OHIO STATE READY FOR B1G SHOWDOWN VS. NO. 8 INDIANA
Ohio State (25-10, 6-3 B1G) battles No. 8 Hoosiers (28-6, 6-2 B1G) Friday-Sunday at Bill Davis Stadium
COLUMBUS, Ohio – All eyes from around Big Ten Baseball will be keeping track on one of the Buckeyes’ biggest home series of the year this weekend. The Ohio State baseball team is set to host No. 8 Indiana Friday-Sunday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.
The Buckeyes (25-10, 6-3 B1G) have won five straight games and sit in fifth place in the league standings. The Hoosiers 28-6, 6-2 B1G) travel to Columbus as the eighth-ranked team in the country by D1Baseball.com with an eight-game win streak. Both teams rank in the Top 5 in the league in team ERA and team batting average, while both squads sit in the Top 45 in the current NCAA RPI poll.
WEEKEND ROTATION
Friday: LHP Connor Curlis (5-1, 2.92 ERA) vs. RHP Jonathan Stiever (4-1, 2.78 ERA)
Saturday: RHP Ryan Feltner (4-2, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Cam Beauchamp (4-0, 2.70 ERA)
Sunday: RHP Adam Niemeyer (3-2, 5.53 ERA) vs. TBA
FOLLOW THE ACTION
Live stats links can be found by going to the schedule page of Ohio State Baseball on OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Fans can also follow the action on Twitter via @OhioState_BASE. The game will be streamed on BTN Plus ($) and can also be heard on AM 1460 ESPN. Matt Andrews and Bob Spears will have the radio call.
LEADING OFF
- Ohio State is 25-10 overall and 6-3 in league play heading into weekend No. 10 of 2018.
- The team is 10-2 at home in 2018. The team is on a five-game win streak.
- The Buckeyes return to Big Ten action after sweeping Penn State last weekend in University Park, Pa. Ohio State outscored the Nittany Lions, 25-9. The OSU pitching staff combined for a 3.00 ERA.
- Last time out, the Buckeyes beat Youngstown State, 12-3, on Wednesday at Bill Davis Stadium.
- The Scarlet and Gray lead the all-time series vs. the Hoosiers, 161-116.
- The series this weekend marks the first Top 10 conference opponent in Columbus since the 2015 campaign (No. 8 Illinois).
- The Buckeyes rank 13th in the country in scoring (7.5).
- Ohio State is first in the Big Ten in hits (373), runs (261) and second in batting average (.302), strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.43) and third in slugging (.444) and on-base percentage (.395).
- The OSU pitching staff has combined for a 3.69 ERA, which is fourth-best in the league. The OSU weekend rotation has combined for 12 of the 25 wins this year.
- Senior Noah McGowan is leading the team with a .396 average. The Buckeyes have two other hitters in the Top 10 in hitting in the league, including Dominic Canzone (.349) and Tyler Cowles (.346). McGowan is the Big Ten leader in RBI (44) and second in hits (55) and third in slugging (.676). Canzone is second in runs scored (40) and third in hits (53).
- Conner Pohl has a career-high 15-game hit streak, while Kobie Foppe has an 18-game reached base streak.
- Junior left-handed starting pitcher Connor Curlis is second in the league in strikeouts (55) and eighth in ERA (2.92). He is 5-1 in 2018.
- Senior reliever Seth Kinker is 4-1 with a 1.44 ERA in 16 appearances. The Senior CLASS Award Candidate is second in the conference with eight saves.
- The 2018 Buckeyes return 22 letterwinners this season, including 13 members from the 2016 Big Ten championship team. The team welcomed 10 newcomers in the fall.
- Ohio State has two ranked wins this year, including No. 15 Southern Miss and No. 21 Coastal Carolina.
- The Buckeyes are guided by eighth-year head coach Greg Beals. He is 250-189-1 at the helm of the Buckeyes. He holds a 493-391-1 in his 25th season overall.
- The team had 26 OSU Scholar-Athletes for the 2017-18 academic year.
OHIO STATE AS OF LATE
The Buckeyes are currently on a five-game win streak heading into the weekend. The team is outscoring opponents, 41-12. The bats are combining for a .309 average.
Dillon Dingler is hitting .474 (9-for-19) with six runs scored, one double, one triple, one home run and three walks. The OSU pitching staff has collected a 2.20 ERA with 44 strikeouts in 45.0 IP, holding hitters to a .229 clip.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
INDIANA
2018 Record: 28-6 (6-2 B1G)
Team Stats: .298, 70 2B, 39 HR, 212 RBI, 48-64 in SB
Top Hitter: Matt Gorski, .360, 8 2B, 3 HR, 20 RBI, 15-17 in SB
Top Pitcher: Pauly Milto, 5-2, 1.85 ERA with 45 K in 54.0 IP
Last Time Out: Defeated Ball State, 9-8, in 14 innings on Wednesday in Bloomington, Ind.
OHIO STATE VS. HOOSIERS
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series, 161-116. The Scarlet and Gray hold an 89-48 record against Indiana in Columbus. Last year, the Scarlet and Gray won the first game, 7-4, but fell in the final two games to conclude the 2017 campaign.
Brady Cherry is hitting .385 (5-for-13) with three doubles and two RBI in his career vs. Indiana. Last season,
Connor Curlis tossed seven innings and limited the Hoosiers to two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and one walk in the Friday night victory in Columbus.
22ND SEASON AT BILL DAVIS STADIUM
Ohio State is 356-184 all-time at Bill Davis Stadium for a fine .655 winning percentage. Ohio State is 182-112 vs. the Big Ten Conference at home.
HOME, SWEET HOME
- Ohio State is hitting .339 with 23 doubles, five triples and eight home runs.
- The team is outscoring opponents, 99-56, in 12 games at Bill Davis Stadium.
- Canzone is hitting .429 and has scored a team-best 21 runs. Pohl has driven in 15 runs and McGowan has 14 RBI at home.
- The OSU pitching staff has combined for 3.46 ERA with 115 strikeouts in 112.0 IP in Columbus. Kinker is 2-0 with 18 strikeouts and has not walked a batter in 13.1 innings of relief work.
RPI UPDATE
Ohio State sits at No. 45 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, which were released on Wednesday. The Buckeyes are the fifth-highest ranked team in the Big Ten. Ohio State has two wins over RPI Top 50 teams.
LAST TIME OUT
The team improved to 3-0 vs. in-state opponents with a 12-3 win over Youngstown State last time out on Wednesday in Columbus.
Conner Pohl went 2-for-4 with three runs scored, home run and three RBI, while
Nate Romans was 2-for-3 with three RBI and
Dillon Dingler was 2-for-4 with two runs scored, RBI, walk and triple.
Matt Carpenter also knocked his first career hit in the victory. On the mound,
Austin Woodby claimed his first win of the season, throwing two scoreless innings of relief with four strikeouts.
ROAD SWEEP LAST WEEK
The Buckeyes claimed their first conference sweep since the 2016 campaign last weekend at Penn State. Ohio State won game one, 1-0, April 13 before taking both games of a doubleheader April 14. The Buckeyes claimed a 5-1 win in game one and defeated the Nittany Lions, 19-8, in the nightcap at Lubrano Park.
Dillon Dingler hit .500 (6-for-12) with four runs scored, one double and one home run. The OSU pitching staff had a 3.00 ERA over the weekend.
IN BIG TEN PLAY
Ohio State is third in league games in batting average (.309) and fourth in team ERA (3.76).
Conner Pohl is seventh in batting (.395) followed by
Dillon Dingler in 10th (.381).
Noah McGowan has a B1G-best seven doubles in league games and
Dominic Canzoneis fifth in runs scored (11).
POHL, FOPPE STREAKING
Conner Pohl has a career-high 15-game hit streak. It’s the longest hit streak since former Buckeye Ronnie Dawson had a hit in 15 straight games in 2016. Dan Burkhart and Zach Hurley each had 16-game hit streaks back in 2009. The Buckeyes are 11-4 during Pohl’s streak, who is hitting .403 with 13 runs scored and 19 RBI.
Kobie Foppe has a career-high 18-game reached base streak. It’s the second-longest reached base streak by a Buckeye this season (
Tyler Cowles, 21). Foppe’s on-base percentage is .507 during the stretch and has 21 hits and 12 walks in 53 at-bats.
POWER RANGERS
The team is getting productive and powerful hitting up and down the lineup. Four players have 10 or more extra-base hits. The power rangers include:
McGowan: 16 2B, 1 3B, 7 HR, 44 RBI
Canzone: 9 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 27 RBI
Cowles: 9 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 32 RBI
Cherry: 10 2B, 1B, 1 HR, 23 RBI
BIG IMPROVEMENTS
After 35 games in 2018, vs. the first 35 in 2017, several individuals are enjoying significant statistical improvements:
- Noah McGowan is batting 170 points higher (.226 in 2017, .396 in 2018) and his slugging is 249 points higher (.427 in 2017, .676 in 2018). He has 25 more RBI in 35 games than his season RBI total a year ago.
- Tyler Cowles is batting 155 points higher (.191 in 2017, .346 in 2018) and his slugging is 178 points higher (.330 in 2017, .508 in 2018). He has 17 more RBI in 35 games than his season RBI total a year ago.
- Dominic Canzone is four hits shy of his season total in 2017 (57 in 2017, 53 in 2018). He already has 15 more runs scored than his 2017 season total (35).
- As a team, Ohio State has collected 87 more hits than it did this time last year (327) and has scored 65 more runs than it did this time a season ago (224).
TO THE BULLPEN
The OSU bullpen has combined for 3.27 ERA with 119 strikeouts in 134.2 innings pitched. The Buckeye relievers have combined for a 2.05 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2018. The bullpen is holding opponents to a .260 batting average out of in in 35 games.
NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS
Ohio State ranks in the Top 50 in the nation in several statistical categories, including 13th in scoring (7.5), 22nd in batting (.302), 23rd in runs scored (261), 29th in on-base percentage (.395), 31st in hits (373), 33rd in slugging (.444) and 49th in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.43).
Noah McGowan is sixth in the nation in doubles (7) and 18th in RBI (44).
Seth Kinker is 20th in saves (8).
IT SHOULD BE NOTED...
- Ohio State has scored 71 runs in the last 10 games.
- The Buckeyes are outscoring their opponents, 46-24 in the opening inning. The team is 9-0 when scoring 10 or more runs.
- The Scarlet and Gray are 21-1 when leading after the sixth inning and 22-0 when leading after the eighth inning.
- Ohio State has an impressive 91 two-out RBI through 35 games. Noah McGowan has 19 and Tyler Cowles has 17 RBI with two outs on the board.
- Opposing hitters have just a .137 average (7-for-51) with two outs against Connor Curlis.
- The Buckeyes are second in the league in overall wins (25).
- Canzone has 110 career hits in 84 games played. He is hitting .548 (17-for-31) with two outs this season.
- Kinker is seven appearances shy of the OSU career appearances record (95).
- McGowan is batting .449 (22-for-49) with runners in scoring positon.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will host Minnesota in a three-game Big Ten series April 27-29 at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium.
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