Baseball: Ohio State vs. Iowa in Big Ten Finale – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/14/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A 23rd consecutive 30 win season. A perfect run of .500 or better seasons in the Big Ten. Both sweet streaks – impressive streaks – are on the line this week for Ohio State and head coach Bob Todd. Neither is as important as this streak: A Big Ten-best 12th consecutive Big Ten tournament appearance and the 20th in the last 21 years, also tops in the Big Ten.
All are on the line Thursday through Saturday in Iowa City, Iowa as Ohio State meets Iowa in the final Big Ten weekend of the regular season. Ohio State enters with three consecutive wins and 28-22 overall and 13-13 Big Ten records. Iowa is 20-31 and 8-20, respectively.
Ohio State Buckeyes
(28-22, 13-13 Big Ten)
vs.
Iowa Hawkeyes
(20-31; 8-20 Big Ten)
May 15-17, 2008
Duane Banks Field (3,000)
Iowa City, Iowa
Thursday, May 15: 7 p.m. EDT
Friday, May 16: 5 p.m. EDT (DH)
Saturday, May 17: 2 p.m. EDT
Series History: Ohio State leads, 64-41-1
Last Meeting: April 1, 2007; Ohio State, 16-7
Broadcast Information
Radio: WMNI-AM 920 (Games 1, 3 & 4)
Big Ten Network: (Game 4)
OhioStateBuckeyes.com (Game 2)
OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Live Stats (all four games)
Audio Broadcast (all four games)
AT STAKE IN THE BIG TEN
Six teams make the Big Ten tournament, which will be held May 21-24 in Ann Arbor. Michigan has clinched the title and will be playing Northwestern this week for a place in history. UM will be vying to break Ohio State’s record for Big Ten wins – 25 set in 1994 and 1999. The other five tournament positions are up for grabs. Illinois hosts Purdue in a battle for second place. Penn State is at Minnesota. Streaking Michigan State hosts Indiana.
Ohio State, in fifth place, is one game behind Penn State and one game up on Northwestern and Michigan State. Every game in every series is critical this weekend. Let’s play ball.
Big Ten Conference Standings
Big Ten Overall
W L T W L T
Michigan 23 4 0 38 11 0
Purdue 18 9 0 27 22 0
Illinois 15 12 0 29 20 0
Penn State 15 13 0 24 27 0
Ohio State 13 13 0 28 22 0
Northwestern 13 15 0 20 25 0
Michigan St. 12 14 0 24 24 0
Indiana 11 17 0 23 28 0
Minnesota 8 19 0 18 33 0
Iowa 8 20 0 20 31 0
This Week: OSU at Iowa; Ind. at Mich. St.; Purdue at Ill.; NU at Michigan; Penn St. at Minn.
Next Week: Big Ten Tournament, May 21-24 at No. 1 seed Michigan.
OHIO STATE vs. IOWA
Ohio State leads the all-time series with Iowa, 64-41-1 and has won or tied 11 consecutive series. The Buckeyes have won five consecutive series and is 7-0-4 in four-game series dating back to the first four-game series between the teams: a 3-1 Iowa win in 1990. A few more series notes:
Coach Bob Todd’s teams are 33-18 vs. Iowa.
Ohio State has won 16 of the last 20 games in the series.
Ohio State has taken three consecutive series in Iowa City by 3-1 margins.
Iowa won game three last year in Columbus, 8-0.
Tony Kennedy had 5 runs, 6 hits and 7 RBI last year vs. Iowa.
Ryan Dew had 3 runs and 4 RBI in G4.
Justin Miller had 3 runs and 6 hits.
Cory Kovanda was 5-for-14 at the plate.
PROBABLE STARTING PITCHERS
The two coaching staffs are expected to go with the following starters during this weekend:
G1: RHP Jake Hale (5-3, 4.60 ERA) vs.
RHP Brock Alberts (4-3, 5.93 ERA)
G2: LHP Dan DeLucia (2-3, 5.06 ERA) vs.
RHP Steve Turnbull (3-5, 7.30 ERA)
G3: RHP Dean Wolosiansky (7-2, 3.82) vs.
RHP Tony Manville (1-1, 6.75 ERA)
G4: LHP J.B. Shuck (4-3, 4.50 ERA) vs.
LHP Michael Jacobs (2-5, 7.02 ERA)
OHIO STATE vs. IOWA II (STATS)
Ohio State is hitting .301 as a team in Big Ten Conference games to rank sixth. The team’s 4.74 ERA in Big Ten games ranks second, as does the staff’s opposing batting average (.288), saves (7) and ER allowed (107).
The Hawkeyes may be last in the Big Ten at 8-20, but they rank fourth in the Big Ten in hitting (.325), third in runs scored and hits, and first in stolen bases (65). Despite an 8.12 team ERA, this team will be a handful for anyone. The Hawkeyes have defeated Purdue this season and they swept Indiana as well as split with the Golden Gophers.
JUSTIN MILLER IS P.O.W.
Justin Miller is this week’s Big Ten Player of the Week. Miller hit 7-for-13 in the Illinois series and drove in nine runs. Tuesday vs. Buffalo, Miller extended his hitting streak to 10 games with three more hits. During the streak he is batting .488 (20-for-41) with two home runs and 20 RBI. Miller tied a season high and career high with five RBI vs. Buffalo and now has 15 RBI in his last five games. Also vs. Buffalo:
Ohio State came back from an 11-0 deficit to win, 14-13.
This comeback comes one game after the Buckeyes came back from five runs down against Illinois to win, 14-8.
J.B. Shuck and Cory Kovanda each scored four runs; career highs for both players.
Buckeye Short Hops…
Ohio State’s current three-game win streak ties its longest such streak of the season.
The team’s four-run ninth inning and subsequent 14-13 win over Buffalo was the first time this season the team won a game after trailing going into the ninth.
Ohio State drew 35,405 fans to Bill Davis Stadium in 2008, an average of 1,863 per.
Ohio State is now 20-2 this season when leading after six innings; 3-15 when trailing.
Two Buckeyes – J.B. Shuck and Justin Miller – continue to hit above .350 in Big Ten games. Shuck is at .406. Miller is at .359.
The doubleheader win Saturday over Illinois represented Ohio State’s first doubleheader sweep this season.
Ten different Buckeyes scored runs during the Illinois series, with Tony Kennedy and Zach Hurley leading the way with four apiece.
In Game One vs. Illinois, Zach Hurley set a career-high with four hits.
In Game Three, Cory Rupert drove in a season-high and tied his career-high with four RBI to go along with three hits, including a double and triple.
This is one of coach Bob Todd’s youngest teams. A typical lineup includes six first- and second-year players: frosh at dh, c and ss; sophs at 2b, 3b, and rf.
Additionally, the mound corps includes a freshman weekend starter (Dean Wolosiansky) and the top three relievers are soph. Eric Best and freshmen Alex Wimmers and Drew Rucinski.
Ohio State is 11-4 this season when it has three or more extra base hits in a game.
Ohio State is 10-4 this season in games it walks two or fewer batters.
Click on the attached pdf for more notes, bio updates and stats.
###OhioStateBuckeyes.com###
