Buckeyes Begin 10-Game Homestand vs. Ohio, Penn State – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 30, 2015
Tues.,March 31 Sat., April 4 Sun., April 5 Mon., April 6 W, 7-4 3:05 p.m.1:05 p.m. 1:05 p.m. Recap
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RELATED INFO · Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook and Twitter · Promotional Calendar
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio State baseball team begins a 10-game homestand with Ohio at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday before hosting Penn State Friday-Sunday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes are 18-7 overall and 4-2 in Big Ten play heading into its second homestand of 2015.
Game one vs. the Nitanny Lions is at 6:35 p.m. ET Friday followed by game two at 3:05 p.m. ET Saturday. The B1G series finale will begin at 1:05 p.m. ET Sunday.
FOLLOW THE ACTION Live stats and Buckeye Vision ($) links can be found on the Ohio State baseball schedule page at OhioStateBuckeyes.com or fans can follow twitter.com/OhioState_BASE for updates. The series against the Nittany Lions will be streamed on BTN Plus ($) and fans can also listen on AM 1460 ESPN.
WEEKLY PROMOTIONS Tuesday: Free popcorn for all fans in attendance Friday: Ticket and all you can eat for $21 (purchase by 4 pm Wednesday) & Postgame Fireworks! Saturday: Triple Play Packages ($9) — ticket, hot dog, special giveaway (purchase by 4 pm Thursday) Sunday: Family Four Pack ($26) — 4 tickets, 4 hot dogs, 4 small sodas, 2 popcorn (purchase by 4 pm Friday)
FIREWORKS FRIDAY! Postgame fireworks will be on Friday after game one of the three-game series vs. the Nittany Lions.
ON THE BUMP TUESDAY RHP Jacob Niggemeyer (2-0, 2.12 ERA) vs. Connor Sitz (4-1, 4.73 ERA)
LEADING OFF
| Sophomore Ronnie Dawson |
· Ohio State is 14-3 in the month of March and 9-2 at home. · The Buckeyes took two of three games at Rutgers March 27-29 in Piscataway, N.J. · The Scarlet and Gray are 81-40 all-time vs. Ohio and have won the last seven contests. · Ohio State is tied for third in the conference with a 4-2 mark, while the Nittany Lions are tied for seventh with a 1-1 ledger. · Senior LHP Ryan Riga broke the OSU scoreless innings stretch in the bottom of the third at Rutgers March 29 and now has tossed 29.0 scoreless frames. · Offensively, Ohio State ranks near the top of the Big Ten in triples (T-1st, 9), slugging percentage (3rd, .408), home runs (T-3rd, 15), walks (T-4th, 101), on-base percentage (4th, .361), RBI (4th, 126), stolen bases (5th, 33), doubles (4th, 49), runs scored (4th, 49), runs allowed (4th, 82) and ERA (4th, 2.57). Individually, multiple Buckeyes rank in the Top 10 in Big Ten offensive categories. Pat Porter is second in triples (4), third in slugging percentage (.578), tied for third in total bases (52) and tied for fourth in RBI (23). Craig Nennig sits in eighth with a .350 average, while Ronnie Dawson is tied for second in home runs (5) and Troy Kuhn is tied for fourth in doubles (9). Troy Montgomery and Dawson are tied for second with 10 steals. · Riga is second in the B1G in ERA (0.76), while Riga and Travis Lakins each have 34 strikeouts, tied for seventh-most in the B1G. His ERA is fifth in the nation. · The Ohio State bullpen has allowed just four earned runs in the last 10 games. Trace Dempsey is fourth in the conference in saves (4).
SCOUTING OHIO · The Bobcats are 14-11 overall and 2-4 in MAC play in 2015. Last timeout, Ohio dropped two of three games in a home series against Western Michigan last weekend. · Ohio is hitting .298 as a team and have slugged 36 doubles and 10 homers with 24 stolen bases. · Mitch Longo is fourth in the conference with a .393 average and first in runs scored (28), hits (42) and tied for third in RBI (23). Tyler Wells leads the MAC with 25 RBI and is batting .326. · Connor Sitz will start on the mound and is 4-1 with a 4.73 ERA with 28 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched.
NOTES FROM THE RUTGERS SERIES · Ryan Riga pitched another gem to give Ohio State the series victory after tossing his second career complete game shutout, claiming five strikeouts and no walks in game three. · Pat Porter notched two triples to become the Ohio State all-time triples leader (15). · Ryan Leffel batted .545 with two doubles, two runs scored and two RBI. · Troy Kuhn extended his reached base streak to 12 straight contests, while Porter has a five-game hit streak.
SOME MORE NOTES · The Buckeyes are 11-3 when scoring first and 13-0 when leading after seven innings. · Craig Nennig is hitting .459 (17-for-37) with runners on base, while Troy Montgomery is batting .404 (19-for-47) as lead off. · The Buckeyes are 9-3 when limiting their opponents to five runs or less. · Nennig has a .458 average (12-for-24) with runners in scoring position. Pat Porter has collected 12 two-out RBI, while Ronnie Dawson has 11 and Nennig with 10. · Jake Post is limiting opponents to a .172 average (5-for-29) with runners on base. · Dawson has collected six of his 10 stolen bases in the last nine games. · Connor Sabanosh has caught five of 11 stolen base attempts in 2015.
HOME, SWEET HOME · The Buckeyes went a solid 9-2 during its 11-game homestand March 12-25 at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. · Ohio State is batting .288 as a team and outscored its opponents, 71-36. · The Buckeyes hit 10 home runs at Bill Davis Stadium, while going 25-for-28 in stolen bases. · Troy Montgomery is batting.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 RB at home. Pat Porter is leading the team in slugging (.684) with three home runs, a triple and two doubles. · The Ohio State pitching staff has registered a 2.00 ERA with 78 strikeouts in 99.0 IP. The OSU bullpen allowed just six earned runs at home.
TICKET INFORMATION Admission is $11 for adults and $8 for seniors/youth in chairback reserved seats and $8 for adults and $5 for seniors/youth in general admission seating with kids 6 and under free of charge. Ohio State students are free with a valid Buck-ID. Tickets are available at OhioStateBuckeyes.com and group tickets (10 or more) are also available starting at $4 when purchased in advance. Service fees may apply. For more information, contact Ohio State Ticket Sales at 1-800-GOBUCKS (select option 2) or at AthleticSales@osu.edu. Season tickets, Grand Slam Big Ten packages and Mini Plan package information can be found here.
