Buckeyes Return Home to Host Wright State Tuesday
3/21/2022 1:06:10 PM | Baseball
Ohio State vs. Wright State
Date: March 22, 2022 | Time: 6:05 | BTN+ | Scoring |
Probable Starters:
Ohio State – Tyler Kean (Jr. | RHP | 0-0 | 10.12 ERA | 2.2 IP | 3 K | 3 BB)
Wright State – Sam Wirsing (Jr. | RHP | 1-0 | 3.75 ERA | 12.0 IP | 8 K | 9 BB)
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State returns home to host Wright State on Tuesday night as the final non-conference tune-up before Big Ten Conference play starts this weekend. The Buckeyes are 7-11 on the season while Wright State comes to town at 6-11 on the year. First pitch is set for 6:05 and the game will be streamed on BTN+.
First Pitch
Former Buckeye and longtime Wright State head coach Ron Nischwitz will throw out the ceremonial first pitch before Tuesday night’s game. Nischwitz was a two-year letterwinner for the Buckeyes in 1957 and 1958. He earned first team All-Big Ten honors as well as second team All-America honors in 1958 after going 9-1 with a 1.71 ERA and 82 strikeouts in 81.1 innings pitched. The left-hander was later signed by the Detroit Tigers in 1958 and made his Major League debut in 1961. The Dayton-area native was as a relief pitcher for the Tigers in 1961-62 and 1965, and for the Cleveland Indians in 1963. After retiring, he became head coach at Wright State where he accumulated 866 wins in 30 years. He led the Raiders to the NCAA Division II Regionals eight times and finished runner-up at the 1987 DII World Series. The success didn’t slow after the program’s move to DI. He led Wright State to its first DI regional appearance in 1994 and that year, the Raiders beat NC State 14-12 in the opening round. In 2007, Nischwitz’s number 42 was retired at Wright State and he was also inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
The Opponent
- Wright State opened the year at 6-11 overall and opened Horizon League play last weekend by dropping 2-of-3 to Oakland at home in Dayton.
- The Raiders have played three Power 5 conference teams (Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State and Virginia Tech) this season and are 1-7 in those games
- Alec Sayre has started all 17 games and is hitting .414 with 10 doubles, two home runs and 13 runs batted in.
- As a team, the Raiders are batting .255 but its pitching staff is allowing opponents to hit .326.
- Right-hander Sam Wirsing has made four appearances and two starts. He is 1-0 with a 3.75 ERA in 12.0 innings.
Ohio State Quick Hitters
- Ohio State (7-11) is coming off a 1-3 weekend against UNCW in North Carolina.
- The Buckeyes are hitting .264 as a team while limiting its opponents to just a .247 average
- Marcus Ernst has been tremendous in the leadoff spot this season. He is hitting .448 with a double, two triples and a home run. He is second in the conference and 15 in the country with a .547 on-base percentage. He riding a 12-game hitting streak and has reached base in his last 18 games dating back to last season.
- Ernst leads the Big Ten with 30 hits and hits per game at 1.67.
- Freshman Tyler Pettorini has had a good start to his career, hitting .359 with four doubles and eight runs batted in. He had a seven-game hitting streak snapped last weekend.
- Catcher Brent Todys has hit in five-straight games and is batting .286 with four doubles.
- Fellow catcher Archer Brookman is also batting .286 in 12 games
- Zach Dezenzo leads the team with six home runs
- On the mound, Isaiah Coupet is in the Top 10 in the conference in hits allowed per nine innings (6.12)
- Freshman Jake Johnson has made six appearances and has a 0.87 ERA in 10.1 innings. He has also struck out 14 while only walking two.
- Junior reliever Ethan Hammerberg leads the team with eight appearances. He has been dominant with 23 strikeouts and three walks in 15.2 innings. He is 2-01 with a 1.72 ERA.
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