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Junior Cory Luebke was honored by the conference as Big Ten Pitcher of the Week.
May 2, 2007
OHIO STATE BUCKEYES
26-12, 11-7 Big Ten
vs.
AKRON ZIPS
19-15, 5-10 Mid-American
(Akron plays today at Pittsburgh)
May 2, 2007 @ 6:35 p.m.
Bill Davis Stadium (Capacity: 4,450)
Columbus, Ohio
Series History: Ohio State leads 24-17
Last Meeting: May 12, 2004; OSU 4-3
SERIES HISTORY (SINCE 1980 - 18 GAMES)
| 4/20/1980 | W | 3-2 | H |
| 4/20/1980 | W | 19-3 | H |
| 4/7/1981 | W | 9-8 | H |
| 4/21/1982 | L | 6-5 | A |
| 4/21/1982 | W | 7-2 | A |
| 5/1/1984 | L | 7-6 | A |
| 5/1/1985 | L | 3-1 | A |
| 5/1/1985 | L | 5-4 | A |
| 4/17/1986 | W | 6-0 | H |
| 4/29/1986 | L | 12-5 | A |
| 4/28/1987 | W | 13-4 | H |
| 4/28/1987 | W | 11-9 | H |
| 3/9/1988 | W | 21-5 | H |
| 3/9/1988 | W | 5-2 | H |
| 3/20/1996 | W | 20-7 | 1N |
| 3/4/2000 | L | 5-4 | 1N |
| 4/25/2001 | L | 9-8 | H |
| 5/12/2004 | W | 4-3 | H |
1-at Jacksonville, Fla.
RADIO
None
INTERNET AUDIO
ohiostatebuckeyes.com
GAMETRACKER
ohiostatebuckeyes.com
Ohio State continued its steady climb up the Big Ten standings after taking three of four at Purdue over the weekend. The Buckeyes moved into a tie for third place with Penn State, 2.5 games out of second. The top six teams in the conference qualify for the league tournament. For the week, OSU went 3-2, dropping a mid-week game to Xavier at home.
The Buckeyes downed Purdue 6-2 Friday, lost game one Saturday, 16-0, won game two Saturday, 3-2, and won the series finale, 6-3, Sunday.
This week, OSU begins a five-game week vs. Akron Wednesday at Bill Davis Stadium. After Akron, the Buckeyes welcome Michigan State to Columbus for a four-game Big Ten series Friday-Sunday at Bill Davis Stadium.
Three of four games vs. Michigan State (Games 1, 3 & 4) will be broadcast on radio on AM 920 WMNI. All five games will have audio available on ohiostatebuckeyes.com and be featured on Gametracker at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
MOVING UP THE BIG TEN LADDER
Ohio State's three wins at Purdue pushed the Buckeyes into a tie for third place in the Big Ten with Penn State. Penn State and Indiana split its four-game series over the weekend. OSU is 2.5 games behind Minnesota for second. Michigan sits in first place, five games ahead of the Buckeyes.
AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
The Buckeyes are 193-81 (.704) during the first 10-plus seasons in Bill Davis Stadium, which opened in 1997. The venue has played host to two Big Ten tournament championships (1999 and 2001), two regional championships (1999 and 2001) and two super regional championships (1999 and 2003).
Ohio State is 9-7 at Bill Davis Stadium in 2007 and will play at least nine more games this season at home. In addition to the completed Iowa, Michigan and Indiana series, one more conference opponent will visit Bill Davis Stadium this season as well as four non-conference foes. The scarlet and gray will welcome Michigan State (May 4-6) and non-conference opponents Akron, Western Carolina (two games) and North Florida (two games) to Columbus.
BUCKEYES ADD TWO GAMES VS. WESTERN CAROLINA MAY 8-9 AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
Ohio State has added a pair of games to its schedule vs. Western Carolina May 8-9 at Bill Davis Stadium. The games have been added because four games were lost this season because of inclement weather. The Buckeyes will face the Catamounts at 6:35 p.m. May 8 and at 1:05 p.m. May 9. Both games will be nine-inning contests.
ABOUT OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes are 26-12 on the year and 11-7 in Big Ten play, tied for third place.
Against Purdue, freshman Cory Kovanda hit .462, Justin Miller .438 and Eric Fryer .400. Jacob Howell led OSU with three RBI in the series and Jason Zoeller hit the only Buckeye home run in the four games. Cory Luebke continued his dominace by throwing a nine-inning complete game in game one of the series. Luebke gave up no earned runs in the 6-2 win and scattered seven hits, striking out seven and walking none. J.B. Shuck earned the win Sunday by throwing a solid seven innings and Trey Fausnaugh tallied the game three win despite facing just one batter as OSU scored three times in the top of the seventh and held on for the win. Jake Hale notched the save in game three and Fausnaugh pitched the final two innings Sunday to garner his first save of the season.
Shuck leads Ohio State at the plate with a .394 average, while Fryer leads the team in RBI (36) and hits (51) and is batting .364, second on the team. Tony Kennedy is third on the team in batting at .356, while Matt Angle is at .355 and Miller is at .347. Angle leads the squad in runs scored (33) and stolen bases (17) and Zoeller leads the team with six home runs.
On the mound, Luebke is 6-0 with a 1.84 ERA and a team-high 60 strikeouts. Shuck is 3-1 with a 3.61 ERA and is second on the team with 38 strikeouts. Josh Barrera is 4-1 with a 4.59 ERA and Meister is 3-4 with a 4.85 ERA. Hale has 10 saves on the year with 29 strikeouts in 29.1 innings.
For the year, Ohio State has a .320 batting average, 227 RBI and is averaging 6.5 runs per game. The Buckeyes have also 50 stolen bases in 65 attempts. On the mound, OSU has a 4.53 ERA and is holding opponents to a .279 average.
ABOUT AKRON
The Zips are 19-15 overall and 5-10 in the Mid-American Conference after losing two of three games at Buffalo last weekend. Akron lost games one and two (7-5 and 12-3) before winning the final game Sunday, 8-4, in 11 innings. Akron plays at Pittsburgh on Tuesday.
Kurt Davidson leads the Zips with a .333 average, 49 hits, 36 RBI and nine home runs. Doug McNulty is hitting .328 and Scott Gunn and Charlie Lenhard each have five home runs. Akron is batting .285 as a team and averaging 6.4 runs per game.
On the mound, Akron has a team ERA of 5.17 and opposing batters are hitting .294 against the Zips. Billy McKinney and Frank Turocy are the top two startes for Akron. McKinney is 1-5 with a 4.83 ERA and Turocy is 2-2 with a 4.88 ERA. They both have started a team-high nine games. Patrick Gliha leads the team in appearances with 15 and Ryne Romick is tops on the squad with three saves.
Former Ohio State assistant coach Pat Bangston (Kent State, 1988) is in his second season at Akron and is 34-51 at Akron and as a head coach.
CSN TO TELEVISE TWO MORE GAMES, INCLUDING SUNDAY'S MSU GAME
Columbus Sports Network (CSN) will televise at least two more OSU games this season, May 6 vs. Michigan State and May 16 vs. North Florida. The MSU game is scheduled to be live. CSN is central Ohio's first and only local sports television station and can be seen on Time Warner channel 78, WOW channel 96, Insight channels 78 and 524 and over the air on channel 32.
LUEBKE FIRES HIS SECOND COMPLETE GAME OF THE SEASON, NAMED BIG TEN POW
Junior southpaw Cory Luebke continued his dominate season on the mound by tossing his second complete game of the year in OSU's 6-2 win Friday at Purdue. Luebke gave up no earned runs in the win, striking out seven and walking none. He is 6-0 overall with a 1.84 ERA and 60 strikeouts. In Big Ten play, he is 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA. His performance vs. Purdue earned him his second Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award this season and the third of his career. It was the 12th complete game of his career.
HALE PICKS UP SAVE 10, TIED FOR SECOND ON SINGLE SEASON LIST
OSU closer Jake Hale notched his team-leading tenth save of the season in game three of the Purdue series. His 10 saves rank tied for second with Cory Cox (2001) on the Ohio State single season list, four behind Matt Davis' 14 in 2003.
FAUSNAUGH EARNS WIN AND SAVE AGAINST PURDUE
Senior right-hander Trey Fausnaugh picked up a save and a win in the Purdue series. With OSU trailing 2-0, Fausnaugh retired one batter in the bottom of the sixth in game three and watched as the Buckeyes scored three runs in the top of the seventh to take the lead and hold on for the win. Jake Hale worked the seventh for the save as OSU held on for the win. In game four Sunday, Fausnaugh worked the final two innings to pick up his first save of the season.
SHUCK THROWS A GREAT SEVEN INNINGS IN WIN
J.B. Shuck pitched a great seven innings in Sunday's 6-3 win at Purdue. Shuck took a two-hit shutout into the eighth before the Boilermakers scored three runs. The win moved the lefty to 3-1 on the year.
ZOELLER HITS TEAM-BEST SIXTH HOME RUN, TIES HIS CAREER HIGH
Senior Jason Zoeller hammered his sixth home run of the year in game four of the Purdue series. The two-run blast gave OSU a 4-0 advantage. The six home runs tied his career high done as a sophomore in 2005.
FRESHMAN SECOND BASEMAN KOVANDA HAS STELLAR SERIES AT PURDUE
Freshman second baseman Cory Kovanda had a stellar series at Purdue, hitting .462 in four games. He scored two runs and had one RBI.
FIRST BIG TEN SWEEP SINCE 2005
The four-game Big Ten sweep vs. Indiana was OSU's first since May 7-9, 2005 at Penn State. It was the first four-game Big Ten sweep at home since May 9-11, 2003 vs. Michigan State. The Buckeyes last took four from Indiana April 30-May 2, 2004 in Bloomington, Ind.
SHUCK HITTING .394 ON THE YEAR, SITS 9TH ON CAREER AVERAGE LIST
Sophomore outfielder/pitcher J.B. Shuck leads OSU with a .394 average, good for sixth in the conference. He is hitting .370 in 14 Big Ten games. His .358 career average is good for ninth on the all-time OSU career list.
LUEBKE PACES OSU PITCHING STAFF AT 6-0
Junior pitcher Cory Luebke leads the OSU pitching staff with a 6-0 record, 1.84 ERA and a team-high 60 strikeouts. In Big Ten play, he is 2-0 with a 2.21 ERA in five starts. In his 10 starts, Luebke has not gone fewer than 5.2 innings. The Maria Stein, Ohio native fired his second complete game of the year April 27 in a 6-2 win at Purdue. His other complete game was March 10 in a 10-1 win over Western Michigan. He had a season-high 11 strikeouts in a 7-2 win over Lehigh March 4. Josh Barrera is second on the team in wins at 4-1. He has a 4.59 ERA with 17 strikeouts in 33.1 innings.
HALE LEADS BIG TEN WITH 10 SAVES
Closer Jake Hale leads the Big Ten with 10 saves. The sophomore has a team-high 19 appearances on the year and a 5.83 earned run average. He has 29 strikeouts in 29.1 innings of work.
IN THE BIG TEN RANKINGS
In Big Ten games, Fryer is sixth in batting at .415 and fifth for on base percentage at .506. Jason Zoeller is tied for second in home runs at four.
In Big Ten games, Luebke is third in ERA at 2.21, tied for first in strikeouts (27) and third in innings pitched (36.2). Hale is first with five saves.
FRESHMEN MAKING CONTRIBUTIONS, 11 HAVE SEEN ACTION
In 38 games this season, a total of 11 Buckeye freshmen have played.
Outfielder Ryan Dew has seen the most action, appearing in 35 games with 28 starts. He is hitting .242 on the year. Two infielders, have also seen significant action. Cory Kovanda has played in 31 games, 28 starts, and Cory Rupert has played in 19 games, with 14 starts. The other freshman field players to see action are Brian DeLucia, Ben Toussant, Zach Hurley, Chris Griffin and Nick Steponovich.
Rookie pitchers to appear are Theron Minium, Josh Edgin and Eric Best. Best and Edgin are 2-1 on the year, Best with a 4.58 ERA in 19.2 innings and Edgin with a 7.30 ERA in 24.2 innings. Minium is 1-1 with a 7.20 ERA in 20.0 innings.
CAREER RECORD BOOK
TODD EARNS CAREER VICTORY 900
With a 5-3 win over Harvard on March 23 in Bradenton, Fla., Ohio State head coach Bob Todd earned his 900th career victory. The Buckeye skipper is 913-475-2 all-time, including 789-393-2 at OSU. His 913 wins rank 17th among active coaches in NCAA Division I and 47th all-time. He needs 11 victories to earn his 800th win at Ohio State.
HOWELL NAMED ONE OF 30 FINALISTS FOR LOWE'S SENIOR CLASS AWARD
Fifth-year senior Jacob Howell was named one of 30 finalists for NCAA Division I college baseball players as candidates for the 2007 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the all-new baseball division for players who excel on and off the field. Beginning this year, the award will be presented annually to college baseball's outstanding senior student-athlete.
Lowe's recently announced the addition of baseball and three other NCAA sports to the award program that originally launched in 2001-02 with basketball. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the award is designed to honor the attributes of college senior student-athletes who stay in school and pursue the many rewards that a senior season can bring.
Candidates are selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student-athlete. While the on-the-field performance during their collegiate baseball careers is a factor in determining candidates and the eventual winner, their personal character and off-the-field achievements in the classroom and community are major areas of focus. The list of 30 nominees represents 29 different schools and 19 different conferences.
A national media committee will select 10 finalists for the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in May. Those 10 players will then be placed on the official ballot for a nationwide vote beginning May 9 and concluding June 6. Fan balloting will be coupled with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of the award. The award winner and the college baseball All-Senior All-America Team will be announced this June during the 2007 NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska. The tribute for seniors was conceived by sportscaster Dick Enberg, who continues to serve as Honorary Chairman of the Lowe's Senior CLASS Award.
INCLEMENT WEATHER CLAIMS FOUR BUCKEYE GAMES ON THE YEAR
The Buckeyes have had four games lost to inclement weather so far this year, two in Columbus and two in Champaign, Ill. Two conference games at Illinois were cancelled and two non-conference home games vs. Cleveland State vs. Miami (Ohio) were cancelled.
FRYER ONE OF 27 NAMED TO COLEMAN-COMPANY JOHNNY BENCH AWARD WATCH LIST
OSU catcher Eric Fryer is one of 27 catchers to appear on the official watch list for the 2007 Coleman Company-Johnny Bench Award, the Greater Wichita Area Sports Commission announced March 15.
Fryer, a second-team All-Big Ten catcher in 2006, is batting .364 this season and .415 in Big Ten games. He has a team-high 51 hits 36 RBI. He has scored 24 runs and has nine doubles, a triple and two home runs. He has committed just four errors, with four passed balls. One of his errors was due to a middle infielder not covering second on a steal attempt and the runner advancing. He has thrown out 16 would be base stealers. Last year, Fryer played all 58 games and made 57 starts, including 43 behind the plate. He was a second-team All-Midwest Region Team as selected by the American Baseball Coaches Association and finished third on the team with a .368 batting average and 78 hits. He was second on the team with 52 RBI.
The list will be narrowed down to 10 semi-finalists and be announced May 17. Three finalists will be selected by a national voting panel and be announced May 30, prior to the NCAA regionals. A final vote among the national committee will occur during the College World Series. All three finalists will be brought to Wichita, Kan. and the winner will be announced at the 10th Annual Greater Wichita Sports Banquet on June 27.
