Buckeye Baseball at Illinois for First Big Ten Road Series – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/6/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 6, 2007
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NO. 25 OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
17-4, 3-1 Big Ten
vs.
ILLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
10-11, 2-2 Big Ten
April 6-8, 2007
Illinois Field (Capacity: 1,500)
Champaign, Illinois
Friday, April 6 @ 7:05 p.m. ET
Saturday, April 7 (DH) @ 2:05 p.m. ET
Sunday, April 8 @ 2:05 p.m. ET
Series History: Ohio State leads 92-84-2
Last Meetings: April 7-9, 2006; Ohio State, 3-1
RADIO
Games 1, 3 & 4 on AM 920 WMNI
OHIOSTATEBUCKEYES.COM
GameTracker, Streaming Audio
Ohio State got off to a good start in Big Ten action, taking three of four games from Iowa last Friday-Sunday at Bill Davis Stadium. The Hawkeyes won game three of the series, snapping the Buckeyes’ 15-game winning streak. The Buckeyes have won 16 of their last 17 games and are 17-4 overall, 3-1 in the Big Ten.
Ohio State travels to Illinois for its first Big Ten road action Friday-Sunday. The Buckeyes and Illini will play a single game at 7:05 p.m. ET Friday, a doubleheader at 2:05 p.m. Saturday and wrap up the series with a single game at 2:05 p.m. Sunday.
Three of the four games at Illinois (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. Marty Bannister and former OSU baseball All-American Brian Mannino will call the action.
The Buckeyes return home next Wednesday to take on Miami ( Ohio ) at 6:35 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium.
START TIME FOR SATURDAY’S DOUBLEHEADER AT ILLINOIS MOVED UP
The starting game time for the doubleheader at Illinois Saturday has been moved to 2:05 p.m. ET because of potential inclement weather. The original starting time was 4:05 p.m. ET.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes have won 16 of their last 17 games, including three out of four from Iowa in the first Big Ten series of the year.
In addition to taking three out of four from Iowa, OSU also beat Toledo, 18-5, in a mid-week game March 28 for a 4-1 week. Against Iowa, the Buckeyes won games one (12-7), two (6-2) and four (16-7), losing game three (8-0).
The Buckeyes hit .404 in the five games they played last week, led by Justin Miller, who hit .526. Miller was 10-for-19 with seven RBI, six runs scored and three doubles. He is fourth on the team in hitting at .361. Senior Jason Zoeller hit .500 (8-16) with a 1.063 slugging percentage. He had two home runs, a double, a triple and 10 RBI. Zoeller is second on the team in hitting at .385. Junior Tony Kennedy also had a great week, batting .444 (8-18) with 10 RBI. J.B. Shuck leads the team in hitting at .386, but had his 17-game hitting streak snapped in the final game of the Iowa series. Eric Fryer and Shuck lead the team with 21 RBI each.
On the hill last week, freshman Eric Best earned his first two career wins, winning two relief appearances vs. Iowa. Josh Barrera and Josh Edgin also had wins and Jake Hale notched two saves. The OSU pitchers had a 5.27 earned run average over the five games, with opponent batters hitting .299. For the season, Cory Luebke is 4-0 with a 1.70 ERA and a team-high 39 strikeouts. Barrera is 3-0 with a 2.57 ERA, while Best has a 2.38 ERA. Rory Meister and Dan DeLucia also has two wins. Neither DeLucia or Meister threw last week, both nursing sore arms.
For the year, Ohio State has a .339 batting average, 157 RBI and is averaging 7.9 runs per game. The Buckeyes have also been running like crazy, stealing 36 bases in 44 attempts, led by Matt Angle’s 13. On the mound, OSU boasts a 3.59 ERA and is holding opponents to a .244 average.
CLEVELAND STATE GAME CANCELLED
The Ohio State baseball game scheduled for Wednesday vs. Cleveland State at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus was cancelled because of inclement weather. No make-up date has been scheduled.
BUCKEYES UP TO NO. 25 NATIONALLY IN NCBWA POLL, JUST OUT OF TOP 25 IN USA TODAY/ESPN COACHES’ POLL
Ohio State has moved up to 25th in the April 2 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll after winning four out of five games last week. The Buckeyes entered the top-30 rankings at No. 29 for the first time on March 26. OSU has won 16 out of its last 17 games and is the fourth team receiving votes in this week’s top-25 USA Today/EPSN Coaches’ poll.
ABOUT ILLINOIS
The Fighting Illini are 10-11 on the year after beating Western Michigan, 11-4, Tuesday and had the second game cancelled because of weather. In its Big Ten opening series, Illinois split four games with Purdue, winning games one (14-13) and two (9-4), before losing games three (1-2) and four (4-11).
Through the first 21 games of the season, the Fighting Illini are batting .332 and are led by Lars Davis, who is batting .478, with a team-high 23 RBI and six homeruns. Kyle Hudson is .422.
On the hill, the Illini have a 6.52 ERA, with Scott Shaw the top starter at 3-1 with a 5.59 ERA and a team-high 23 strike outs. Omar Kadir is the top reliever with a 2-0 record and a 2.13 ERA in seven appearances.
Dan Hartlieb (Southern Illinois, 1989) is in his second season at Illinois and as a college coach. He has a two-year mark of 39-40 and is 17-19 in Big Ten action.
AGAINST THE FIGHTING ILLINI
Ohio State leads the all-time series vs. Illinois 92-84-2 in a series that dates back to 1904, when the teams split two games. Ohio State won the first-ever meeting, 6-5, on May 18, before losing 5-4 on June 15. Since 2000, the Buckeyes lead 13-12 and won three of four in last year’s Big Ten series. Included in the record are three non-conference games during the 2003 season. The last time the teams met in Champaign, the Illini took all four games, the only time the Buckeyes have been swept in a Big Ten series by Illinois. OSU skipper Bob Todd is 37-29 all time against Illinois.
OSU vs. Illinois Since 2000 (OSU leads 13-12)
| 4/28/2000 | L | 5-2 | A |
| 4/29/2000 | W | 6-4 | A |
| 4/29/2000 | W | 6-1 | A |
| 4/30/2000 | L | 6-3 | A |
| 5/20/2000 | L | 4-0 | 2N |
| 4/6/2001 | W | 11-6 | H |
| 4/7/2001 | W | 6-5 | H |
| 4/7/2001 | W | 5-2 | H |
| 4/8/2001 | L | 9-6 | H |
| 5/19/2001 | W | 10-0 | 1H |
| 3/23/2003 | L | 4-1 | 3N |
| 3/23/2003 | L | 5-2 | 3N |
| 3/24/2003 | W | 6-3 | 3N |
| 4/2/2004 | W | 5-1 | H |
| 4/3/2004 | W | 14-3 | H |
| 4/3/2004 | W | 5-3 | H |
| 4/4/2004 | L | 12-4 | H |
| 4/1/2005 | L | 7-1 | A |
| 4/2/2005 | L | 4-1 | A |
| 4/2/2005 | L | 5-4 | A |
| 4/3/2005 | L | 6-4 | A |
| 4/7/2006 | W | 4-1 | H |
| 4/8/2006 | W | 5-1 | H |
| 4/8/2006 | L | 8-6 | H |
| 4/9/2006 | W | 9-1 | H |
1-Big Ten Tournament, Columbus, Ohio
2-Big Ten Tournament, Minneapolis, Minn.
3-at Bradenton, Fla. (non-conference)
BIG TEN SERIES HISTORY VS. ILLINOIS
The Buckeyes and Illinois have met 15 times in a four-game conference series since the Big Ten began playing the format in 1981. Ohio State has won seven times while Illinois has won three. The teams have split the other five meetings. The Buckeyes have swept the Illini twice, while Illinois has swept Ohio State once.
Big Ten Series History vs. Illinois
| Ohio State | 4-0 | 1999, 1992 |
| Ohio State | 3-1 | 2006, 2004, 2001, 1994, 1993 |
| Split | 2-2 | 2000, 1998, 1997, 1995, 1989 |
| Illinois | 3-1 | 1996, 1988 |
| Illinois | 4-0 | 2005 |
COACH 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 904-471-2 all-time, including 780-389-2 at OSU. His 900 wins rank 17th among active coaches in NCAA Division I and 47th all-time. He needs 20 victories to earn his 800th win at Ohio State.
OSU TAKES THREE OF FOUR FROM IOWA
The Buckeyes started off Big Ten action by taking three of four games from Iowa last weekend.
All-Big Ten catcher Eric Fryer led OSU at the plate, hitting .500 (8-16) against the Hawkeyes. 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.
IOWA SNAPS OSU WIN STREAK AT 15
The winning streak had to end at some point. After OSU won the first two games of the Iowa series to stretch its winning streak to 15 games, the Hawkeyes downed the Buckeyes, 8-0, in game two of Saturday’s double header to snap the streak. The 15-game winning streak was the team’s longest streak since a 17-game run early in the 2001 season.
BATS MOSTLY HOT VS. IOWA
Even with the Buckeyes getting shutout in game three of the Iowa series, OSU hitters pounded out 34 runs and 48 hits in the four games. Ohio State has double-digit hits in 14 of the 21 games played this season and have double-digit runs in seven of the 21 games. The Buckeyes had a season-high 21 hits and 18 runs in the 18-5 win over Toledo.
SHUCK HITTING STREAK ENDS AT 17
Sophomore outfielder/pitcher J.B. Shuck saw his 17-game hitting streak come to an end Sunday in game four of the Iowa series. He was 0-for-4 with an RBI and two runs scored. Shuck had a hit in all 17 games he had batted this season. Prior to Sunday, he had not batted in the three previous games he started as a pitcher. For the first time this season, Shuck batted while starting the game from the mound.
BEST EARNS FIRST TWO CAREER WINS IN IOWA SERIES
Freshman pitcher Eric Best earned his first two career wins in relief action vs. Iowa. Best won games one and four of the series. He did not allow a hit in three innings, giving up one earned run.
DEW HITS FIRST CAREER HOME RUN
Freshman outfielder Ryan Dew hit his first career home run in game four of the Iowa series. Dew had an all-around great day in the final game of the series, going 3-for-3 at the plate with a home run, a double, four RBI, three runs scored and two walks. He also made a diving catch in right.
STILL STREAKING
With J.B. Shuck’s 17-game hitting streak over, another Buckeye kept his hitting streak alive. Sophomore first baseman Justin Miller had hits in all four games of the Iowa series and has now hit safely in 11 consecutive games.
FRESHMAN EDGIN EARNS FIRST CAREER WIN IN HOME OPENER
Freshman Josh Edgin earned his first career win in OSU’s home opener Wednesday vs. Toledo. He started and pitched three innings in the 18-5 win. The lefty gave up one earned run on four hits and struck out five.
FRYER ONE OF 27 NAMED TO COLEMAN-COMPANY JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
Ohio State 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 .299 in the team’s 17 games this season. He has 20 hits and paces the Buckeyes with 19 RBI. He has scored 10 runs and has four doubles, a triple and a home run. He has committed just two errors on the year and opponents are just six of 11 trying to steal. 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.
IN THE BIG TEN RANKINGS
In all games played, Ohio State ranks first in the Big Ten inbatting with a .339 average. Illinois is second at .332. On themound, OSU is third in the conference with a 3.59 earned runaverage, 0.10 behind Minnesota at 3.49 and 0.04 behind Michigan.The staff is second in the league in strikeouts with 166. TheBuckeyes ranks seventh in the league in fielding. Jason Zoeller istied for third in the league with four home runs and is second witha .677 slugging percentage. Matt Angle is tied for third in the BigTen with 13 stolen bases. On the mound, Cory Luebke is tied for theleague lead with four wins. He also ranks second in ERA (1.70),first in strikeouts (39), first in opposing batting average (.174)and second in innings pitched (42.1). Jake Hale is first in theconference with six saves and second with 11 appearances.
