Ohio State Closes out Homestand vs. Toledo Wednesday
3/26/2019 12:46:16 PM | Baseball
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team concludes its nine-game homestand with a midweek contest against in-state opponent Toledo at 6:35 p.m. Wednesday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes (13-11) have won five of their last six games and took three of four games vs. Hawai’i last weekend at home. The Rockets (9-12) travel to Columbus after falling in a road series at Bowling Green over the weekend.
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Links to live stats are available on the Ohio State baseball schedule page. All Buckeye Baseball home games are streamed on BTN Plus ($).
TOMORROW is GAMEDAY
come out to see the bucks take on toledo @ Bill Davis Stadium @6:35
It is also ~Dollar Dog Night~ #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/Y2ewzza3VY— Buckeye Sluggers (@BuckeyeSluggers) March 26, 2019
ON THE BUMP
Wednesday: RHP Jake Vance (1-1, 5.11 ERA) vs. TBA
QUICK HITS
- Ohio State is 13-11 overall in 2019. The team began the year 4-0, including a sweep of Seton Hall at the Snowbird Classic in Port Charlotte, Fla. The Buckeyes also have wins against FGCU, Oral Roberts, Bethune-Cookman, Lipscomb, Northern Kentucky and Hawai’i. Ohio State played its first 16 games on the road.
- The 2019 Buckeyes return 15 letterwinners from the 2019 NCAA Tournament team that finished with a 36-24 overall record. Key players returning include 2018 second team All-Big ten honoree Dominic Canzone, third team selection Conner Pohl and 2018 All-Big Ten Freshman standout Dillon Dingler.
- The team welcomed 15 newcomers to the spring roster. Eleven Buckeyes have made their debuts, including nine freshmen.
- Ohio State is led by ninth-year head coach Greg Beals. He is 274-214-1 overall at Ohio State and holds a 517-416-1 career coaching record. Beals has guided the team to NCAA Regional appearances in two of the last three years.
- The Buckeyes have won five of their last six games. The Buckeyes hold a 6-2 record during its current homestand.
- Ohio State is hitting .279 with 39 doubles, seven triples and 23 homers.
- The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in hits (226) and triples (7). Ohio State is second in homers (23) and third in batting average (.279).
- Brady Cherry is leading the Big Ten with 36 hits and second in batting average with a .387 mark. He also is second in the league in slugging (.677), doubles (9) and RBI (22).
- Dominic Canzone is the Big Ten leader in runs scored (27). He’s currently on a career-high 20-game reached base streak.
- The OSU pitching staff has combined for a 4.62 ERA in 208.2 innings pitched. The staff has struck out 192 batters, which is fourth-most in the Big Ten.
Series win over Hawai’i
The boys close out the homestand Wednesday night vs. Toledo #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/49TlCNPa3F
— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) March 25, 2019
LAST TIME OUT
The Buckeyes won their second straight home series last weekend, winning three of four games vs. Hawai’i. The Buckeyes won the first three games of the series by a two-run margin. Ohio State won game one, 6-4, last Thursday night. Freshman right-handed pitcher Garrett Burhenn worked seven innings in a quality start to improve to 4-1 on the year. Sophomore catcher Dillon Dingler returned to the starting lineup after missing the last 19 games due to injury. He had a multi-hit game along with Brent Todys. In game two, junior right fielder Dominic Canzone had a big day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored, a double, two homers and two RBI. Senior left fielder Brady Cherry continued to swing a hot bat with a home run in a three-hit game. On the mound, freshman right-handed reliever Bayden Root claimed his second win of the week after throwing 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to improve to 2-1. In game three, left-handed starting pitcher Seth Lonsway struck out nine in six innings of work to improve to 3-2. Cherry stayed red hot at the dish, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored, a home run and two RBI. Canzone doubled in a two-hit game, while junior first baseman Conner Pohl had a pair of hits and a pair of runs scored.
OHIO STATE DURING THE HOMESTAND
- The Buckeye bats are hitting .327 and slugging .533 in eight games at Bill Davis Stadium. The team has scored 56 runs and homered 10 times during the homestand.
- Brady Cherry has an impressive .500 average (15-for-30) with 10 runs scored, five doubles, two homers and nine RBI.
- Seven different Buckeyes are hitting .300 or better at home this year.
- The Buckeyes are 4-2 when scoring first and 6-0 when leading after the eighth inning.
- Andrew Mango has claimed three saves, while Joe Gahm and Will Pfennig registered their first saves of the year.
- Bayden Root earned two wins last week in three appearances out of the bullpen.
BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Third baseman Zach Dezenzo was named Big Ten Freshman of the week, the conference office announced March 18 Dezenzo claimed his first career weekly award after hitting .467 (7-for-15) with four runs scored, one double, three homers and five RBI in four starts last week. He hit three home runs in the series win over Lipscomb, including two in his first game at Bill Davis Stadium last Friday. Dezenzo became the second Buckeye to earn the league’s top rookie honor. Freshman right-handed pitcher Garrett Burhenn was recognized Feb. 18.
IT SHOULD BE NOTED…
- Ohio State has launched 11 homers in its last 10 games.
- The Buckeyes are outscoring their opponents, 26-9, in the opening inning. Ohio State is 9-4 when scoring in the first inning.
- The Buckeyes are 13-3 when leading after seven innings.
- The bats are hitting .266 with two outs with 48 two-out RBI this season.
- Brady Cherry is hitting .500 (21-for-42) with seven doubles, three homers, 13 runs scored and 14 RBI in his last 10 games.
- Zach Dezenzo leads all Big Ten freshman in homers (4) and slugging percentage (.520).
- Dezenzo and classmate Nolan Clegg lead the team with eight two-out RBI.
- Garrett Burhenn leads the team with four wins. Ohio State has had five different pitchers claim saves, including Andrew Mango (4), Griffan Smith (1), Joe Gahm (1), Thomas Waning (1) and Will Pfennig (1).
- Opposing hitters have just a .148 average (4-for-27) with runners on base vs. Bayden Root.
- Nate Romans is 3-for-5 with a homer as a pinch-hitter.
23RD SEASON AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
Ohio State is 368-191 all-time at Bill Davis for a fine .659 winning percentage. Ohio State is 187-116 vs. the Big Ten Conference at home.
SCOUTING TOLEDO
The Rockets are batting .281 with 44 doubles, 11 homers and 125 RBI. Brad Boss has a .380 average with 10 doubles, three homers and 21 RBI. The Toledo pitching staff has a combined 6.70 ERA with 146 strikeout sin 176.0 innings of work.
COACH BEALS RADIO SHOW & RADIO BROADCASTS
Head coach Greg Beals weekly radio show with play-by-play announcer Matt Andrews returned this past week on AM 1460 ESPN. Tune in weekly to get Buckeye Baseball updates on the team at 6 p.m. each Monday throughout the spring. Radio broadcasts return at the start of Big Ten play at Rutgers March 29-31 on 1460 ESPN Columbus. Matt Andrews and Bob Spears will have the call. The Buckeyes will have 27 games on the air this spring, including Rutgers series (March 29-31), Cincinnati (April 3), Northwestern series (April 5-7), Dayton (April 10), Michigan series (April 12-14), Xavier (April 16), Maryland series (April 19-21), Iowa series (April 26-28), Minnesota series (May 3-5), Wright State (May 8), Penn State series (May 10-12) and the Purdue series (May 16-18).
BUCKEYES TO BE SEEN ON T.V. THREE TIMES
Ohio State will be seen on a national telecast three times this spring. The Buckeyes will be seen on FS1 at 9 p.m. Friday, May 3 as the team opens a three-game road series at Minnesota. The second contest vs. the Gophers will be live on BTN at 3 p.m. ET Saturday, May 4. Ohio State will be on BTN in a home game vs. Wright State at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 8 in Columbus.
UP NEXT
Ohio State opens Big Ten play at Rutgers Friday-Sunday in Piscataway, N.J.
