Buckeyes Set for Frisco Classic
3/2/2023 2:59:40 PM | Baseball
Game 1 | Ohio State vs. Mississippi State
Date: March 3 | Time: 7:00 PM ET
Probable Starters:
Ohio State: LHP Isaiah Coupet
MSU: BHP Jurrangelo Cjintje
Game 2 | Ohio State vs. Cal
Date: March 4 | Time: 6:00 PM ET
Probable Starters:
Ohio State: RHP Justin Eckhardt
Cal: RHP Paulshawn Pasqualotto
Game 3 | Ohio State vs. Oklahoma
Date: March 5 | Time: 4:00 PM ET
Probable Starters:
Ohio State: LHP Gavin Bruni
Oklahoma: RHP Braxton Douthit
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeyes (3-5) travel to Texas to compete in the Frisco Classic March 3-5 at Riders Field, home of the Frisco RoughRiders. Ohio State will face three historic programs, taking on 2021 College World Series (CWS) champion Mississippi State (6-3) on Friday, Cal (6-1) on Saturday and last year’s CWS runner-up Oklahoma (4-4) on Sunday. All games can be streamed on D1Baseball.com.
Last Time Out
- The Buckeyes played four games in Phoenix last weekend, facing Grand Canyon twice and Gonzaga twice.
- Ohio State fell to the Lopes, 1-0, in game one in a true pitcher’s duel.
- Isaiah Coupet had a phenomenal night on the mound, fanning nine and giving up just one earned run on six hits. He did not walk any batters.
- In their first game against the Zags, Ohio State fell, 11-9, in 10 innings.
- Matthew Graveline hit his first collegiate homerun during the game and it was a grand slam. He recorded a career-high four RBIs.
- Against Grand Canyon on Saturday, the Buckeyes were defeated, 7-5, after the Lopes hit a two-run walk-off homerun in the bottom of the ninth.
- Cole Andrews led Ohio State at the plate, going 3-for-4 on the day and hitting his first homerun as a Buckeye.
- Gavin Bruni tossed 6.0 scoreless innings in a no-decision. He struck out three and gave up just three hits.
- OSU closed out their Arizona trip with an 8-2 victory over Gonzaga on Sunday.
- Marcus Ernst had his team-best second homerun of the season during the game.
- George Eisenhardt earned his first start on the mound; he struck out two, did not give up any hits and walked one in 4.0 scoreless innings.
- Blayne Robinson earned the win; he fanned three and allowed just two hits in 1.2 scoreless innings.
Ohio State Quick Hitters
- Catcher Cole Andrews leads Ohio State at the plate, batting .357.
- Nick Erwin is batting .345 and leads the team in hits with 10 and RBIs with eight.
- Marcus Ernst has added nine hits, five RBIs and a team-high nine runs scored.
- Freshman shortstop Henry Kaczmar has recorded eight hits and six RBIs so far this season.
- Southpaw Isaiah Coupet leads the Big Ten in ERA (0.69), strikeouts (18), strikeouts looking (seven), runs allowed (one) and walks (one). He has held opponents to a .152 batting average, which is the fourth-best in the Big Ten.
- Justin Eckhardt is tied for first in the conference in walks allowed with just one and he is seventh in strikeouts looking with four.
- Gavin Bruni’s ERA of 1.93 is the sixth-best in the Big Ten.
- Marcus Ernst is sixth in the Big Ten in runs scored with nine and Kade Kern is sixth in stolen bases with four.
- The Buckeyes have turned five double plays so far this season and have recorded a season-best 13 hits twice.
The Opponents
- The Buckeyes will face three historic programs this weekend, playing one game each against Mississippi State, Cal and Oklahoma.
- Mississippi State, which won the College World Series in 2021, is 6-3 on the season so far, with losses to VMI, ULM and Arizona State.
- One of the most notable stories out of Starkville so far this season has been pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, who throws with both his right and left hands. He is 2.0 on the season so far with a perfect ERA. He has thrown 5.0 innings and given up one walk and three hits. He is holding opponents to a .167 batting average.
- Cal is 6-1, with its lone loss coming against Houston, 8-6. The Golden Bears went 29-27 in 2022.
- Oklahoma is coming off a strong 2022 season in which the Sooners advanced to the championship series of the College World Series. The Sooners fell to champions Ole Miss twice by scores of 10-3 and 4-2.
- The Sooners come into the Frisco Classic with a record of 4-4, with the four losses coming from Cal Baptist, Abilene Christian and Rider.
Preseason Honors
- Left-handed pitcher Isaiah Coupet was named to Perfect Game’s Preseason All-Big Ten Team and was named one of the Big Ten Players to Watch by the conference. He made D1Baseball’s list of the top 200 starting pitchers and, according to D1Baseball, is the No. 12 Big Ten prospect for the 2023 MLB Draft.
- Centerfielder Kade Kern was also selected to Perfect Game’s Preseason All-Big Ten Team and was name a Big Ten Player to Watch. He landed on D1Baseball’s top 150 outfielders list and is anticipated by D1Baseball as the No. 10 Big Ten prospect for 2023.
- Outfielder Trey Lipsey was the third Buckeyes to be named to Perfect Game’s Preseason All-Big Ten Team and was named a Big Ten Player to Watch. He made D1Baseball’s top 150 outfielders list as is projected as the Big Ten’s No. 5 prospect for the 2024 MLB Draft,
- Pitcher Landon Beidelschies and shortstop Henry Kaczmar were selected by D1Baseball as two of the Big Ten’s Impact Freshmen.
- Pitchers Josh Timmerman and Justin Eckhardt were also projected by D1Baseball to be top 30 Big Ten Prospects for the 2023 MLB Draft. Timmerman is projected as the No. 26 and Eckhardt as the No. 30.
- Lefty Gavin Bruni is expected by D1Baseball to be the No. 8 Big Ten prospect in 2024.
Up Next
- The Buckeyes play a three-game series at Cal State Bakersfield March 10-12.
#GoBucks
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