Ohio State Travels to Rutgers for a Three-Game Series – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/26/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 26, 2015
Fri.,March 27 Sat., March 28 Sun., March 29 3:05 p.m. 1:05 p.m. 1:05p.m. Live Stats
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team heads back on the road for a three-game series at Rutgers Friday-Sunday at Bainton Field in Piscataway, N.J. The opener is set for 3 p.m. Friday with the middle game at 1 p.m. Saturday and the finale at 1 p.m. Sunday.
FOLLOW ALONG Live stats and links to live video and audio streams can be found below or on the baseball schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com. The series will be streamed on BTN Plus ($). Fans can also follow twitter.com/OhioState_BASE for updates.
LEADING OFF ? Ohio State is 12-2 in the month of March and went 9-2 during its 11-game homestand from March 12-25. ? The Buckeyes are 3-2 all-time vs. the Scarlet Knights. This weekend will mark the first meeting between the two schools in 11 years. Ohio State has never played at Rutgers. ? Ohio State and Rutgers are tied for second in the conference with 2-1 ledgers heading into the second weekend of league play. Both teams have won four straight games. ? Last time in Big Ten play, the Buckeyes won two of a three-game home series vs. Michigan State March 20-22 in Columbus. Rutgers registered two road wins at Purdue last weekend. ? Offensively, Ohio State ranks near the top of the Big Ten in home runs (T-3rd, 14), walks (T-3rd, 87),slugging percentage (4th, .407), on-base percentage (4th, .362), stolen bases (4th, 32), doubles (4th, 43), runs allowed (5th, 74) and ERA (5th, 2.64). Individually, multiple Buckeyes rank in the Top 10 in Big Ten offensive categories. Craig Nennig sits in fifth with a .366 average, while Troy Montgomery is tied for 10th in runs scored (19). Pat Porter and Ronnie Dawson are tied for third in the league with four homers. ? Ryan Riga is fourth in the B1G in ERA (0.94), while Riga and Travis Lakins each have 29 strikeouts, tied for eighth-most in the B1G. ? The Ohio State bullpen has allowed just one earned run in the last seven games. Trace Dempsey is tied for fourth in the conference in saves (4).
SCOUTING RUTGERS ? The Scarlet Knights have won-four consecutive games heading into the weekend. The team is 7-14 overall and are 3-0 at home. ? Last time out, Rutgers defeated Rider, 9-3, at Bainton Field, winning its 16th-consecutive game at Bainton Field. ? The home win streak is the second-longest active streak in the nation (16). ? Milo Freeman was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Week on Monday after hitting .571 in four games last week for RU. ? Tom Marcinczyk is fourth in the Big Ten in slugging percentage (.584), fifth in total bases (45), seventh in RBI (20) and ninth in batting average (.351). Rutgers is hitting .254 as a team. ? The Scarlet Knights pitching staff has a 6.95 ERA through 21 games. Brey Howie is 1-3 with a 4.08 ERA in 28.2 innings.
HOME, SWEET HOME ? The Buckeyes went a solid 9-2 during its 11-game homestand at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. ? Ohio State batted .288 as a team and outscored its opponents, 71-36. ? The Buckeyes hit 10 home runs in the last 11 games, while going 25-for-28 in stolen bases. ? Troy Montgomery batted .408 with 12 runs scored, a double, two home runs, seven RBI and six steals. Craig Nennig continued his hot month of March with a .382 average and seven RBI. Pat Porter led the team in slugging (.684) with three home runs, a triple and two doubles. ? The Ohio State pitching staff registered a 2.00 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 99.0 IP. The OSU bullpen allowed just six earned runs during the homestand.
DEMPSEY BREAKS SAVES RECORD With his third and fourth saves last weekend vs. Michigan State, senior pitcher Trace Dempsey became the the OSU all-time career saves leader with 30. The native of Huntington, W. Va., Dempsey passed former Buckeye Jake Hale, who collected 29 career saves from 2006-09. He has made 85 career appearances, which is seventh-most all-time in the record book.
SOME MORE NOTES
| Senior pitcher Ryan Riga ranks fourth in the Big Ten in ERA (0.94) |
? Ryan Riga has thrown 20 straight scoreless innings. The OSU record is 22.1 innings held by Bob Spears (1995). ? Ohio State is 11-0 when leading after seven innings and 7-1 when it outhits the opponent. ? The Buckeyes are 8-2 when limiting their opponents to five runs or less and are 9-3 when scoring first. ? Nennig is hitting .471 (16-for-34) with runners on base, while Montgomery is batting .387 (12-for-31 in the same situation. Montgomery has a. 474 average when leading off (18-for-38). ? Nennig has a .455 average (10-for-22) with runners in scoring position and has 10 two-out RBI in 2015, while Ronnie Dawson has nine two-out RBI in 2015. ? Jake Post is limiting opponents to a .179 average (5-for-28) with runners on base. ? Dawson has collected six of his 10 stolen bases in the last six games and is on a six-game hit streak. ? Nennig, Dawson and Pat Porter each lead the team with seven multi-hit games, while Porter has a team-high six-multi-RBI games.
PORTER TIES CAREER TRIPLES RECORD With a triple in the win over Rider March 18, senior right fielder Pat Porter climbed to a tie for first on the OSU all-time career triples list with former Buckeyes Jacob Howell (2004-07), Steve Caravati (2001-05) and Drew Anderson (2002-04).
COACH BEALS Fifth-year head coach Greg Beals is the 11th head coach in Ohio State history and only the fourth in the last 60 years. He has a 383-313 career record and is in his 13th season as a collegiate head coach.
19TH SEASON AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM Ohio State is 305-153 all-time at Bill Davis Stadium for a fine .661 winning percentage. Ohio State is 164-94 vs. the Big Ten Conference at home.
UP NEXT Ohio State will start a 10-game homestand with a midweek game vs. Ohio State at 6:35 p.m. ET March 31 at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.
