Baseball: Ohio State Set for Big Ten Tournament – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State will begin defense of its Big Ten Conference tournament championship at 12:05 p.m. Wednesday against Illinois at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Ohio State, 30-24 overall, is making its 12th consecutive Big Ten tournament appearance, a conference-record streak, and it is competing in the tournament for the 20th time under the direction of head coach Bob Todd. All of Ohio State’s 2008 tournament games will be broadcast by WMNI-AM 920 as well as over the internet at www.OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
#5 Ohio State Buckeyes
(30-24, 15-15 Big Ten) vs.
#4 iLLINOIS FIGHTING ILLINI
(30-23; 16-15 Big Ten)
May 21, 2008
Ray Fisher Stadium (2,500)
Ann Arbor, Mich.
Series History: Ohio State leads, 95-86-2
Last Meeting: May 10, 2008; Ohio State, 14-8
Broadcast Information
Radio: WMNI-AM 920 (All Games)
OhioStateBuckeyes.com: (All Games)
Big Ten Network: (Friday, Saturday and Sunday Games)
Satellite Radio (XM 196): (Games 8, 9, 10 & 11)
OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Live Stats (All Games)
Audio Broadcast (All Games)
Tourney Tested Through the Years
Ohio State has been the Big Ten’s most successful tournament team over the last 20-plus years. The Buckeyes have won eight tournament titles 1991-94-95-97 and 2002-03-05-07 since 1988, including two of the last three, with Minnesota’s six second-most during that stretch. Minnesota missed the tournament this year for only the fourth time since 1988. Ohio State’s eight tournament titles is tied with Minnesota for the most in Big Ten. Many of those titles have come against the Golden Gophers and many have been in dramatic if not surprising fashion. Consider:
Last year, Ohio State became the first sixth seed to win the title, sweeping its way to the crown with wins over No. 3 Penn State and No.1 Michigan and with two victories over No. 2 Minnesota (10-9 and 4-2).
In 2003 in Minneapolis, Ohio State defeated Minnesota back-to-back, 10-8 and 17-10, to win the crown.
In 1997 in Ann Arbor, Ohio State defeated top-seeded Michigan twice to win.
And no one will forget May 21, 1995. That day Ohio State won three games in one day at Trautman Field in Columbus, including two wins over Minnesota, to win the championship.
The 2008 Championship Field
Michigan (42-12) won its third consecutive Big Ten championship this season and will host the tournament at its renovated Ray Fisher Stadium at the Wilpon Sports Complex (capacity, 2,500). Purdue (30-24) is the No. 2 seed followed by Penn State (26-29), Illinois (30-23), Ohio State and Indiana (28-28).
Ohio State vs. Tourney Field in 2008
Ohio State was 6-9 this season against teams in the Big Ten tournament. Michigan and Purdue won series over Ohio State, 3-1. Ohio State and Penn State split four games in the first Big Ten weekend of the season. Two weeks ago Ohio State took two of three games vs. Illinois. The Buckeyes and the Hoosiers did not meet this season. (See page five for more info on the 2008 series.)
Series Notes vs. 2008 Tournament
Ohio State holds advantages in the all-time series vs. all of the teams in the Big Ten tournament except Michigan. All-time…
Ohio State is 95-86-2 vs. Illinois but the Illini hold a 4-2 edge in Big Ten tourney games.
Ohio State trails Michigan 157-90-2 but leads in Big Ten tourney wins, 9-7.
Ohio State leads the Purdue series, 133-57-1, including a 6-1 mark in the Big Ten tourney.
Ohio State holds a 153-96 advantage against Indiana and a 3-0 edge in the Big Ten tourney.
Ohio State is 51-26 all-time vs. Penn State but the tournament record is even at two wins each.
Ohio State All-Time in Big Ten Tourneys
Coach Bob Todd’s Buckeyes are 44-25 all-time in Big Ten tournament games and have won eight championships, which is tied (with Minnesota) for the most tournament titles. All-time, Ohio State is 48-29 in the Big Ten tournament.
The 2008 Games’ Forecast
Ohio State and Illinois will meet at 12:05 p.m. Wednesday. Penn State and Indiana will follow at 3:35 p.m. The top two seeds, Michigan and Purdue, receive first round byes. Michigan will play the lowest seeded winner from Wednesday with Purdue playing the other winner on Thursday. The two Wednesday losers will also meet in an elimination game Thursday.
Big Ten Network Broadcasts
Up to six Big Ten Tournament games will reach a national television audience as the Big Ten Network will televise three games on Friday, two games on Saturday and one game on Sunday if the tournament goes to 11 games.
XM Radio Broadcasts, Too
XM Radio will carry up to four games of the 2008 Big Ten tournament on XM 196. Those games will be:
Friday, May 23 Game 8; 7 p.m.
Saturday, May 24 Game 9; 3:30 p.m. and Game 10; 7 p.m.
Sunday, May 25 Game 11; Noon (if necessary)
23 Consecutive 30-Win Seasons
Ohio State’s 30 wins this season extended to 23 consecutive years the number of seasons coach Bob Todd has coached a team to at least 30 wins. The .500 mark in the Big Ten conference was the 24th consecutive .500 or better conference record for a Todd-coached team.
The 2008 Buckeyes…Offensively
Ohio State hit .322 as a team in all games (3rd in the Big Ten) but the average drops to .299 in Big Ten games (8th). The team boasts 10 regular if not everyday players with .300 or better averages – Justin Miller’s .408 is tops. This team wins with production, not power. Eleven times it has produced 15 or more hits in a game and it has won nine of those games.
28-Year Power Outage (HR Low)
The Buckeyes have just 19 home runs this season with only seven in Big Ten games. The 19 home runs is the fewest in 28 seasons, or since the 1980 team hit 14. Here is where this power outage is most significant: Ohio State is 21-10 in games it has 10 or more hits; 2-11 in games with seven or fewer hits.
A Presence on the Mound
Ohio State has a solid four-man starting rotation that has the experience needed to take this team to another tournament title. The four weekend starters have 24 career wins (Dan DeLucia), 17 (J.B. Shuck), 13 (Jake Hale) and seven (Dean Wolosiansky). When top relievers Eric Best (eight saves and a 4-2 record) and Alex Wimmers (49 strikeouts in 34.2 innings) are on, the Buckeyes are tough to beat. Here’s a few more notes on Ohio State pitching:
Its Big Ten ERA of 4.76 ranks second.
OSU is also second in Big Ten games in opp. batting average (.285), Ks (178) and ER (124).
This is a Young Team
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. Only one senior plays every day (Tony Kennedy) and Dan DeLucia is the only pitcher with consistent playing time.
Buckeye Short Hops…
Ohio State’s longest winning streak this season: three games five times.
Ohio State drew 35,405 fans to Bill Davis Stadium in 2008, an average of 1,863 per.
Ohio State is 22-3 this season when leading after six innings; 4-16 when trailing.
Ohio State has scored 144 of its 360 runs in the first three innings. The team is 22-8 when leading after three; 8-16 when trailing or tied.
The seventh inning seems to be a critical inning. The Bucks have been outscoreed 48-29 in the inning and are 16-2 when leading after seven but just 1-12 when trailing.
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, stats, stats!!!
###OhioStateBuckeyes.com###
