Baseball Buckeyes Report for Start of Fall Ball – Ohio State Buckeyes
9/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
Sept. 15, 2015
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State head coach Greg Beals, beginning his sixth season with the program, welcomed 37 student-athletes for the start of fall ball, which commenced Sept. 8 and run approximately five weeks. The fall practices will conclude the week of Oct. 9-17 with the annual Scarlet & Gray World Series.
“We are excited to get back on the field as a group,” Beals said. “We’ve been in school for two weeks and there is some excitement around Ohio State Athletics. Our guys are excited to begin their journey of the 2016 season. Like always in the fall, we are going to emphasize discipline and details. We will make sure the newcomers are up to speed on the standards and expectations of Ohio State baseball.”
The team will be led by one of the largest senior classes in recent history, ten players, with the majority of them starters or key reserves on the 2015 team that posted a 35-20 overall record and a 13-11 mark in Big Ten play. The ten, in alpha order:
• INF Ryan Leffel – Dependable infielder who made 34 appearances with 24 starts in 2015. He batted .571 (4-for-7) with two doubles and four RBI in two starts at WKU (3/8-3/9).
• LHP Michael Horejsei – Strong left-handed arm out of the bullpen for the Scarlet and Gray. 1-1 with a 4.40 ERA with 15 strikeouts to four walks in 19 appearances last season.
• OF/P Daulton Mosbarger – A senior transfer from Akron who batted .268 with three home runs, 24 RBI, 35 runs scored and eight stolen bases. The left-hander also tossed 15.1 innings for the Zips with two saves.
• OF Jake Brobst – Solid defensive reserve for the Buckeyes in 2015. Scored four runs as a pinch runner with a stolen base in 14 appearances. Brobst was named an All-Star in the Alaska Summer League.
• INF Troy Kuhn – Batted .256 with 30 runs scored, 14 doubles, six home runs, 22 RBI and a season-best .469 slugging percentage. A 2014 third team All-Big Ten selection, Kuhn had two walk-off hits in 2015.
• INF Craig Nennig – Batted a season-best .266 with 23 runs scored, 50 hits, eight doubles, two triples and 30 RBI. One of three players to start in all 55 games. Has 106 career starts.
• INF Nick Sergakis – Batted .250 with 30 runs scored, 11 doubles, one home run and 24 RBI in 2015. Made the team’s top defensive play in 2015 with a diving stop at third base vs. Louisville that became SportsCenter’s Top Play of Night April 14.
• 1B Zach Ratcliff – Collected a .286 average with eight doubles, two home runs and eight RBI in 22 games played with 15 starts. Batted .429 with two doubles, home run and one RBI at Big Ten Tournament.
• LHP John Havird – Was a perfect 4-0 with a 3.58 ERA in 27.2 innings pitched in his first year with Ohio State. Havird struck out 30 batters to 11 walks in nine appearances with two starts.
• RHP Jake Post – One of the top returning pitchers out of the Buckeye bullpen for 2016. Notched a 2-3 record with a 2.12 ERA with 24 strikeouts in 29.2 innings pitched.
The leadership will be boosted by a talented eight-member junior class. Leading the junior class is outfielder Troy Montgomery, who returns after earning second team All-Big Ten honors in 2015. Montgomery tied the OSU single-season record with 35 stolen bases to lead the conference, while batting .317 with a team-high 54 runs scored, six triples, four home runs and 27 RBI. Tanner Tully, the 2014 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and outfielder Ronnie Dawson, a 2014 second team All-Big Ten selection, both return for their junior campaigns. Redshirt juniors Jacob Bosiokovic, L Grant Davis and Shea Murray also return in the OSU infield and bullpen, respectively. Redshirt sophomore pitcher Adam Niemeyer comes back after being named to the all-freshmen team a year ago.
The 2016 roster includes 12 newcomers, including nine true freshmen who will look to showcase their skills this fall as well a strong eight-member sophomore class.
Gone from the 2015 team are its five seniors Ryan Riga, Trace Dempsey, Aaron Gretz, Connor Sabanosh and Pat Porter – as well as fourth-year junior Matt Panek, who earned his degree last spring. Along with Riga and Porter, sophomore Travis Lakins was selected in the 2015 MLB First Year Player Draft.
Click above for the 2016 Ohio State Baseball Roster.
MATT ANGLE JOINS STAFF
Former Buckeye Matt Angle returns to the program as the volunteer video coordinator for the 2016 Buckeyes. Angle, a letterwinner from 2005-07, was a two-time All-Big Ten selection, including first team honors in 2006. A 2007 team captain, Angle was taken in the seventh round by the Baltimore Orioles. Angle received his degree this past spring in sport industry after playing nine professional seasons with the Orioles, Dodgers, Marlins and Athletics.
See below for more notes on Angle:
• Led the Buckeyes as a junior with a .366 average, 53 runs scored, 37 walks, 22 stolen bases and four triples in 59 games in 2007
• Earned All-Mideast Region honors as a sophomore
• 2005 Big Ten All-Tournament Team
• Career batting average of .351 (tied for 14th in OSU history), 209 career hits (tied for 22nd all-time), 151 runs scored (tied for16th) and 60 career stolen bases (third-most in school history).
• Two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection
• Made his Major League debut on July 18, 2011, for the Baltimore Orioles against the Cleveland Indians.
