Western Carolina Makes First Trip To Ohio State For Tuesday-Wednesday Games – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 8, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
28-15, 12-10 Big Ten
vs.
WESTERN CAROLINA CATAMOUNTS
32-15, 15-6 Southern
May 8-9 2007
Bill Davis Stadium (Capacity: 4,450)
Columbus, Ohio
Tuesday, May 8 – 6:35 p.m.
Wednesday, May 9 – 1:05 p.m.
Series History: Ohio State leads 5-4
Last Meeting: March 22, 1983; Ohio State 24-4
RADIO/INTERNET
Game 1: AM 920 WMNI
Both games: ohiostatebuckeyes.com
GAMETRACKER
Both games: ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Ohio State hit a bump in the road in Big Ten play last week, dropping three of four games against Michigan State at home over the weekend. The Buckeyes sit in fifth place in the conference, two games ahead of Illinois. OSU trails Penn State and Iowa by two games for third. The top six teams in the conference qualify for the league tournament.
In last weekend’s Big Ten series, the Buckeyes won game one Friday, 8-4, before losing the final three games of the series, 5-1, 6-4 and 7-5. Ohio State defeated Akron last Wednesday, 7-2, in a non-conference game at Bill Davis Stadium.
The Buckeyes wrap up conference play with eight straight road games, starting with a series at Minnesota Friday-Sunday and ending with a series at Penn State (May 18-20).
Three of four games at Minnesota (Games 1, 3 & 4) will be broadcast on radio on AM 920 WMNI. All four games have audio available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com and will be on Gametracker at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
Ohio State starts the week off with a pair of home games vs Western Carolina Tuesday and Wednesday at Bill Davis Stadium. The games were added because four games were lost this season because of inclement weather. The Buckeyes will face the Catamounts at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday and at 1:05 p.m. Wednesday. Both games will be nine-inning contests.
FIGHTING FOR A BIG TEN TOURNAMENT SPOT
With three loses to Michigan State last weekend, Ohio State finds itself in a fight for a spot in the Big Ten Conference Tournament. The Buckeyes sit in fifth place, two games ahead of sixth place Illinois and 3.5 games in front of seventh place Purdue, with eight league games left. OSU trails Penn State and Iowa by two games for third place in the conference.
AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
The Buckeyes are 195-84 (.699) 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 11-10 at Bill Davis Stadium in 2007 and will play four more games this season at home. In addition to the four completed Big Ten series (Iowa, Michigan, Indiana and Michigan State), two more non-conference foes will visit Bill Davis Stadium. The scarlet and gray will welcome Western Carolina (two games) and North Florida (two games) to Columbus.
WESTERN CAROLINA MAKES ITS FIRST-EVER TRIP TO COLUMBUS
The Buckeyes and Catamounts have met nine times, but this will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools in Columbus. All nine previous meetings have taken place in Cullowhee, N.C., home of WCU.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are 28-15 on the year and 12-10 in Big Ten play, good for fifth place.
For the the week, J.B Shuck led Ohio State at the plate with a .571 average (8-14), five RBI and one run. Justin Miller hit .444, Cory Kovanda .417 and Matt Angle .389. Miller had seven RBI and one home run in the five games and Jason Zoeller hit a home run. Cory Luebke went 1-0 on the week, beating MSU 8-4 last Friday to improve to 7-0. Eric Best picked up the other Buckeye win during the week. Josh Edgin had a solid start in game two last Saturday, going 4.1 innings and giving up just one earned run.
Shuck leads the team with a .415 average and has 51 hits and 31 RBI. Miller is tops on the squad with 58 hits, 38 RBI and 14 doubles, and boasts a .358 average, third on the team. Angle has a team-high 38 runs scored, 18 stolen bases and is second with a .359 average. Zoeller leads the team with seven home runs.
On the mound, Luebke is 7-0 with a 1.91 ERA and a team-high 69 strikeouts. Shuck is 3-2 with a 4.19 ERA and is second on the team with 44 strikeouts. Josh Barrera is 4-1 with a 4.59 ERA and Rory Meister is 3-5 with a 4.79 ERA. Jake Hale has a team-high 10 saves on the year with 29 strikeouts in 32.2 innings.
For the year, Ohio State has a .323 batting average and 250 RBI. The Buckeyes have 54 stolen bases in 71 attempts. On the mound, OSU has a 4.52 ERA and is holding opponents to a .279 average.
SENIORS PLAY IN FINAL HOME BIG TEN SERIES
Prior to the final game vs. Michigan State last Sunday, the Buckeyes honored the careers of the five Ohio State seniors – Trey Fausnaugh, Jacob Howell, Kris Moorman, Adam Schneider and Jason Zoeller – who played their final regular-season home Big Ten game.
The group includes three fifth-year seniors, Fausnaugh, Howell and Moorman, that have combined to win 185 games and were members of the 2003 and 2005 Big Ten tournament championship teams and the 2003 and 2005 NCAA tournament teams. Since 2004, the group combined to lead Ohio State to 141 wins. These two seniors have been a part of a Big Ten tournament title team and an NCAA tournament team
ABOUT WESTERN CAROLINA
The Catamounts are 32-15 overall and 15-6 in the Southern Conference after taking two of three from Appalachian State over the weekend. Western won games one, 6-0, and two, 13-7, before losing game three, 6-3.
Kenny Smith leads Western Carolina with a .395 average, 59 RBI and 16 home runs. Barrett Shaft is hitting .385 with a team-high 74 hits and Blake Murphy .348 with a team-best 50 runs scored. The Catamounts are hitting .321 as a team.
WCU has a 5.03 team ERA and are allowing opponents to hit .299. Drew Saberhagen and Tyler Sexton are the top two starters for Western, with Saberhagen at 5-1 and a 2.84 ERA and Sexton at 7-2 with a 3.96 ERA. Greg Holland leads the team in appearances at 24.
Western Carolina is led by eighth-year head coach Todd Raleigh (Western Carolina, 1991). Raleigh is 247-204 in his career.
AGAINST THE CATAMOUNTS
Ohio State leads the all-time series against Western Carolina 5-4. The two schools havent met since playing a four-game series in 1983.
OSU vs. Western Carolina (OSU leads 5-4)
| 3/22/1980 | W | 10-2 | A |
| 3/25/1981 | L | 12-11 | A |
| 3/26/1981 | W | 32-16 | A |
| 3/22/1982 | W | 8-7 | A |
| 3/23/1982 | L | 13-4 | A |
| 3/20/1983 | W | 4-3 | A |
| 3/20/1983 | L | 9-8 | A |
| 3/22/1983 | L | 9-8 | A |
| 3/22/1983 | W | 24-4 | A |
SERIES HISTORY VS. WCU
The Buckeyes and Catamounts played nine times in a four year span from 1980-1983, playing a single game in 1980 and then a pair of games in 1981 and1982, and four games in 1983. The teams split every series with OSU winning the single game in 1980.
Series History vs. Western Carolina
Split 2-2: 1983
Split 1-1: 1981, 1982
MILLER HITS FIRST CAREER HOME RUN, BATS .571 IN MICHIGAN STATE SERIES
Sophomore Justin Miller hit .571 in the Michigan State series, going 8-14 with seven RBI, two runs scored and one home run. The home run in game one of the MSU series was his first career round tripper.
MILLER SECOND IN BIG TEN PLAY WITH A .423 AVERAGE
Justin Miller’s .423 average in Big Ten games ranks second in the league. Purdue’s Ryne White is hitting .442 in conference action.
ZOELLER HITS TEAM-BEST SEVENTH HOME RUN, SETS CAREER HIGH
Senior Jason Zoeller hit his team-leading seventh home run in game one of the Michigan State series. The seven home runs is a new career high, besting the six he hit as a sophomore in 2005.
HOWELL TIES OSU CAREER RECORD WITH 13TH TRIPLE
Jacob Howell hit his 13th career triple in game four of the MSU series, tying the OSU career record held by Steve Caravati (2001-2005) and Drew Anderson (2002-2004).
SHUCK HAS HITS IN 30 OF 34 GAMES HE HAS BATTED IN
Sophomore J.B. Shuck has at least one hit in 30 of the 34 games he has batted in. Shuck does not bat in some games that he pitches.
SHUCK HITTING .415 ON THE YEAR, SITS TIED FOR 2ND ON CAREER AVERAGE LIST
J.B. Shuck leads OSU with a .415 average, good for fourth in the conference. He is hitting .400 in 17 Big Ten games, 10th in the conference. His .370 career average is tied for second on the all-time OSU career list.
LUEBKE PACES OSU PITCHING STAFF AT 7-0
Junior pitcher Cory Luebke leads the OSU pitching staff with a 7-0 record, 1.91 ERA and a team-high 69 strikeouts. In Big Ten play, he is 3-0 with a 2.28 ERA in six starts. In his 11 starts, Luebke has not gone fewer than 5.2 innings. The Maria Stein, Ohio native fired his second complete game of the year April 27 in a 6-2 win at Purdue. His other complete game was March 10 in a 10-1 win over Western Michigan. He had a season-high 11 strikeouts in a 7-2 win over Lehigh March 4.
HALE LEADS BIG TEN WITH 10 SAVES, RANKS TIED FOR 2ND ON OSU SINGLE-SEASON LIST
Closer Jake Hale is tied for the Big Ten lead with 10 saves. The sophomore has a team-high 20 appearances on the year and a 5.23 earned run average. He has 29 strikeouts in 32.2 innings of work. His 10 saves rank tied for second with Cory Cox (2001) on the Ohio State single season list, four behind Matt Davis’ 14 in 2003.
CSN TO TELEVISE ONE MORE GAME
Columbus Sports Network (CSN) will televise one more OSU game this season, May 16 game vs. North Florida. 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.
FIRST BIG TEN SWEEP SINCE 2005
The four-game Big Ten sweep vs. Indiana was OSU’s first since May 7-9, 2005 at Penn State. It was the first four-game Big Ten sweep at home since May 9-11, 2003 vs. Michigan State. The Buckeyes last took four from Indiana April 30-May 2, 2004 in Bloomington, Ind.
IN THE BIG TEN RANKINGS
In all games played, Ohio State ranks fourth in the Big Ten inbatting with a .323 average. Michigan leads the league at .345. Onthe mound, OSU is fifth in the conference with a 4.52 earned runaverage, with Minnesota on top at 3.92. The Buckeyes rank eighth inthe league in fielding. In all games, J.B. Shuck ranks fourth inthe league in hitting at .415. Jacob Howell is second with 12sacrifice bunts and Eric Fryer ranks third with 16 caught stealingby.
In Big Ten games, Justin Miller is second in batting at .423, tied for second in doubles (8) and third in hits (33). Shuck is second in on base percentage at .500. Jason Zoeller is tied for second in home runs at five.
On the mound, Cory Luebke ranks third in ERA (1.91), first instrikeouts (69) and innings pitched (80), tied for first in wins(7) and third in opposing batting average (.210). Jake Hale is tiedfor first with 10 saves.
In Big Ten games, Luebke is first in ERA at 2.28, strikeouts (36) and tied for first in innings pitched (43.1). Hale is tied for first with five saves.
FRESHMEN MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS, 12 HAVE SEEN ACTION
In 43 games this season, a total of 12 Buckeye freshmen have played.
Outfielder Ryan Dew has seen the most action, appearing in 38 games with 29 starts. He is hitting .250 on the year. Two infielders, have also seen significant action. Cory Kovanda has played in 36 games, 32 starts, and Cory Rupert has played in 21 games, with 16 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, Eric Best and Taylor Barnes. Best is 3-1 on the year with a 4.44 ERA and Edgin is 2-1 with a 6.52 ERA. Best has thrown 24.1 innings and Edgin 29. Minium is 1-1 with a 6.66 ERA in 24.1 innings.
CAREER RECORD BOOK
Three Buckeyes ranks in the top 17 on the school’s all-timecareer batting average list. Outfielder/pitcher J.B. Shuck rankstied 2nd on the list at .370, Matt Angle 16th at .347 and EricFryer tied for 17th at .346. Jacob Howell hit a triple in game fourof the MSU series to tie Steve Caravati (2001-05) and Drew Anderson(2002-04) for the school record at 13. Junior Jason Zoeller is tiedfor 11th all-time for triples with eight. Angle is fourth all-timefor stolen bases with 56, and Howell sits tied for 9th. Angle’s 18stolen bases rank tied for 17th on the single-season OSU list.Howell ranks tied for 8th in stolen bases with 43. Howell has movedinto the top-20 all-time for career at 19th with 207. Howell has631 career at bats, 22nd all-time. Senior Dan DeLucia’s 21 wins aretied for 15th, while his 265.2 career innings pitched ranks 10th.Junior Cory Luebke ranks in numerous pitching categories. For hiscareer, he has pitched 236.1 innings (20th all-time) and hasallowed 222 hits, 16th fewest. His 63 issued walks ranks 4th, whilehis 112 runs rank 9th fewest. Of that total, 77 have been earnedand that ranks tied for fifth. Luebke’s 2.93 career ERA is fifthand his winning percentage is 28th (.692, 18-8). He is also closingin on the top-22 (195) all-time for strikeouts with 188. JakeHale’s 10 saves ranks tied for second on the single-season OSUsaves list. Trey Fausnaugh ranks tied for 2nd all-time inappearances with 79 and Rory Meister is 4th with 72.
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 915-478-2 all-time, including 791-396-2 at OSU. His 914 wins rank 17th among active coaches in NCAA Division I and 47th all-time. He needs nine victories to earn his 800th win at Ohio State.
Dan DeLucia OUT AFTER ELBOW SURGERY
Senior pitching ace Dan DeLucia will miss the remainder of the season after left elbow surgery April 10.
HOWELL NAMED ONE OF 30 FINALISTS FOR LOWE’S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Fifth-year senior Jacob Howell was named one of 30 finalists for NCAA Division I college baseball players as candidates for the 2007 Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in the all-new baseball division for players who excel on and off the field. Beginning this year, the award will be presented annually to college baseball’s outstanding senior student-athlete.
Lowe’s recently announced the addition of baseball and three other NCAA sports to the award program that originally launched in 2001-02 with basketball. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award is designed to honor the attributes of college senior student-athletes who stay in school and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
Candidates are selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete. While the on-the-field performance during their collegiate baseball careers is a factor in determining candidates and the eventual winner, their personal character and off-the-field achievements in the classroom and community are major areas of focus. The list of 30 nominees represents 29 different schools and 19 different conferences.
A national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in May. Those 10 players will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote beginning May 9 and concluding June 6. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award. The award winner and the college baseball All-Senior All-America Team will be announced this June during the 2007 NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The tribute for seniors was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman of the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award.
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 .340 this season. He has 54 hits and 36 RBI. He has scored 27 runs and has 10 doubles, a triple and two home runs. He has thrown out 16 would be base stealers. 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 list will be narrowed down to 10 semi-finalists and be announced May 17. Three finalists will be selected by a national voting panel and be announced May 30, prior to the NCAA regionals. 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.
