Ohio State Hosts In-State Foes Ohio and Akron This Week at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/9/2012 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 9, 2012
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team takes on Ohio and Akron this week at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The game against the Bobcats is slated for 6:35 p.m. Tuesday while the matchup with the Zips is set for 6:35 p.m. Wednesday.
The Buckeyes swept Minnesota over the weekend for the first time since 2001. Jaron Long picked up the win Friday, allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out eight over 8.0 innings pitched. John Kuchno earned his fifth win of the season Sunday, tossing 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out six.
SCOUTING OHIO
Ohio is 16-15 on the season after sweeping Northern Illinois over the weekend. Jake Madsen leads the Bobcats with a .372 average with seven doubles and 21 runs scored while Jensen Painter is hitting .350 with 10 doubles, 11 home runs and 31 RBI. Jason Moulton is 2-2 with a 2.09 ERA and 35 strikeouts in 43.0 innings pitched.
SCOUTING AKRON
Akron has posted a 13-17 record entering the week, 6-3 in Mid-American Conference play. Tyler Begun leads the team with a .382 average, 11 doubles, three triples, three home runs and 23 RBI. Brady Stewart is batting .326 with six doubles and 13 runs scored while Alex Loftin is 2-1 with a 2.79 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 38.2 innings pitched.
BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
The Buckeyes enter the week with an 18-12 overall record, tied for second with a 5-4 ledger in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State ranks tied for fourth in runs scored (175), fifth in home runs (14) and on-base percentage (.365), first in walks (142) and second in stolen bases (50).
Individually, Josh Dezse sits tied for fourth in the Big Ten with five home runs and ninth with a .443 on-base percentage while Ryan Cypret leads the Big Ten with 25 walks. Kirby Pellant is second with 17 stolen bases while Joe Ciamacco sits ninth with nine. Tim Wetzel is third in the Big Ten with 23 walks.
On the mound, Jaron Long sits third with a 2.36 ERA and tied for eighth with 38 strikeouts. John Kuchno is tied for the Big Ten lead with five wins while David Fathalikhani is tied for third in the Big Ten with 16 appearances.
MINNESOTA SERIES, MIAMI NOTES
Buckeye pitchers posted a 1.67 ERA in the series against Minnesota … They also allowed the Gophers to hits just .196 (two extra-base hits) and struck out 24 batters to just five walks … Jaron Long set a career high with eight strikeouts … The Friday game was completed in a brisk one hour and 45 minutes, marking the shortest contest of the season … Ohio State head coach Greg Beals is now 6-2 against Minnesota in his two seasons at the helm of the Buckeyes … The Sunday win clinched the Buckeyes’ first series sweep vs. the Gophers since 2001 … Patrick Porter went 4-for-8 with a double and an RBI … Brad Hallberg recorded his team-high 11th multi-hit game of the season Sunday against the Golden Gophers … Ohio State was not retired in order once against Miami and all nine Buckeye starters recorded a hit.
SOME MORE NOTES
The Buckeyes are 50 of 60 in stolen base attempts this season. They were 35 of 57 all of last season … Jaron Long has allowed just six walks in 53.1 innings pitched this season. He has struck out 38 and allowed opponents to hits .246 while posting a 2.36 ERA … Long has gone at least 7.0 innings in all six of his starts and allowed two earned runs or less in five of those six … The Buckeyes are 14-0 when leading after seven innings and 12-0 when out-hitting the opponent … Ohio State is 10-1 when scoring six or more runs and 15-6 when scoring first … Junior Joe Ciamacco has eight multi-hit games this season after recording one before this season … Josh Dezse has reached base safely in 29 of 30 contests while Brad Hallberg has reached in 27 of 29 starts this season … Dezse has at least one hit in 16 of his last 18 contests and has allowed two earned runs over his last 9.1 innings pitched … David Fathalikhani has not allowed an earned run or walked a batter over his last 13 appearances … Hallberg’s nine extra-base hits this season eclipse his total of eight in 251 at-bats over his first three seasons.
DEZSE TIES RECORD
Josh Dezse tied an Ohio State single-game record with three home runs Feb. 24. The feat was last accomplished by Chad Ehrnsberger on May 3, 1998 against Indiana. Dezse gave the Buckeyes the early lead in the top of the second, added a mammoth shot to left in the sixth and tied the record with one to right field in the seventh.
DEZSE BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Josh Dezse was named Big Ten Player of the Week, the conference office announced Feb. 20.
Dezse went 7-for-14 on the weekend with a home run, five RBI and four runs scored as the Buckeyes went 2-1 in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge. The Powell, Ohio, native had multi-hit games in all three contests Feb. 17-19, highlighted by a three-hit performance Friday against USF and a 2-for-4 effort with a home run and four RBI Feb. 19 against Connecticut.
DEZSE PICKS UP PRESEASON HONORS
Dezse was named an NCBWA third team preseason All-American and a third team preseason All-American by CollegeSportsMadness.com. Dezse also was named to the watch list for the Golden Spikes Award, given to the top amateur baseball player in the country.
The Powell, Ohio, native led the Buckeyes with a .332 batting average and 42 runs batted in last season. He tied for the team lead with four home runs while going 4-2 with a team-high six saves and 32 strikeouts in 27.2 innings pitched. Dezse led the Buckeyes with 12 multiple RBI games and tied for third on the team with 17 multi-hit games.
Dezse became the 10th Buckeye to garner Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors after earning Big Ten Freshman of the Week laurels four times during the season and Player of the Week honors twice. In addition, he was named a Freshman All-American by the NCBWA and Louisville Slugger.
A NEW LOOK
The Ohio State baseball program honored Nick Swisher with a field dedication ceremony Nov. 3 at the newly-renovated Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. Current Buckeyes, fans and media were on hand to recognize Swisher for his generosity in giving the program $500,000 to help install a new turf field.
Selected by the Oakland Athletics with the 16th overall pick of the 2002 Major League Baseball draft, Swisher also spent time with the White Sox before heading to his current home with the New York Yankees where he was a part of the 2009 World Champion team and named an American League All-Star the following season. In his professional career, the Columbus native has seen action in 1,061 games and has amassed 185 home runs.
HEAD COACH Greg Beals
Head coach Greg Beals is just the 11th head coach in Ohio State history and only the fourth in the last 60 years. He has a 287-241 career record and in his 10th season as a collegiate head coach.
16th SEASON AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
Ohio State is 253-125 all-time at Bill Davis Stadium for a fine .670 winning percentage. Ohio State is 146-81 vs. the Big Ten Conference at home.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes host Nebraska in a Big Ten series beginning Friday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.
