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Ohio State Welcomes Toledo for Home Finale on Columbus City Schools Day

Jody Victor: Here’s some great Buckeye baseball news from osu.edu and OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team hosts Toledo in its home finale on Columbus City Schools Day at 12:05 p.m. Tuesday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.

The Buckeyes took two of three games over the weekend against Seattle. Ohio State won the opener, 4-1, and finale, 7-2, while dropping the middle game, 11-1. Jaron Long allowed one earned run over 7.0 innings to pick up the win Friday while John Kuchno gave up two earned runs over a career-high 7.0 innings to earn his team-high eighth win Sunday. Brad Hallberg went 5-for-10 with a double, a triple and three runs scored against the Redhawks.

ON THE BUMP
RHP Brett McKinney (4-5, 4.21 ERA)
vs.
RHP Jared Locke (3-6, 4.99 ERA)

SCOUTING TOLEDO
Toledo, under the direction of ninth-year head coach Cory Mee, enters the week with a 27-24 overall record, 16-8 in Mid-American Conference play. Wes White leads the team with a .371 batting average while Joe Corfman is batting .335 with 13 doubles, a triple, three home runs and a team-high 49 runs scored.

Ohio State holds a 26-6 lead in the all-time series including a 13-1 win March 10 in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
The Buckeyes enter the week with a 30-22 overall record. Ohio State currently sits sixth in the Big Ten Conference with an 11-10 ledger, a game up on Minnesota and two games up on Illinois for the last Big Ten tournament spot heading into the final weekend. The Buckeyes rank fourth in on-base percentage (.372), tied for fifth in runs scored (287) and sixth in batting average (.268). Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 249 walks and 80 stolen bases.

Individually, Josh Dezse sits eighth with a .434 on-base percentage while Brad Hallberg is tied for fifth with 14 doubles. Tim Wetzel is tied for tops in the Big Ten with 38 walks while Ryan Cypret sits fourth with 35. Kirby Pellant sits second with 28 stolen bases and Joe Ciamacco is tied for eighth with 14.

On the mound, Jaron Long ranks in several categories, including ERA (1.85, 2nd), innings pitched (92.1, t-2nd) and wins (6, t-9th) while John Kuchno is tied for first with eight wins and Josh Dezse is tied for second with seven saves. Andrew Armstrong leads the Big Ten with 29 appearances and David Fathalikhani is second with 27.

In addition, the Buckeyes rank seventh nationally in walks and Long sits 15th in walks per nine innings at 1.06.

Jody Victor

Ohio State Travels to No. 25 Oklahoma State for a Pair of Midweek Contests

Jody Victor: Here’s some great Buckeye baseball news from osu.edu and OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team travels to Stillwater, Okla., for a pair of midweek games at No. 25 Oklahoma State. The Buckeyes and Cowboys square off at 7:30 p.m. ET Tuesday and Wednesday at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium.

Ohio State swept Northwestern over the weekend to move into sixth place in the current Big Ten standings. After a rain out Friday, the Buckeyes swept a doubleheader Saturday by scores of 3-1 and 7-1 before taking the finale, 4-1, Sunday afternoon. Brian King took a perfect game into the eighth inning of the second game Saturday and finished with his first career complete game, allowing one earned run on four hits while striking out five. Kirby Pellant went 5-for-11 with a double and a pair of stolen bases while Patrick Porter went 4-for-9 with two runs scored and two walks.

SCOUTING OKLAHOMA STATE
Oklahoma State, under the direction of ninth-year head coach Frank Anderson, has posted a 28-18 record on the season, 13-8 in Big 12 Conference play. The Cowboys are 20-3 at home at Allie P. Reynolds Stadium. Robbie Rea leads the Cowboys in most offensive categories including batting average (.328), doubles (15), home runs (five), runs scored (27) and RBI (33). Left-hander Andrew Heaney leads the Oklahoma State pitching staff, going 7-1 with a 1.65 ERA and 109 strikeouts in 93.0 innings pitched.

Ohio State holds a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series after splitting a pair of games last season in Columbus.

BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
The Buckeyes enter the week with a 27-20 overall record, sixth in the Big Ten Conference with an 11-10 ledger. Ohio State ranks third in on-base percentage (.376), fifth in batting average (.270) and tied for fifth in doubles (71). The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten with 231 walks and are tied for first with 73 stolen bases.

Individually, Josh Dezse sits fourth with a .452 on-base percentage while Brad Hallberg is tied for seventh with 12 doubles. Ryan Cypret is tied for tops in the Big Ten with 35 walks while Tim Wetzel sits third with 34. Kirby Pellant sits second with 25 stolen bases and Joe Ciamacco is tied for seventh with 14.

On the mound, Jaron Long ranks in several categories, including ERA (1.90, 3rd), strikeouts (57, 9th) and innings pitched (85.1, 1st) while John Kuchno is tied for second with seventh wins and Josh Dezse is sixth with six saves. Andrew Armstrong leads the Big Ten with 25 appearances and David Fathalikhani is second with 24.

In addition, the Buckeyes rank fourth nationally in walks and Long sits 19th in walks per nine innings at 1.05.

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor

Three Sign Free Agent Contracts

Jody Victor: Here’s some great Buckeye football news from osu.edu and OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Former Buckeyes Michael Brewster, J.B. Shugarts and Andrew Sweat recently signed free agent deals with NFL teams after going unselected in last weekend’s NFL Draft.

Brewster, a four-year starter, signed with his home-state Jacksonville Jaguars, which is about 2 hours away from his home in Orlando. Shugarts and Sweat also stayed close to Ohio State, both signing deals with the Cleveland Browns.

Brewster, who graduated in December 2011 with his degree in strategic communications, is one of the finest centers to ever suit up for the Scarlet and Gray. A 2010 All-American and first-team all-Big Ten Conference performer, Mike was a four-year starter for the Buckeyes. He was named (with Mike Adams) as the team’s 2011 Jim Parker Award winner as the team’s outstanding offensive lineman. He was also one of four team captains as voted on by the players. He capped his Buckeye career in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl by making his 49th consecutive start, the second-longest streak in school history (Luke Fickell started 50 consecutive games). Brewster was named a game captain a team-high eight times this past season, including in six of the last seven games. He was named to the Rimington and Outland Trophy watch lists at the beginning of his senior season. Brewster was a Freshman All-American in 2008 after playing in 12 games and starting the final 10 games of the season. He went on to start all 13 games in 2009, 2010 and 2011. Brewster was the only junior in 2010 to be named a finalist for the Rimington Trophy as the nation’s outstanding center. He played in a total of 51 games.

A native of Washington, Pa., and a graduate of Trinity High School, Andrew will soon graduate from Ohio State with his degree in finance. He is in Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business, one of the most prestigious schools at the university. This past year Sweat’s efforts earned him second-team all-Big Ten Conference honors. He was named the team’s Randy Gradishar Award winner as the outstanding linebacker on the squad. He ranked second among Buckeyes with 72 tackles on the season, numbers that included a career-high 10 tackles vs. Michigan State and a career-high seven solo tackles vs. Indiana. He also had an interception vs. Akron. He had nine tackles vs. both Miami and Indiana. Sweat, who played as a true freshman in nine games in 2008, has started for the Buckeyes in parts of three years (19 career starts and 38 games played). He is the team leader in career tackles with 129. Selected as a game captain by the OSU coaches seven times this season, his peers voted him one of four season captains at the end of the regular season.

Shugarts, a family resource management major, made an immediate impact on this team as a true freshman four seasons ago and he capped his Ohio State career as a three-year starter at right tackle. Despite battling through a number of injuries early in his career, Shugarts started his 35th game when the Buckeyes played Florida in the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl. That start also represented his 44th game as a Buckeye. He started 12 times in 2011 and was chosen as a game captain for the season opener vs. Akron. J.B. was a four-year lettermen.

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor

 

Scarlet prevails in LiFE Sports Spring Game

Jody Victor: Here’s some great Buckeye football news from osu.edu  and OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State’s Scarlet team defeated the Gray team, 20-14, Saturday on a nippy, gray afternoon at Ohio Stadium in the 2012 LiFE Sports Spring Game. Braxton Miller threw for 258 yards and Rod Smith capped his 47-yard rushing day with a winning touchdown run from seven yards out.

True freshman receiver Michael Thomas wasted no time in building a nice rapport with Miller as he caught 12 passes for 131 yards. Red-shirt freshman tight end Nick Vannett caught five passes for 52 yards. Miller was 24-of-31 on the day with one pass intercepted by Adam Griffin.

Kenny Guiton completed 17-of-26 passes for 191 yards with a 28-yard touchdown reception to Devin Smith. He threw an interception on the Gray’s last drive of the day…Christian Bryant picking the ball off in the red zone with the Scarlet holding on to a 20-14 lead.

Scarlet led, 13-7, at halftime as Miller threw for 197 yards in the half, completing 16-of-22 passes. Thomas, the nephew of USC great and former pro Keyshawn Johnson, caught eight passes in the half for 78 yards. Chris Fields had three catches for 50 yards.

A Carlos Hyde one-yard run staked Scarlet to a 7-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the contest. Drew Basil hit a 41-yard field goal for a 10-0 lead but Gray scored inside of a minute to go in the first half as Guiton found Smith over the middle with a laser of a throw that Smith hauled in and then sprinted untouched into the end zone.

Basil kicked a 32-yard field goal to end the half.

Guiton scored on a 4-yard run late in the third quarter and Smith capped a 65-yard drive with less than five minutes to play for the final points of the day.

A crowd of 81,112 was on hand to watch the debut action of Coach Urban Meyer’s first Ohio State team.

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor

Ohio State Hosts Xavier and Cincinnati to Conclude 10-Game Homestand

Jody Victor: Here’s some great Buckeye baseball news from osu.edu and OhioStateBuckeyes.com.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team welcomes Xavier and Cincinnati to Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium for a pair of midweek matchups. The Buckeyes will take on Xavier at 6:35 p.m. Tuesday before hosting Cincinnati at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a game that will be televised live on Big Ten Network.

The Buckeyes dropped two of three games against Nebraska over the weekend. Jaron Long earned the win Friday, tossing his second complete game in three starts, allowing two runs on eight hits while striking out five to move to 3-1 on the season. Josh Dezse went 7-for-15 on the weekend with three doubles and two RBI while Greg Solomon went 4-for-9 with a triple, a home run, five RBI and three runs scored.

SCOUTING XAVIER
Xavier, under the direction of Scott Googins, enters the week with a 15-21 overall record. Mark Elwell is batting .317 with three doubles, 15 RBI and nine runs scored while Tres Eberhardt is hitting .304 with seven doubles, 17 runs scored and five RBI. Starter Vinny Nittoli is 3-3 with a 3.83 ERA and 24 strikeouts in nine starts.

Ohio State holds a 29-18 lead in the all-time series with the Musketeers after winning, 4-1, last season in Columbus.

SCOUTING CINCINNATI
Cincinnati has posted a 12-23 record on the season entering play this week. Justin Glass is batting .377 with 14 doubles, two home runs, 31 runs scored and 21 RBI while Joey Bielek is hitting .364 with 12 doubles, 21 RBI and 20 runs scored. Zach Morris is 2-2 with a 3.02 ERA and 28 strikeouts in 47.2 innings pitched.

Ohio State dropped the last meeting with Cincinnati, 11-5, in the Big Ten/Big East Challenge last season but still holds a 65-22-2 lead in the all-time series.

BUCKEYES IN THE BIG TEN
The Buckeyes enter the week with a 21-14 overall record, tied for fifth with a 6-6 ledger in the Big Ten Conference. Ohio State ranks third in on-base percentage (.377), fourth in runs scored (211) and doubles (59), fifth in batting average (.274) and home runs (17), first in walks (168) and second in stolen bases (56).

Individually, Josh Dezse sits tied for seventh in the Big Ten with five home runs and ninth with a .442 on-base percentage while Ryan Cypret leads the Big Ten with 30 walks. Brad Hallberg is tied for third in the conference with 11 doubles. Kirby Pellant is second with 19 stolen bases while Joe Ciamacco sits eighth with 11. Tim Wetzel is tied for fourth in the Big Ten with 25 walks.

On the mound, Jaron Long sits fifth with a 2.31 ERA and seventh with 43 strikeouts. John Kuchno is tied for fifth with five wins while David Fathalikhani and Andrew Armstrong are tied for first in the Big Ten with 18 appearances.

HEAD COACH
Head coach Greg Beals is just the 11th head coach in Ohio State history and only the fourth in the last 60 years. He has a 290-243 career record and in his 10th season as a collegiate head coach.

16th SEASON AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
Ohio State is 256-127 all-time at Bill Davis Stadium for a fine .670 winning percentage. Ohio State is 147-82 vs. the Big Ten Conference at home.

Go Bucks!!!

Jody Victor