ohio State third baseman Ronnie Bourquin was named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week March 20 after going 5-for-6 in the Buckeyes’ lone game of the week, a 14-0 win over Massachusetts March 19. Bourquin started the game with five straight singles before a fly out in his last visit to the plate. He drove in five runs and scored twice. Bourquin, a junior from Canton, Ohio (Canton South), ran his hit streak to a career-long eight games and upped his batting average to .520 through the first 11 games of the season.
ABOUT TOLEDO
The Rockets, which play host to Youngstown State Tuesday afternoon before coming to Columbus Wednesday, improved to 9-7 this season after taking two of three games from Miami (Ohio) this past weekend in Toledo. That came a week after getting swept at Missouri State. Toledo opened the season with a two-game sweep of Eastern Kentucky and lost two-of-three to Tennessee Tech before winning four of five games on its spring break trip to Bradenton, Fla.
Toledo is batting. 255 and is led by Jason Watson, who has a .333 batting average. He is 19-for-57 with a team-high 13 RBI and has scored nine runs. Nick Lance and Scott Boley also are batting better than .300. Lance is batting .314 while Boley is batting .304. Pitchers Joe Welsh and Kyle Rawlings each are 3-1. Rawlings has 20 strikeouts and a 1.82 ERA in 29.2 innings, while Welsh has 19 strikeouts and a 1.65 ERA in 32.2 innings. The pitching staff has a 3.28 ERA and is holding batters to a .262 average.
Cory Mee (Notre Dame, 1992) is 44-80 in his third season at Toledo and as a college coach.
AGAINST THE ROCKETS
Ohio State leads the all-time series vs. Toledo 21-6 and has won 13 in a row, including the last seven under head coach Bob Todd. The last win by the Rockets in this series was April 12, 1983 when they won the second game of a doubleheader 3-2. In the seven Ohio State wins under Todd, the Buckeyes have won by a margin of 10 runs (16.6-6.6). Ohio State beat Toledo 12-4 in last year’s home opener on March 30.
IN HOME OPENERS
Since Bob Todd arrived to Ohio State prior to the 1988 season, the Buckeyes are 13-5 in home openers. The Scarlet and Gray lost to Eastern Michigan 2-1 in 2004, but returned to the win column last year against Toledo to improve to 6-3 in home openers at Bill Davis Stadium.
IN THE BIG TEN
Ohio State and Purdue sit at the top of the Big Ten Conference standings. The Boilermakers matched the Buckeyes’ 11-5 record by sweeping Chicago State in a three-game series this past weekend in West Lafayette, Ind. Illinois, Iowa, Michigan and Minnesota each have 10 wins after last weekend. This coming weekend marks the start of conference play. Ohio State is at Iowa, Indiana is at Michigan State, Northwestern is at Michigan, Purdue is at Illinois and Penn State is at Minnesota.
Ohio State continues to lead the league in batting (.352) and pitching (3.66) through 16 games this season. Matt Angle (.446), Ronnie Bourquin (.443) and Jacob Howell (.433) sit 1-2-3 in individual batting while Jedidiah Stephen ranks ninth (.385). Bourquin leads the Big Ten with 31 hits, while Angle (27) and Howell (21) have scored the most runs. Eric Fryer has knocked in a league-leading 23 doubles with Stephen’s 10 doubles and Howell’s three triples are the league standard.
J.B. Shuck owns the conference’s lowest ERA. He is 3-0 with a 0.86 ERA with 13 strikeouts in 21.0 innings pitched. Cory Luebke’s 2.96 ERA ranks 10th. Shuck’s .162 batting average against is second in the league.
HOWELL LEADS BUCKEYES IN BRADENTON
Jacob Howell had nine straight hits to start the week and batted .571 in six games last week, going 12-for-21 with five RBI and nine runs scored as the Buckeyes won five games. He had a slugging percentage of .810 and an on-base percentage of .640.
Howell actually had a hit in 10 straight at bats going back to the team’s win over Bethune-Cookman March 12. He was 2-for-5 in that game with a single in his last at bat. He was 3-for-3 with a walk vs. UMass, 5-for-5 vs. Cornell and then was 1-for-3 vs. Illinois-Chicago with a hit in his first at bat. With the walk vs. UMass, he actually reached base 11 straight times, which was two off the 1934 school record of 13. Howell is third on the team with a .433 batting average.
HIT STREAK
Buckeye center fielder Matt Angle is currently enjoying an 11-game hit streak, which matches the longest by a Buckeye this season. Angle is batting .565 (26-for-46) with 11 RBI and 23 runs scored dating back to the March 5 game vs. Western Michigan.
Ohio State short stop Jedidiah Stephen also had an 11-game hit streak earlier this season. He ended 2005 with a hit in the final game of the season and then rattled off hits in the first 10 games this year before going hitless against UMass. Jacob Howell (9), Ronnie Bourquin (8) and Eric Fryer (7) each had streaks stopped during spring break. The only other significant current streak belongs to second baseman Jason Zoeller, who has a hit in his last nine games, also dating back to the Western Michigan game. Zoeller missed both Vermont games March 24.
THREE BUCKEYES GET FIVE HITS FOUR TIMES
It was too bad the Buckeyes did not have a game this past Sunday. Every Sunday in March, a Buckeye has had five hits. Against Western Michigan March 6 in Jacksonville, center fielder Matt Angle had a hit in his first five at bats before grounding out in the ninth. A week later, facing Bethune-Cookman in Clearwater, Angle again started 5-for-5 but grounded into a fielder’s choice. Against UMass, March 19 in Bradenton, third baseman Ronnie Bourquin was 5-for-6 with five RBI and four runs scored. Those two are not the only players who have tallied five hits in a game. The day after Bourquin got five hits against UMass, left fielder Jacob Howell was 5-for-5 with three RBI and four runs scored against Cornell.
MILESTONES
The game against Florida marked the 1,300th game of Bob Todd’s career, which is in its 23rd season in 2006. He coached his 1,100th game at Ohio State, where he has coached since 1988, in the Buckeyes’ eighth game of the year, a 13-6 victory over Lehigh in the second game of a doubleheader on March 10. Todd owns a career record of 861-451-2 and is 737-369-2 at Ohio State.
Ohio State has played 3,589 games since it began playing baseball in 1881. The 3,600th game in school history will be played against Central Michigan April 12th at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes are 2,164-1,387-38 all time.
HIGH-POWERED OFFENSE
The Buckeyes have really turned it on at the plate in the last 10 games to up their batting average to a Big Ten best .352. The next closest team, Illinois, has a batting average of .320. During the 10-game streak, in which Ohio State has won nine games, the Buckeyes have hit .391 and have outscored their opponents 101-40, that is an average of 10.1 to 4.0. Ohio State is averaging 14.4 hits to 8.2 hits per game during the stretch. For the season, Ohio State has outscored the opposition 209-135 or 13.1 to 8.4. In the first six games of the season, the Buckeyes were 2-4 and were outscored 36-35.
BUCKEYES FIND EARLY GAME SUCCESS
Ohio State has managed to build early leads against its opponents. Through the first four innings, the Buckeyes have outscored their opposition 68-25, including a margin of 24-10 in the first inning. Only six times this season has an opponents scored in the first inning and in the last 10 games an opponent has scored just three runs in that opening stanza. The sixth inning also has been particularly potent for the Buckeyes, which have outscored opponents 26-5.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
The Buckeyes were 12-4 through 16 games last year and beat Toledo in the home opener to run their win streak to 10 straight games. Ohio State well remembers what happened next as it lost its next six games, including an 0-5 start in Big Ten play thanks to a sweep by Illinois the opening weekend of conference action. Ohio State overcame the slow start to win the Big Ten tournament and advance to an NCAA regional for the 11th time under head coach Bob Todd.
DELUCIA TOPS 175 CAREER INNINGS
Ohio State junior left-handed pitcher Dan DeLucia made two appearances for the Buckeyes on spring break and picked up a pair of victories. In the team’s first game in Bradenton, he tossed a three-hit, complete game, 14-0 shutout of Massachusetts. In the Buckeyes’ final game of the trip, against Vermont, he pitched five innings of the 6-5 win. With 14.0 innings last week, DeLucia now has 177.1 career innings, which makes him eligible for several career rankings. He has allowed 171 hits, the fifth lowest total by a Buckeye. He has walked just 54 batters, which is the third fewest by an Ohio State pitcher. He has allowed 94 runs (seventh lowest) and 84 earned runs (sixth lowest). DeLucia is 12-9 with a 4.11 ERA and an even 100 strikeouts, though this year he is 3-1 with a 3.68 ERA and a team-best 21 strikeouts.
BUCKEYES PERFECT IN CLEARWATER
Ohio State won all four games they played at the College Baseball Spring Classic at Jack Russell Stadium March 10-12 in Clearwater, Fla. Ohio State took both ends of a doubleheader vs. Lehigh, winning 17-10 and 13-6, before beating Northern Iowa 9-6 and Bethune-Cookman 9-1. In the four games, the Scarlet and Gray scored 48 runs on 73 hits, batting .468 for the week.
OSU center fielder Matt Angle batted .647 in going 11-for-17 with seven RBI and nine runs scored. He was 5-for-6 for the second straight Sunday, getting hits in his first five at bats in games against Western Michigan and Bethune-Cookman. He also had two sacrifice flies and a sac bunt last week and was 3-for-4 in the stolen base department. Angle did not have the only hot bat for the Buckeyes. Shortstop Jedidiah Stephen was 10-for-17 with four RBI and seven runs scored. Four of his 10 hits were doubles and he was able to match his career-best hit streak in a 1-for-5 day against Bethune-Cookman, his 11th straight game with at least one hit. Four other players batted better than .400, including Wes Schirtzinger (.571), Ronnie Bourquin (.474), Jacob Howell (.474) and Jason Zoeller (.417).
ANGLE NAMED BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Ohio State center fielder Matt Angle was named the Big Ten Player of the Week March 14 after going 11-for-17 as the Buckeyes to four wins on their trip to Clearwater, Fla., March 10-12. Angle, a sophomore from Whitehall, Ohio (Whitehall-Yearling), hit .647 with seven RBI and scored nine runs and had a hit in his first five at bats vs. Bethune-Cookman, including a triple in the sixth, before ending the streak with a fielder’s choice in the top of the ninth. It was his second straight Sunday to go 5-for-6 (also hits in first five at bats) March 5 in a 12-11 loss to Western Michigan in Jacksonville, Fla. In the four games in Clearwater, Angle had a .765 slugging percentage and a .619 on-base percentage. He also had a pair of sacrifice flies and a sac bunt. He was 3-for-4 on stolen bases and had 15 putouts.
KENNEL CLUB CLASSIC REWIND
Ohio State went 1-2 in the three games at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., March 4-6. After an exhibition loss to Aoyama Gakuin, a Japanese college team, the Buckeyes beat UNC Greensboro 12-2. The next day at Jacksonville, Ohio State took a 3-1 lead in the top of the ninth, only to lose 4-3 in the bottom of the inning. In the weekend finale, Western Michigan held off a Buckeye comeback bid for a 12-11 victory.
Jedidiah Stephen, Ronnie Bourquin and Eric Fryer led the Buckeyes, each going 6-for-14 (.429). Fryer had six RBI and scored three times, while Stephen had four RBI and one runs scored and Bourquin had four RBI and scored four times. Ohio State hit .314 in Jacksonville and outscored the opposition 38-30. Cory Luebke got the lone victory for the pitching staff, going seven innings against UNC Greensboro, allowing one unearned run on five hits with eight strikeouts. Dan DeLucia was in line to get a win at Jacksonville, but the bullpen let a two-run lead slip by in the bottom of the ninth inning. Ohio State slipped to 2-4 after the first two tournaments.
LUEBKE EARNS WEEKLY HONOR
Ohio State left-handed pitcher Cory Luebke was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week March 7 after getting his first win of the season March 4 vs. UNC Greensboro. Luebke struck out eight batters in the 12-2 victory over the Spartans at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. The strikeout total for the sophomore from Maria Stein, Ohio (Marion Local), was one off his career high of nine against UW-Milwaukee last year. Against UNCG, Luebke allowed only one unearned run on five hits, while walking just one batter.
AT FLORIDA’S PEPSI BASEBALL CLASSIC
Ohio State went 1-2 at the Pepsi Baseball Classic at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Feb. 24-26. The Buckeyes suffered setbacks to Wake Forest, losing 6-2 on Friday, and to No. 1 Florida, 10-3 on Saturday. The Buckeyes earned their first win of the season, getting by No. 12 Missouri on the arm of rookie pitcher J.B. Shuck, who struck out six Tigers and allowed one run on three hits in seven innings.
Junior third baseman Ronnie Bourquin led Ohio State in the three games in Gainesville, batting .545 (6-for-11). Bourquin was 4-for-5 against top-ranked Florida and was 2-for-3 in the season opener against Wake Forest, which went on to win the tournament after getting by the Gators 4-0 on Sunday. Junior outfielder Jacob Howell and Jedidiah Stephen each added five hits in the three games. Howell batted .417 with a pair of RBI and one runs scored, while Stephen batted .385 with three doubles and one RBI. As a team Ohio State batted .260.
The lone pitching victory came off Shuck, a lefty, who was making his first collegiate start. Shuck, who pinch hit against Wake Forest and started at first base against Florida, took to the hill against the Tigers and lasted seven innings, recording six strikeouts and allowing one run on three hits. Ohio State pitching struggled in the first two games, walking 11 batters, including eight against Florida. Cory Luebke, who started against the Gators, walked five batters, but allowed only two runs on three hits. Luebke walked on 17 batters all of last year, a season in which he earned Freshman All-American honors. Dan DeLucia got the loss against Wake Forest after allowing three runs on four hits. He struck out four batters, but walked three.
TWO BUCKEYES TABBED TO TEAM
Junior third baseman Ronnie Bourquin and junior outfielder Jacob Howell were named to the all-tournament team of the Pepsi Baseball Classic following Wake Forest’s win over Florida in the final game Sunday. Bourquin batted .545 in the three games, leading Ohio State with six hits. He was 4-for-5 in the loss at Florida. Howell had five hits and knocked in two runs.
SHUCKS ATTAINS NATIONAL ACCLAIM
Ohio State freshman left-handed pitcher J.B. Shuck was named to the College Baseball Foundation Honor Roll Feb. 28 after leading the Buckeyes to a 4-2 upset victory over then-No. 12 Missouri. Making his first career start, Shuck allowed only one run on three hits with seven strikeouts, as the Buckeyes pounded out 11 hits to win their first win of the season at the Pepsi Baseball Classic at McKethan Stadium in Gainesville, Fla. Shuck, a freshman from Galion, Ohio, made his Buckeye debut Friday against Wake Forest with a pinch hit in the eighth inning and then made his first start as a Buckeye Saturday vs. Florida as the starting first baseman. In his seven-inning outing against Missouri, he allowed one run on three hits, struck out six batters, and allowed one walk in his first pitching start as a Buckeye. The honor marks the first time an Ohio State player has appeared on the second-year list.
IN SEASON OPENERS
With the loss to Wake Forest in the season opener, Bob Todd’s Buckeyes are 10-9 in season openers. Now in the 123rd year of Ohio State baseball, the Buckeyes are 75-46-2 (.618) in season openers.
MEISTER NAMED TO STOPPER WATCH LIST
Ohio State closer Rory Meister has been named to preseason watch list for the second annual National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association Stopper of the Year Award.
Meister was 8-2 with four saves in 2005. In 26 innings, all in relief, the sophomore from Mansfield, Ohio (Mansfield Madison), boasted a 2.11 earned run average and held opposing batters to a .181 average. He struck out 38 batters in 47 innings. All four of his saves came in Big Ten play, when he was 3-0 with an 0.47 ERA. He owned one of the great stories in college baseball to close last year, picking up five wins in the span of eight days. He beat Miami (Ohio) and then won all three games against Minnesota in the final regular-season series of the year. Meister then opened Big Ten tournament play by getting his eighth win of the year when he pitched the final 5.2 innings in a 7-3, 13-inning victory over Michigan on the team’s way to its third conference tournament championship in the last four years and the seventh overall.
The Buckeyes have had a closer on the watch list each of the first two years of the award. Meister joins teammate Trey Fausnaugh, who appeared on the 2005 preseason watch list. Texas’ J. Brent Cox won the inaugural award last season.
MEISTER GETS SAVE VS. MISSOURI
It might not have been the prettiest of saves, but Rory Meister pitched the ninth inning in the 4-2 victory over Missouri Feb. 26 to pick up his first save of the season. He struck out the first two Tigers he faced before pinch hitter Bryson LeBlanc reached on a fielding error. He scored on a base hit by Ryan Lollis before he got Derek Chambers to ground out to second base. It was his fifth save of his career.
LUEBKE NAMED TO 2006 WALLACE WATCH
Sophomore left-handed pitcher Cory Luebke has been named to the watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, which is one of several national college baseball player of the year awards. The award is presented by the College Baseball Foundation in Lubbock, Texas. Last year’s winner was Alex Gordon of Nebraska.
Luebke, a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2005, made 12 starts in 16 appearances as a true freshman. He finished 4-2 with a 3.55 ERA and tossed three complete games and one shutout. Luebke, who is from Maria Stein, Ohio (Marion Local), struck out 54 batters with 17 walks and gave up 40 runs, though only 28 were earned, on 73 hits. He was 2-2 with a 6.14 ERA in seven Big Ten starts.
BUCKEYES ELECT THREE CAPTAINS
Junior left-handed pitcher Dan DeLucia, junior outfielder Jacob Howell and senior short stop Jedidiah Stephen will serve as tri-captains for the 2006 baseball team.
DeLucia, a third-team All-Big Ten pick last season, led the Buckeyes with a 2.92 ERA, 95.2 innings pitched and 55 strikeouts to go with a 6-5 record in 15 starts. Howell was a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American in 2004 and made 31 starts in 39 games last season after missing 12 games because of a shoulder injury. Howell ended up batting .270 with 31 hits and 16 RBI in 2005 after batting .336 in 58 starts as a freshman. Stephen is one of three seniors on the squad. Stephen batted .305 last season with 52 hits, including 13 doubles, two triples and five home runs to go along with 46 RBI, the second best on the team.
In addition to their on-field exploits, all three captains have excelled in the classroom as well. DeLucia is a two-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and was an Academic All-Big Ten honoree in 2005, while Howell is a three-time OSU Scholar-Athlete and two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection. Stephen has been named an Academic All-Big Ten selection and an OSU Scholar-Athlete each of the last two years.
TWO BUCKEYES TAKEN IN 2005 DRAFT
Ohio State senior right-handed pitcher Mike Madsen and senior left-handed pitcher Trent Luyster were the only two Buckeyes selected during Major League Baseball’s First-Year Player Draft in 2005. Madsen was selected in the 21st round by the Oakland Athletics as the 21st player of the round and the 641st player taken in the draft. Luyster was selected in the 30th round by the Toronto Blue Jays as the sixth player taken in the round and the 896th player overall.
OSU coach Bob Todd has had 64 players sign professional baseball contracts, including 13 players since the 2000 season. Current Oakland A’s outfielder Nick Swisher, the 16th overall selection in 2002, is the only current major leaguer.
OSU AMONG BEST ALL-TIME CWS TEAMS
Ohio State has been named one of the top College World Series teams of all-time in a story that appeared in the Omaha World-Herald last summer. Ohio State was listed No. 22 in the Top 25 rankings. The Buckeyes have made four appearances in the College World Series, winning the national championship in 1966 after a runner-up finish in 1965. Southern California was ranked as the top CWS team of all time.
As for Ohio State, the World-Herald said, “(Steve) Arlin was selected as one of the two pitchers on the CWS’ 50-year anniversary team for his work in the 1965 and 1966 tournaments. Arlin still holds the CWS career record for ERA (0.96), and his four victories and 47 innings pitched are tied for the all-time lead. In leading the Buckeyes to the 1966 title, Arlin finished all five of their wins – two on complete games. His most memorable performance might have come the year before, when he pitched a 15-inning, 1-0 victory over Washington State after lasting just one-third of an inning in his first CWS start against Arizona State.”
The 1966 national championship is the last won by a team in the Big Ten.
BUCKEYES HAVE 15 TRUE FRESHMEN
Ohio State welcomed 15 true freshmen to the roster this season. Six players are pitchers: Taylor Barnes, Josh Barrera, Eric Best, Jake Hale, Brad Hays and Jake Weber; three are catchers: Shawn Forsythe, Justin Miller and Nick Steponovich; four are infielders: Matt Curran, Seth Sanders, J.B. Shuck (also a pitcher) and Ben Toussant; and two are outfielders: Chris Griffin and Zach Hurley.
Add to that a group of three red-shirt freshmen – pitcher Matthew Selhorst, catcher Josh Hula and infielder Michael Arp – and the Buckeyes have 18 players who have not played college baseball before this season. Ohio State is believed to be among the national leaders in number of freshmen on 2006 rosters. Arkansas also has 15 true freshmen on its roster.
But as many new faces on the Ohio State roster, the total is not as high as it was in 1993 when Todd welcomed 19 true freshmen and another four redshirt freshmen for a total of 23 freshmen. The Buckeyes went 44-19 overall and 19-9 to finish atop the Big Ten regular season standings.
2006 SCHEDULE
The Buckeyes’ first 16 games all were played in the state of Florida. Ohio State, which played games in Gainesville, Jacksonville, Clearwater and Bradenton to start the season, did not play a home game until March 29 against Toledo. Joining the Rockets in non-conference action at Bill Davis Stadium will be Miami (Ohio), Central Michigan, Oakland, Cleveland State, Eastern Michigan and Pittsburgh. Big Ten play opens March 31 at Iowa. Other conference road trips are to Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State, while Illinois, Purdue, Minnesota and Penn State all visit Columbus. The Big Ten tournament will be played May 24-28 in the home stadium of the regular season champion.
TODD WINNINGEST COACH IN BIG TEN
Now in his 19th season at Ohio State, Bob Todd is entering his 23rd season as a college head coach, including four years at Kent State. Entering the year, he owned a career record of 850-446-2. His win percentage of .656 is the top winning percentage by a current Big Ten coach and ranks 20th nationally among active coaches. In all-time victories, Todd trails Minnesota coach John Anderson by 21 wins. Anderson is 871-547-3 in 24 seasons.
Todd is the winningest coach in Ohio State history and has never had a losing season. His 40 wins in 2005 marked the 10th time he has won at least 40 games. He has won 50 games twice including in 1991 when the Buckeyes won a school record 52 games. Todd coached his first game at Ohio State in 1988, a 16-2 win over Louisville on Feb. 27. Every one of his Ohio State recruits has been a part of a championship team, either as part of six regular-season championships or as part of seven Big Ten tournament championships.
10TH SEASON AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
This year marks the 10th season of Ohio State baseball at Bill Davis Stadium. One of the best college baseball stadiums has been quite an advantage for the Buckeyes, who have a 169-67 (.716) overall record there. The venue has played host to two Big Ten tournament championships (1999 and 2001), two regional championships (1999 and 2001) and two super regional championships (1999 and 2003).
“Bill Davis Stadium has been ranked as one of the best college baseball stadiums in the country and I think Ohio State fans have done a great job creating an extremely positive atmosphere,” Todd said. “I can’t believe it is the 10th season.”
BUCKEYES LEAD BIG TEN IN ATTENDANCE
Ohio State baseball led the Big Ten in attendance in 2005 by welcoming an average of 2,570 in 18 home dates at Bill Davis Stadium, NCAA attendance figures released last November revealed.
The Buckeyes welcomed a total of 46,266 fans to Columbus last season which was the 36th best overall figure in the NCAA. The 2,570 average ranked 23rd among NCAA institutions.
No other Big Ten team ranked in the Top 50 either in total or average attendance. Notre Dame averaged 1,991 fans to rank 28th and drew a total of 43,798 fans for the season to rank 38th. No school in the Mid-American Conference or other Ohio school cracked the Top 50. LSU led in both categories, drawing a total of 270,300 fans over 36 dates for an average of 7,508. The Buckeyes’ drew a season-high crowd of 5,128 for the doubleheader against Minnesota the final series of the regular season. That weekend, Ohio State drew 10,876 fans over three dates, outdistancing previous weekends of 7,782 vs. Indiana, 7,370 vs. Purdue and 6,839 vs. Michigan State.
OHIO STATE BASEBALL ON WMNI-AM IN 2006
Ohio State baseball games will be broadcast this season on WMNI Radio (920 AM), Gene Smith, Ohio State athletics director, announced March 9. The station will carry a minimum of 27 regular-season games and any postseason games the team could play in 2006, including the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.
Games one, three and four of six Big Ten series – Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Purdue, Minnesota and Penn State – as well as two games of the series at Indiana and Michigan State will be available on WMNI. The station also will carry five home midweek evening games against Miami (Ohio), Central Michigan, Oakland, Eastern Michigan and Pittsburgh.
The WMNI broadcast schedule begins Friday, March 31 at 7:05 p.m. when the team opens a four-game series at Iowa, and continues through the regular season, which ends Sunday, May 21 against Penn State. Any postseason games the team would qualify for also would be carried by the station.
WMNI has a long-standing history of sports coverage since it went on the air in 1958 and that has included Ohio State basketball, football, men’s hockey and now baseball.
In addition, the complete WMNI broadcast inventory of OSU baseball games also will be available on the Internet at the official web site of the Ohio State athletics, ohiostatebuckeys.com.
Bob Todd RADIO SHOW
The Bob Todd weekly radio show, hosted by Skip Mosic on WBNS Radio 1460 The Fan, will run each week for the next eight weeks with the final program broadcast on Monday, May 22. The nights of the show vary this year because of station conflicts with either Columbus Blue Jackets or Cleveland Indians broadcasts. Six shows will be broadcast on Monday with two shows each on Tuesday and Thursday. Each of the remaining 30-minute shows will begin at 7 p.m. To participate, dial (614) 821-1460.
Bob Todd Radio Show Remaining Schedule
Tuesday, April 4 @ 7 p.m.
Monday, April 10 @ 7 p.m.
Monday, April 17 @ 7 p.m.
Monday, April 24 @ 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 2 @ 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 11 @ 7 p.m.
Thursday, May 18 @ 7 p.m.
Monday, May 22 @ 7 p.m.
UP NEXT FOR THE BUCKEYES
Ohio State opens Big Ten play this weekend when it travels to Iowa for a four-game conference series in Iowa City, Iowa. The series begins Friday at 7:05 p.m., EST and continues with a doubleheader Saturday at 3:05 p.m. before concluding Sunday at 2:05 p.m. Games one, three and four will be broadcast on WMNI Radio, 920 AM and will feature Gametracker at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
