Key Big Ten Series On Tap This Weekend As Michigan Visits Bill Davis Stadium Friday-Sunday – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/12/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 12, 2007
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NO. 29 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
18-5, 4-2 Big Ten
vs.
NO. 25 MICHIGAN WOLVERINES
18-6, 4-0 Big Ten
April 13-15, 2007
Bill Davis Stadium (Capacity: 4,450)
Columbus, Ohio
Friday, April 13 – 6:35 p.m.
Saturday, April 14 (DH) – 1:05 p.m.
Sunday, April 15 – 1:05 p.m.
Series History:
Michigan leads 150-88-2
Last Meeting: May 27, 2006; Michigan 3-2
RADIO/INTERNET
Games 1, 3 and 4: AM 920 WMNI
All four games: ohiostatebuckeyes.com
TELEVISION
Game 4: Columbus Sports Network
(Taped Delay – 7 p.m. Sunday night)
GAMETRACKER
ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Ohio State went 1-1-3 last week: one win, one loss and three games lost to inclement weather. The Buckeyes had a mid-week home affair vs. Cleveland State cancelled as well as the first two games of the Illinois series in Champaign, Ill.
This week didn’t start off any better weather-wise, as OSU’s game Wednesday vs. Miami (Ohio) was also cancelled because of weather.
The Scarlet and Gray split a doubleheader last Sunday at Illinois, losing game one, 8-5, before winning the second game, 10-7. The Buckeyes have won 17 of their last 19 games and are 18-5 overall, 4-2 in the Big Ten.
With the cancellation of the Miami game, OSU begins a 10-game homestand Friday with the start of a key four-game Big Ten series against Michigan Friday-Sunday at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes and Wolverines play a single game Friday at 6:35 p.m., a doubleheader Saturday starting at 1:05 p.m. and wrap up the series with a single game Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Sunday.
Three of the four games vs. Michigan (Games 1, 3 & 4) will be broadcast on radio on AM 920 WMNI. All four games will have audio available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com and be featured on Gametracker at ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Sunday’s Michigan game will also be televised on the Columbus Sports Network and be shown on taped delay at 7 p.m. Sunday night.
AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
The Buckeyes are 188-75 (.715) during the first 10-plus seasons in Bill Davis Stadium, 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 is 4-1 at Bill Davis Stadium in 2007 and will play at least 17 more games this season at home. In addition to the completed Iowa series and this weekend’s Michigan series, two more conference opponents will visit Bill Davis Stadium this season. The Scarlet and Gray also welcome Indiana (April 20-22) and Michigan State (May 4-6). Five more non-conference games are also on-tap including Ball State, Xavier, Akron and a pair vs. North Florida. There is a chance that the Cleveland State and Miami (Ohio) games that were cancelled because of weather could be rescheduled.
INCLEMENT WEATHER CLAIMS THREE BUCKEYE GAMES LAST WEEK, ONE SO FAR THIS WEEK
The Buckeyes had three games lost last week because of cold weather, one in Columbus and two in Champaign, Ill., and have already had one cancelled this week because of rain. Cleveland State was supposed to visit last Wednesday but that game was cancelled, as were the first two games of the four-game Big Ten series at Illinois. Wednesday’s game vs. Miami (Ohio) was cancelled because of rain. The forecast for this weekend calls for
ABOUT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes have won 17 of their last 19 games, splitting two games at Illinois last weekend.
In game one Sunday, a nine-inning contest, OSU battled back from a 5-0 deficit to tie the game at five, but the Illini answered with three runs in the bottom of the eighth for the win. Ohio State responded in the seven-inning game two, winning 10-7. This time the Buckeyes jumped out to a 5-0 lead and had to hold off Illinois, who had cut the OSU lead to 8-7 before surrendering two runs in the top of the seventh.
The Buckeyes hit .364 in the two-game Illinois series, led by Jacob Howell, who hit .667 (4-6). Eric Fryer also had a big weekend, going 4-8 (.500) with five RBI, a walk, a sacrifice bunt and one stolen base in one attempt. Fryer also threw out three of four base stealers. Fryer leads OSU with 26 RBI and is hitting .352. Jason Zoeller hit .500 (3-6) in the two games and leads OSU with a .394 average. J.B. Shuck is second on the team in hitting at .384 and Matt Angle third at .372.
On the hill last week, Josh Barrera picked up his fourth win of the season in the 10-7 win over Illinois. Barrera relieved Shuck in game two and pitched two innings, giving up three earned runs. Rory Meister made his first appearance since March 17 and picked up his third save of the season. The OSU pitchers had a 4.80 earned run average in the two games.
For the season, Cory Luebke is 4-0 with a 1.64 ERA and a team-high 42 strikeouts. Barrera is 4-0 with a 3.30 ERA, while Best has a 3.09 ERA and a 2-1 record. Rory Meister and Dan DeLucia also have two wins, with Meister posting a 0.71 ERA and DeLucia sitting at 3.18. DeLucia hasn’t pitched since March 17 with a sore arm.
For the year, Ohio State has a .341 batting average, 172 RBI and is averaging 7.9 runs per game. The Buckeyes have also been running like crazy, stealing 39 bases in 47 attempts, led by Matt Angle’s 14. On the mound, OSU boasts a 3.68 ERA and is holding opponents to a .255 average.
BUCKEYES RANKED NO. 29 NATIONALLY IN NCBWA POLL
Ohio State is ranked No. 29 nationally in the April 9 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll. It is the third straight week the Buckeyes have been ranked in the NCBWA poll since entering the top-30 rankings on March 26.
COLUMBUS SPORTS NETWORK (CSN) TO TELEVISE SUNDAY’S MICHIGAN GAME
Columbus Sports Network (CSN) will televise its first Ohio State baseball game Sunday when OSU takes on Michigan in the fourth game of the series. Game-time is 1:05 p.m. but the broadcast will be shown at 7 p.m. Sunday night on taped delay. CSN is scheduled to televise a total of five OSU baseball games this season. CSN is central Ohio’s first and only local sports television station and can be seen on Time Warner channel 78, WOW channel 96, Insight channels 78 and 524 and over the air on channel 32.
ABOUT MICHIGAN
Michigan, ranked No. 25 in the Collegiate Baseball poll, is 18-6 overall and in first place in the Big Ten at 4-0. The Wolverines opened Big Ten play by sweeping four games at Nortwestern and then had a four-game home series vs. Minnesota cancelled last weekend because of inclement weather. Michigan took two games from Eastern Michigan on Tuesday.
Michigan is hitting .333 as a team, led by Zach Putnam at .389 with a team-high 25 RBI. Jason Christian is right behind Putnam at .378 and Doug Pickens is hitting .376 with four homeruns. Nate Recknagel leads the team with five homeruns. The Wolverines have outscored opponents 182-90.
On the mound, the staff ERA is 3.44, tops in the Big Ten and has limited batters to a .249 average against it. Michigan is expected to toss right-hander Zach Putnam Friday and then go with righty Andrew Hess and righty Chris Fetter in the doubleheader Saturday before closing with lefty Mike Wilson on Sunday. Putnam is 4-2 with a 1.95 ERA and a team-high 31 strikeouts in 37 innings, while Hess is 3-0 with a 2.92 ERA and a team-high 40 innings. Fetter is 3-1 with a 4.83 ERA and Wilson is 4-0 with a 0.72 ERA.
Rich Maloney (Western Michigan, 1986) is 167-99 in his fifth season at Michigan and is 423-243-1 in his 12th season as a head coach.
AGAINST THE WOLVERINES
Michigan leads the all-time series against Ohio State 150-88-2, though under 20th-year head coach Bob Todd, the Buckeyes are 49-38. Since 2000, Michigan has a seven-game edge in the series (19-12) after taking five games from the Buckeyes last season. The Wolverines won all four regular season games and eliminated OSU from the Big Ten tournament. Ohio State eliminated Michigan from the 2004 tournament and sent them to the loser’s bracket in the 2005 tournament.
OSU vs. Michigan Since 2000 (UM leads 19-12)
| 4/14/2000 | L | 8-2 | A |
| 4/15/2000 | L | 2-1 | A |
| 4/15/2000 | L | 3-2 | A |
| 4/16/2000 | W | 14-4 | A |
| 5/11/2001 | L | 7-5 | H |
| 5/12/2001 | W | 2-0 | H |
| 5/12/2001 | W | 10-7 | H |
| 5/13/2001 | W | 9-2 | H |
| 5/16/2001 | W | 8-4 | 1H |
| 5/3/2002 | W | 11-6 | A |
| 5/4/2002 | L | 5-4 | A |
| 5/4/2002 | L | 1-0 | A |
| 5/5/2002 | W | 9-5 | A |
| 5/2/2003 | W | 2-1 | H |
| 5/3/2003 | L | 5-4 | H |
| 5/3/2003 | L | 3-1 | H |
| 5/4/2003 | L | 9-4 | H |
| 5/22/2003 | W | 4-2 | 2N |
| 4/23/2004 | L | 6-1 | H |
| 4/24/2004 | W | 2-1 | H |
| 4/24/2004 | L | 8-4 | H |
| 4/25/2004 | L | 13-2 | H |
| 5/27/2004 | L | 10-4 | 2N |
| 5/29/2004 | W | 14-2 | 2N |
| 4/22/2005 | L | 11-3 | A |
| 5/25/2005 | W | 7-3 | 3N |
| 4/14/2006 | L | 14-3 | A |
| 4/15/2006 | L | 7-1 | A |
| 4/15/2006 | L | 2-1 | A |
| 4/16/2006 | L | 5-4 | A |
| 5/27/2006 | L | 3-2 | 4A |
1-Big Ten Tournament, Columbus, Ohio
2-Big Ten Tournament, Minneapolis, Minn.
3-Big Ten Tournament, Champaign, Ill.
4-Big Ten Tournament, Ann Arbor, Mich.
BIG TEN SERIES HISTORY VS. MICHIGAN
Since the league began playing four-game series in 1981, Michigan holds a slight edge, having swept OSU four times compared to three sweeps for the Buckeyes. Each team has won six series by 3-1 counts. There have been six series splits and a one-game series won by the Wolverines because the final three games of the series were cancelled because of inclement weather.
Big Ten Series History vs. Michigan
Ohio State 4-0 (1996, 1995, 1994)
Ohio State 3-1 (2001, 1999, 1998, 1992, 1990, 1988)
Split 2-2 (2002, 1997, 1993, 1991, 1983, 1982)
Michigan 3-1 (2004, 2003, 2000, 1989, 1984, 1981)
Michigan 1-0 (2005)
Michigan 4-0 (2006, 1987, 1986, 1985)
Dan DeLucia OUT AFTER ELBOW SURGERY
Senior pitcher Dan DeLucia will miss the remainder of the season after left elbow surgery April 10.
BUCKEYES BEGIN 10-GAME HOMESTAND FRIDAY VS. MICHIGAN
The Buckeyes start a 10-game homestand Friday vs. Michigan that runs 12 days through April 25. After the four-game Michigan series this weekend, OSU plays host to Ball State for a single game March 18, Indiana in a four game series March 20-22 and finishes with a single game vs. Xavier April 25.
MILLER HITTING STREAK AT 13, ZOELLER AT 11
Sophomore Justin Miller had hits in both games at Illinois and has now hit safely in 13 consecutive games. Senior Jason Zoeller also had hits in both games in Champaign and has hit safely in 11 straight games.
LUEBKE SOLID DESPITE NO DECISION
Junior pitcher Cory Luebke pitched a solid seven innings in the opening game of the OSU-Illinois series. Luebke gave up five runs, just one earned, scattering 10 hits in the no decision.
BARRERA NOTCHES FOURTH WIN
Sophomore southpaw Josh Barrera picked up his fourth win of the year in OSU’s 10-7 game-two win over Illinois. He pitched two innings of relief and gave up three earned runs. He is 4-0 on the year.
MEISTER RETURNS, PICKS UP THIRD SAVE
Junior pitcher Rory Meister picked up his third save of the season in the Buckeyes’ 10-7 win over Illinois. He pitched the final two innings, giving up no runs on one hit. It was his first appearance since March 17 because of a sore arm.
BUCKEYES SNAP SIX-GAME LOSING STREAK IN CHAMPAIGN
With the 10-7 win last Sunday in the second game of the reduced two-game series at Illinois, the Buckeyes snapped a six-game losing streak in Champaign, Ill. OSU lost its final game of the 2000 series, all four games in 2005 and the first game of this year’s series before snapping the losing streak.
COLD WEATHER DOESN’T AFFECT LUMBER IN ILLINOIS SERIES
Despite near-freezing temperatures in Champaign, Ill. last Sunday, the Buckeyes and Illini didn’t let it affect them at the plate. The two teams combined for 49 hits in the two games and 30 runs scored. OSU hit .364 (24-66) with 15 RBI and the Fighting Illini hit .373 (25-67) with 13 RBI.
TODD EARNS CAREER VICTORY 900
With a 5-3 win over Harvard on March 23 in Bradenton, Fla., Ohio State head coach Bob Todd earned his 900th career victory. The Buckeye skipper is 905-472-2 all-time, including 781-390-2 at OSU. His 905 wins rank 17th among active coaches in NCAA Division I and 47th all-time. He needs 19 victories to earn his 800th win at Ohio State.
IN THE BIG TEN RANKINGS
In all games played, Ohio State ranks first in the Big Ten inbatting with a .341 average. Illinois and Michigan are second at.333. On the mound, OSU is third in the conference with a 3.68earned run average, behind Minnesota at 3.39 and Michigan at 3.44.The staff is third in the league in strikeouts with 172. TheBuckeyes rank eighth in the league in fielding. Jason Zoeller isseventh in the league in batting at .394, tied for fourth in homeruns (4) and second in slugging percentage (.662). Eric Fryer istied for second in RBI with 26 and Matt Angle is fourth in stolenbases with 13. On the mound, Cory Luebke and Josh Barrera are tiedfor second in the Big Ten in wins with four. Luebke also ranksthird in ERA (1.64), first in strikeouts (42), tied for second inopposing batting average (.201) and second in innings pitched(49.1). Jake Hale is first in the conference with six saves andtied for third with 11 appearances.
LUEBKE AND BARRERA LEAD TEAM WITH 4-0 RECORDS ON THE YEAR
Junior pitcher Cory Luebke and sophomore Josh Barrera lead the Buckeyes with four wins each, tied for second in the Big Ten. They are both 4-0. Luebke sports a 1.64 ERA and has 42 strikeouts on the year and only 14 walks in 49.1 innings. Barrera has a 3.30 ERA with 15 strikeouts in 30 innings. In seven starts, Luebke has not gone fewer than 5.2 innings. The Maria Stein, Ohio native fired his first complete game of the year March 10 in a 10-1 win over Western Michigan. He gave up just three hits in the win. He had a season-high 11 strikeouts in a 7-2 win over Lehigh March 4. Barrera has six appearances on the year and four starts.
HALE PACES OSU WITH SIX SAVES
Ohio State starter-turned-closer Jake Hale leads the Big Ten with six saves. The sophomore has made a team-high 11 appearances on the year and has a 4.32 earned run average. He tallied saves in games two and four of the Iowa series. He has 17 strikeouts in 16.2 innings of work.
FRYER ONE OF 27 NAMED TO COLEMAN-COMPANY JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
OSU catcher Eric Fryer is one of 27 catchers to appear on the official watch list for the 2007 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced March 15.
Fryer, a second-team All-Big Ten catcher in 2006, is batting .352 in the team’s 23 games this season. He has 32 hits and leads the team with 26 RBI. He has scored 15 runs and has five doubles, a triple and a home run. He has committed just three errors on the year and opponents are just 12 of 23 trying to steal. One of his errors was due to a middle infielder not covering second base on a steal attempt and the runner advancing to third. Last year, Fryer played all 58 games and made 57 starts, including 43 behind the plate. He was a second-team All-Midwest Region Team as selected by the American Baseball Coaches Association and finished third on the team with a .368 batting average and 78 hits. He was second on the team with 52 RBI.
The watch list will be narrowed down to 10 semi-finalists, which will be announced May 17. Three finalists will be selected by a national voting panel and will be announced May 30, prior to the NCAA regionals and the Major League Baseball draft. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All three finalists will be brought to Wichita, Kan. and the winner will be announced at the 10th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 27.
OSU TAKES 3-OF-4 FROM IOWA
The Buckeyes started off Big Ten action by taking three of four games from Iowa last weekend.
Catcher Eric Fryer led OSU at the plate, hitting .500 (8-16). Jason Zoeller and Tony Kennedy each drove in seven runs in the series, with Zoeller hitting two home runs. Justin Miller hit .462, Zoeller .429 and Kennedy .400. Freshman Ryan Dew his first career home run and had five RBI on the weekend.
On the mound, freshman Eric Best won two relief appearances vs. Iowa. They were his first career wins. Closer Jake Hale posted two saves and a 1.59 ERA. Josh Barrera got the other win.
SEASON HIGH IN HITS AND RUNS VS. TOLEDO
The 18 runs and 21 hits the Buckeyes garnered in the home opener vs. Toledo March 28 were both season highs. The previous highs were 16 runs and 17 hits in a 16-10 win over Yale March 21.
FRESHMAN MINIUM EARNS FIRST CAREER WIN IN FIRST CAREER START
Freshman Theron Minium earned his first career win in his first career start in OSU’s 11-3 win over Yale March 19. Minium went six innings, giving up just two earned runs, striking out seven and walking none.
BUCKEYES SIGN 2-YEAR DEAL WITH WMNI
Ohio State and North American Broadcasting Company have signed a two-year agreement that will put Buckeye baseball on WMNI Radio (920 AM) for 2007 and 2008, OSU announced March 21.
The station will carry 27 regular-season games over the air and on the Internet at ohiostatebuckeyes.com, and has agreed to broadcast another 11 games on an Internet-only basis, also on the school’s official web site. All OSU postseason games, including any appearances in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, will be broadcast over the air and on the Internet.
Of the eight Big Ten series the team will play, three of the four games – games one, three and four – will be broadcast on AM 920 WMNI, while game two will be offered solely on the Internet at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
The WMNI broadcast schedule begins Friday, March 30 at 6:35 p.m. when Ohio State opens Big Ten play vs. Iowa in Columbus, and continues through the regular season, which ends Sunday, May 20 at Penn State. All postseason games the team would qualify for also would be carried by the station.
WMNI also broadcast Ohio State baseball games during the 2006 season.
Bob Todd RADIO SHOW ON 1460 THE FAN
Tune in to WBNS-AM 1460 The Fan this spring for coach Bob Todd’s weekly radio show, hosted by Skip Mosic. The show will run for 10 weeks beginning Monday (March 19) with the final program broadcast on Tuesday, May 22. The nights of the show will vary this year because of station conflicts with broadcasts of either Columbus Blue Jackets hockey or Cleveland Indians baseball. Four shows will be broadcast each on Monday and Tuesday with two shows on Thursday. The 30-minute show will begin at 8 p.m. the first week before moving to 7 p.m. the final nine weeks of the show.
Bob Todd RADIO SHOW SCHEDULE
Thursday, April 12 @ 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 19 @ 7 p.m.
Tuesday, April 24 @ 7 p.m.
Monday, April 30 @ 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 8 @ 7 p.m.
Monday, May 14 @ 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 22 @ 7 p.m.
Schedule Subject to change
FRESHMEN MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS, 11 HAVE SEEN ACTION
In 23 games this season, a total of 11 Buckeye freshmen have played.
Outfielder Ryan Dew has seen the most action, appearing in 22 games with 18 starts. He is hitting .300 on the year. Two infielders, have also seen significant action. Cory Kovanda has played in 18 games, 15 starts, and Cory Rupert has played in 12 games, with 10 starts. The other freshman field players to see action are Brian DeLucia, Ben Toussant, Zach Hurley, Chris Griffin and Nick Steponovich.
Rookie pitchers to appear are Theron Minium, Josh Edgin and Eric Best. Best is 2-1 on the year with a 3.09 ERA in 11.2 innings. Edgin and Minium each have one win and have pitched 9.1 and 12 innings, respectively.
CLIMBING CAREER APPEARANCES LADDER
Two Buckeyes are ranked among the school’s all-time leaders in career appearances. Senior Trey Fausnaugh ranks third with 72 career appearances and trails only Cory Cox, who made 96 career appearances from 1998-2001 and Andy Lee, who made 79 appearances between 1996-99. Rory Meister has made 64 career appearances, which is tied for 9th most in school history. Dan DeLucia appeared in his 47th game of his career this season, moving into a tie for 25th all-time.
CAREER RECORD BOOK
Catcher Eric Fryer and outfielder Matt Angle rank tied for 14thand 16th, respectively, on the school’s all-time career battingaverage list. Fryer sits just .001 ahead of Angle at .349 to .348.Jacob Howell needs just one more triple to tie Steve Caravati(2001-05) and Drew Anderson (2002-04) for the school record at 13.Howell, who had four triples last year and has two this year, has12 for his career. Junior Jason Zoeller is tied for 11th all-timefor triples with eight. Angle is fourth all-time for stolen baseswith 52, and Howell sits in 11th all-time. Howell has moved intothe top-25 all-time for career hits at 193. He needs just sevenmore to move into the top 20. Senior starter Dan DeLucia’s 21 winsare tied for 15th, while his 265.2 career innings pitched ranks10th. Junior Cory Luebke topped the 175-inning mark with hisnine-inning complete game vs. Western Michigan March 10. Thatfigure is when pitchers can start being included in the careerrecord book. On the year, he has pitched 205.2 innings (26thall-time) and has allowed 196 hits, ninth fewest in school history.His 56 issued walks ranks third, while his 100 runs rank eighthfewest. Of that total, 69 have been earned and that ranks fifth.Luebke’s 3.02 career ERA is fifth.
LUEBKE NAMED PITCHER OF THE WEEK
Ohio State left-handed pitcher Cory Luebke was named the Big Ten Pitcher of the Week March 13 after throwing a three-hit, nine-inning complete game in a 10-1 win against Western Michigan March 10.
Luebke struck out four batters in recording his 11th career complete game in the victory over the Broncos at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. It is the second player of the week award of his career, with the other coming March 7, 2006, also at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. He struck out 11 in a 7-2 win over Lehigh March 4.
TODD LEADS ACTIVE BIG TEN COACHES
Now in his 20th season at Ohio State, Bob Todd is in his 24th season as a college head coach, including four years at Kent State. Entering the year, he owned a career record of 887-467-2 for a win percentage of .655. That win percentage was the best among active coaches in the Big Ten (minimum five years) and ranked 20th nationally. He trailed Minnesota’s John Anderson in total victories by only 18. Anderson, now in his 26th season, has won 905 games entering 2007.
Todd is the winningest coach in Ohio State annals 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 at least 35 games 16 straight seasons and 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 recruit who has played at least four years at Ohio State 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.
MILESTONE CAREER WINS
1 – March 23, 1984 vs. Mercer (18-4)
100 – March 25, 1987 vs. UNC-Wilm. (12-10)
200 – April 1, 1990 vs. Wisconsin (7-4)
300 – April 22, 1992 vs. Ohio (16-2)
400 – May 14, 1994 vs. Purdue (8-7)
500 – March 30, 1997 at Michigan St. (4-0)
600 – May 5, 1999 vs. Oakland (11-9)
700 – March 17, 2002 vs. Detroit (7-2)
800 – May 8, 2004 vs. Penn State (3-1)
900 – March 23, 2007 vs. Harvard (5-3)
MILESTONE OHIO STATE WINS
1 – Feb. 27, 1988 vs. Louisville (16-2)
100 – Feb. 22, 1991 vs. Dartmouth (14-7)
200 – March 28, 1993 vs. Cleveland St. (9-5)
300 – April 13, 1995 at Wright State (16-6)
400 – May 16, 1997 at Michigan (9-2)
*480 – May 8, 1999 vs. Michigan St. (11-1)
500 – March 22, 2000 vs. Florida Int’l (2-0)
600 – May 19, 2002 vs. Minnesota (9-2)
700 – April 9, 2005 vs. Purdue (6-4)
800 – Needs 19
*became the winningest coach in Ohio State history
MILESTONE BIG TEN WINS
1 – April 3, 1988 vs. Illinois (14-6)
100 – May 1, 1993 vs. Michigan (3-2)
200 – May 10, 1998 vs. Michigan State (5-4)
300 – April 2, 2004 vs. Illinois (5-1)
OHIO STATE TEAM CAPTAINS
Ohio State elected four captains following the conclusion of the fall season in October. The team re-elected seniors Dan DeLucia and Jacob Howell, who served as captains in 2006. They also elected juniors Matt Angle and Eric Fryer. Ryan Dew and Brian DeLucia were elected freshmen captains.
BASEBALL AMERICA ON OHIO STATE
An unidentified talent evaluator had this to say about Ohio State in Baseball America after the Buckeyes’ opening weekend of the season in Tampa:
“Ohio State looked like a team that was outside for the first time. I like their lineup, and it will continue to get better as they play more games. They have plus speed and skills at the top of the order with (Matt) Angle, Jacob Howell and Tony Kennedy, a three-hole (hitter) with power in (Eric) Fryer and I really liked their four-hole, J.B. Shuck, a left-handed hitter with speed and power. He could be scary after he gets some at-bats under his belt. They have the makings of a regional type team for sure. Ohio State’s lefty (Cory) Luebke looked like a polished college lefty with above-average stuff to me – mid-to upper-80s with three solid pitches. Maybe a fifth-to-10th-round-type guy from what I saw.”
PRESEASON AWARDS
Dan DeLucia was named a third-team preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association. Last year, DeLucia was Ohio State’s first 10-game winner since 1999 and led the Big Ten with his 10-2 record and 108 innings pitched. The first-team All-Big Ten selection managed a 3.25 earned run average and limited opposing batters to a .255 average. DeLucia maintains a 19-10 career record and his 3.80 career ERA is the 13th best in school history.
DeLucia was joined by teammate J.B. Shuck on the preseason watch list for the Brooks Wallace Award, the College Baseball Foundation’s player of the year award. Shuck was Ohio State’s ninth player to earn Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors last year when he went 8-5 and managed a team-best 2.51 ERA in 15 appearances. His eight victories equaled the second best total by any league pitcher and his ERA was the fourth best. The pair also appears on the preseason watch list for the Roger Clemens Award, which goes to the college baseball pitcher of the year.
Also getting preseason recognition is right-handed reliever Rory Meister, who appears on the 35-member early season watch list for the NCBWA Stopper of the Year Award. The award, created in 2005, is given annually to the top closer in Division I college baseball. Meister, a junior from Mansfield, Ohio, made 29 appearances last year for the Buckeyes, all in relief. Meister, who also appeared on the preseason watch list in 2006, finished 0-1 with six saves and a 3.82 ERA. Five finalists will be announced May 30 and the third winner will be announced June 6.
BUCKEYES LEAD BIG TEN IN ATTENDANCE
Ohio State baseball again led the Big Ten in attendance in 2006 by welcoming an average of 2,260 in 18 home dates at Bill Davis Stadium, according to NCAA attendance figures. That average ranked 26th in the nation. The Buckeyes welcomed a total of 40,667 fans to Columbus last season which was the 41st best overall figure in the NCAA. Only one other Big Ten team ranked in the Top 50 either in total or average attendance. Minnesota averaged 1,189 to rank 49th.
The Buckeyes averaged more per date than many traditional baseball powers, including both Oregon State (1,643) and North Carolina (1,290), which played for the national championship in 2006. Ohio State drew 8,200 for its home series vs. Purdue and topped it for the final Big Ten series vs. Penn State when 8,327 fans visited Bill Davis Stadium. The season-high attendance figure was 4,016 against Cleveland State, which was the annual Columbus Public Schools Baseball Day.
