Four Buckeyes Named to All-Big Ten Teams – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2015
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Four Buckeyes were selected to the All-Big Ten Conference baseball team, the conference office announced Tuesday. Senior right fielder Pat Porter was named a first-team selection, while sophomore centerfielder Troy Montgomery earned second-team honors. Senior left-hander Ryan Riga was named a third-team honoree and redshirt freshman right-hander Adam Niemeyer was named to the all-freshman team.
Porter, from Chagrin Falls, Ohio, earns his first career conference honor as the team’s leading hitter this year. The OSU Sportsmanship winner is hitting a team-best .332 with 67 hits, nine doubles, four triples, 10 home runs, 48 RBI and a .564 slugging percentage. Porter ranks in the Top 5 in multiple Big Ten offensive categories, including slugging percentage, home runs, RBI and total bases. Porter is batting .317 in Big Ten games with a .515 slugging percentage and 21 RBI. He set the Ohio State career triples record earlier this season with 15 overall and has reached base safely in 30 of the last 31 games heading into the conference tournament.
Montgomery, from Fortville, Ind., claims his first career conference award and has been the “spark plug” to the Buckeye lineup in 2015. The OSU sophomore leads the Big Ten in stolen bases (35) and walks (38) heading into the postseason, while batting .320 with a team-high 54 runs scored, 11 doubles, six triples, four home runs and 27 RBI. Montgomery’s .438 on-base percentage is seventh-best in the league. In Big Ten play, Montgomery has league-high 19 stolen bases and ranks third with 23 runs scored. He is just one stolen base shy of breaking the OSU single-season record.
Riga, a native of Fairfield, Ohio, picks up his first career league accolade after posting a 5-4 mark with a 3.10 ERA in 90.0 innings pitched over 14 appearances, including 13 starts. He struck out a season-high 64 batters (10th-best in the league), while limiting opponents to just three doubles to lead the Big Ten. Riga broke the OSU scoreless innings record earlier this season, tossing 30.2 shutout innings. In Big Ten play, Riga is 2-1 with a 3.95 ERA in eight starts in over 54 innings pitched, claiming 36 strikeouts to help lead the Buckeyes back to the tournament for the fifth straight year.
Niemeyer, from Minster, Ohio, has become key part to the Ohio State pitching staff in 2015 and earns his first career honor. Niemeyer is 2-0 with a 2.16 ERA in 12 appearances, collecting four starts with 21 strikeouts in 33.1 innings of work. Niemeyer tossed five scoreless innings in a 2-0 shutout win vs. fourth-ranked Louisville in his first collegiate start April 14 before shutting out Cincinnati on the road in 5.2 innings of work with four strikeouts May 6. In Big Ten games, Niemeyer collected a 3.00 ERA in four appearances with one start over 12.0 innings and seven strikeouts.
The No. 7 seed Buckeyes face No. 2 seed Iowa to open the Big Ten Tournament at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn. The contest will be streamed on BTN Plus ($). Fans can listen on AM 1460 ESPN or on OhioStateBuckeyes.com.
