Ohio State Hosts Penn State in Critical B1G Series This Weekend

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team is set to conclude the 2019 home schedule with a critical three-game Big Ten series against Penn State Friday-Sunday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The series begins at 6:35 p.m. Friday with the middle game at 3:05 p.m. Saturday. The Buckeyes will play their final home game at 1:05 p.m. Sunday. With two weeks to go in the regular season, the Scarlet and Gray (25-23, 7-11 B1G) sit in 11th place in the Big Ten standings, while the Nittany Lions (20-22, 3-16 B1G) are currently in 13th place. All three games will be streamed on BTN Plus ($). Fans can listen to the series on the radio on AM 1460 ESPN. Matt Andrews and Bob Spears will have the call.

PROMOTIONS

• Saturday: First 1,000 fans receive #4 baseball card set
• Sunday: Senior Day

ON THE MOUND
Friday: RHP Garrett Burhenn (5-3, 3.81 ERA) vs. LHP Dante Biasi (3-4, 2.23 ERA)
Saturday: LHP Seth Lonsway (5-4, 4.91 ERA) vs. RHP Eric Mock (2-3, 3.09 ERA)
Sunday: LHP Griffan Smith (5-3, 3.52 ERA) vs. TBD

COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE
Ohio State (7-11) currently sits in 11th place in the Big Ten standings behind Purdue (7-10), Northwestern (8-10), Maryland (8-10) and Rutgers (8-9) with two weeks remaining in the regular season. The Top 8 teams in the league will punch their ticket for the 2019 Big Ten Tournament May 22-26 at TD Ameritrade Park in Omaha, Neb. Click here to see the full league standings.

REMAINING BIG TEN SCHEDULE
Ohio State: vs. Penn State, at Purdue
Purdue: at Illinois, vs. Ohio State
Northwestern: at Rutgers, vs. Minnesota
Maryland: at Minnesota, vs. Iowa
Rutgers: vs. Northwestern, at Indiana

QUICK HITS

• Ohio State is 25-23 overall and 7-11 in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes are 13-9 at home this spring.
• Ohio State is led by ninth-year head coach Greg Beals. He is 286-226-1 overall at Ohio State and holds a 529-428-1 career coaching record. Beals has guided the team to NCAA Regional appearances in two of the last three years.
• Ohio State is hitting .268 as a team with 79 doubles, 13 triples and 48 homers.
• The OSU pitching staff has combined for a 4.86 ERA with 441 strikeouts in 439.1 innings of work.
• Dominic Canzone leads the Big Ten in runs scored (48) and hits (71). He is currently on a career-high 44-game reached base streak. It’s the third-longest active streak in the country.
• Garrett Burhenn, Seth Lonsway and Griffan Smith each have five wins on the year. Lonsway ranks second in the conference in strikeouts (83).
• Andrew Magno is 3-3 with a 2.56 ERA in 23 appearances out of the bullpen. He has fanned 44 in 38.2 innings.
• Ohio State is batting .293 at home this year. The bats are slugging .468 with 23 homers at Bill Davis Stadium. Canzone leads the team with a .429 average and eight homers in 22 home games this spring.
• The game Friday will be the 106th meeting between Ohio State and Penn State. The Buckeyes lead the all-time series, 69-36. Ohio State has won 10 of the last 11 meetings against the Nittany Lions. Ohio State has won three straight home series over Penn State under head coach Greg Beals.

SENIOR DAY SUNDAY
Sunday will mark the final home game at Bill Davis Stadium for seven seniors, including Brady Cherry, Ridge Winand, Thomas Waning, Andrew Fishel, Nate Romans, Malik Jones and Kobie Foppe. The 2019 senior class has been a part of the 2016 Big Ten Tournament title team and two NCAA Regional appearances (2016 and 2018). The 2019 senior class will be recognized before first pitch vs. the Nittany Lions.

SCOUTING PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions are 20-22 overall and 3-16 in Big Ten play. Penn State is hitting .229 as team with 53 doubles and 22 homers. Jordan Bowersox is batting .314 with seven doubles, two homers and 12 RBI. The PSU pitching staff has combined for a 3.81 ERA with 435 strikeouts in 378.1 innings of work. Dante Biasi leads the Big Ten with 92 strikeouts in 64.2 innings of work. He is fourth in ERA (2.23).

Captain Canzone 💣

💪 Magno 🔥

Rally Win ✅#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/tSI1RBfMOL

— Ohio State Baseball (@OhioStateBASE) May 9, 2019

LAST TIME OUT
Ohio State claimed a big midweek victory over in-state opponent Wright State on Wednesday night in Columbus. Dominic Canzone launched a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to lift the Buckeyes to a 6-5 win over the Raiders. Canzone went 2-for-4 with his 13th homer of the season, while Conner Pohl also homered in a 2-for-3 game. Junior right-handed reliever Joe Gahm earned his first collegiate win, throwing one scoreless inning of relief with a pair of strikeouts, while junior left-handed reliever Andrew Magno tossed a scoreless ninth to register his eighth save of the year.

THE BOYS HIT THE ROAD
Ohio State concludes the 2019 regular season with four road games next week. The Buckeyes travel north to play at Youngstown State at 6 p.m. Tuesday, May 14 before traveling to West Lafayette, Ind., for their final B1G series Thursday-Saturday at Purdue.