OSU BASEBALL
Three-player time share at first base works so far
Friday, March 31, 2006
Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
MIKE MUNDEN | DISPATCH Eric Fryer, a sophomore from Reynoldsburg, has made some outstanding plays at first base for the Buckeyes but lost the ball trying to tag out Toledo’s John Colliver.
Eric Fryer, J.B. Shuck and Justin Miller have played baseball so long that they know what pitch is coming moments after it leaves a pitcher’s hand and the weight of a bat just by holding it.
So they weren’t fazed last fall when Ohio State coach Bob Todd asked if they would platoon at first base. Three-year starter Paul Farinacci had used his eligibility and there was no other first baseman on the roster.
Yet they looked at their new first baseman’s mitts as if they had come from outer space.
"I was lost," said Miller, a catcher and third baseman by trade. "I had never broken in a first baseman’s mitt and there was no one on the team who could tell us. After a while, we sort of figured it out."
Todd’s experiment has been working as the Buckeyes go into their Big Ten opener against Iowa (10-7) at 7:05 tonight in Iowa City. The Buckeyes are 12-5 and Fryer, Shuck and Miller have been sound defensively. Fryer and Shuck have been hitting stars with averages of .393 and .464.
Fryer, a sophomore from Reynoldsburg, has played first base six times and has caught nine times. Shuck, a freshman from Galion, Ohio, has played first nine times and pitched in four games as a left-handed starter. Miller, a freshman from Dayton, Va., has played first twice and caught three times.
Todd prefers to have a set lineup, but that wasn’t going to happen with Farinacci gone.
"This team is putting a lot of pressure on the coaching staff because it’s forcing us to make (personnel) decisions," Todd said. "There is a lot of talent and that has given us flexibility at that position. They are playing very well over there. Eric has made some outstanding plays defensively and J.B. hasn’t made an error. Justin has been in the mix. It helps that they’re good athletes who understand the game."
In an 8-5 victory over Toledo on Wednesday, Fryer not only saved third baseman Ronnie Bourquin a throwing error by leaping high for the ball, he got the putout with a deft sweep tag.
Catchers aren’t supposed to do that.
"I’ll do anything to help the team," said Fryer, who is tied with Bourquin for the team lead in RBI with 23. "I played first base once or twice in high school, but I wasn’t polished. I’m still rough at it. It has been fun, but it seems like nothing is ever hit to me over there. That kind of stinks."
Fryer doesn’t know where he’ll play until he gets to the ballpark.
"I won’t know which glove to warm up with," he said. "Then I’ll see the coaches huddling. It isn’t a big deal. We’re just trying to put the best team on the field."
Any talk about the best Ohio State team has to include Shuck. He’s 3-0 with a 1.12 ERA as a pitcher. At the plate, he has eight RBI in 10 games.
When he didn’t pitch in high school, Shuck played the outfield.
"It has been a new experience and I was a little bit nervous at first," he said. "I’m still learning all the plays and cutoffs. Being able to play so much as a freshman is just a dream come true."
Shuck usually is a busy man during practice, running from the infielders to the bullpen.
Miller, who caught and played third base in high school, has had the most difficulty. He’s batting .152 but has struck out only six times in 33 at bats.
"The good thing is that I played a lot of high-school baseball against guys who are in college ball," Miller said. "It’s still a big jump. I just come ready to play every day. I have to know two positions defensively. What helps is that I played third, a corner infield position."
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