OHIO STATE TRAVELS TO IOWA THIS WEEKEND
Buckeyes (19-8, 2-1 B1G) and Hawkeyes (17-9, 3-2 B1G) begin series at 3:05 p.m. ET Saturday at Banks Field
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After six days off, the Ohio State baseball team returns to action with its first Big Ten road series at Iowa Saturday-Monday at Duane Banks Field in Iowa City, Iowa. The Buckeyes (19-8, 2-1 B1G) return to the diamond after taking two of three games at home against Nebraska last weekend, while the Hawkeyes (17-9, 3-2 B1G) won a road series at Illinois last weekend in Champaign, Ill. The series was pushed back a day due to frigid temperatures predicted Friday in Iowa City.
LEADING OFF
- Ohio State is 19-8 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten play heading into its second weekend of league play. The Buckeyes hold a 3-1 record in away games.
- Last time out, the Buckeyes won two of three games vs. Nebraska to open Big Ten action. After dropping the opener, 7-3, Ohio State won game two, 7-4, and outhit the Huskers in a 15-14 win in a wild series finale in Columbus.
- The team is hitting .309 as team with 83 extra-base hits and 5-for-29 in stolen bases. The Buckeyes are 11th in the nation and first in the Big Ten in scoring (7.9).
- The Scarlet and Gray also rank first in the conference in batting average (.309), on-base percentage (.399), runs scored (212), hits (297) and RBI (196), second in slugging (.452), home runs (24) and third in doubles (53) and walks (132).
- The OSU pitching staff has combined for a 4.12 ERA, which is fifth-best in the league. The group has collected 221 strikeouts, which is third-best in the conference.
- Senior Noah McGowan is leading the team with a .411 average. He is in the Top 10 in nine different batting statistical categories in the Big Ten, including second in batting (.411), slugging (.710), on-base (.480), hits (44), RBI (37), doubles (12) and third in runs scored (30) and total bases (76).
- Sophomore Dominic Canzone is leading the conference with 45 hits and 32 runs scored. He is also fifth in batting (.381) and total bases (64).
- Senior Tyler Cowles is fifth in doubles (9) and seventh in hits (37) and RBI (26). Sophomore Conner Pohl is fifth in RBI (27) and seventh in runs scored (25). Junior Brady Cherry is fifth in doubles (9).
- Junior starting pitcher Connor Curlis is 4-1 with a 3.51 ERA with 45 strikeouts and 10 walks in 41.0 innings pitched. His 45 strikeouts rank second in the league.
- Junior starting pitcher Ryan Feltner has 40 strikeouts, good for fifth in the conference.
- Senior reliever Seth Kinker is 4-1 with a 1.82 ERA in 12 appearances. The Senior CLASS Award Candidate is the only pitcher in the nation with at least four wins and six 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.
- The Scarlet and Gray racked up the frequent flyer miles, opening the 2018 season with 17-straight road games. The Buckeyes were in state of Florida two times and also visited Arizona, South Carolina and North Carolina. The team flew a combine 7,516 miles across the country over the first five weeks of the season.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
IOWA
2018 Record: 17-9 overall and 3-2 in B1G
Team Stats: .273, 37 2B, 18 HR, 21-for-30 SB
Top Hitter: Tyler Cropley, .351 with 18 R, 10 2B, 3 HR, 24 RBI and 16 BB
Top Pitcher: Alex Allgeyer, 3-2 with 2.45 ERA, 41 K, 10 BB, 44.0 IP
Last Time Out: Defeated Grand View, 4-2, Wednesday at Banks Field
OHIO STATE VS. IOWA
The Buckeyes lead the all-time series vs. the Hawkeyes, 75-54-1. Ohio State is 33-27 in road games vs. the Hawkeyes. Last year, the Hawkeyes won two of three games over the Scarlet and Gray at Banks Field May 12-14.
Dominic Canzone hit .313 (5-for-16) with three runs scored, one home run and four RBI and
Conner Pohl batted .625 (5-for-8) with four runs scored, one double, one home run and three RBI. On the mound,
Connor Curlis received the win in game two, throwing six innings on four runs, one earned, two walks and four strikeouts.
RPI UPDATE
Ohio State sits at No. 57 in the latest NCAA RPI rankings, which were released on Monday. The Buckeyes are the fifth-highest ranked team in the Big Ten. Ohio State has two wins over RPI Top 50 teams and six against schools in the Top 100.
HOT BATS LAST WEEK
Ohio State hit an impressive .393 as a team with nine doubles and four home runs to go 3-1 last week. Six different Buckeyes hit over the .300 mark guided by
Conner Pohl with a .647 average (11-for-1&) with six runs scored, one home run and nine RBI.
A LOOK BACK AT NEBRASKA SERIES
The Buckeye bats kept sizzling into the weekend vs. the Huskers after a 19-4 win over Toledo last Wednesday. The squad batted .400 with 44 hits and slugged .536 as a team. Pohl hit .571 (8-for-14) with three RBI and Canzone, Cowles and Barnwell each hit .500. Barnwell had the big three-run homer in the win in game two. McGowan drove in five and homered in the series finale. The Buckeyes recorded 22 hits last Sunday vs. the Husker pitching staff, marking the most hits by a Buckeye team at Bill Davis Stadium (since ’04). Each of three OSU starters recorded quality starts. Curlis fanned eight over 6.2 innings and allowed three earned runs, Feltner struck six in six innings of work on three earned runs and Niemeyer worked five and allowed three earned runs in game three. Kinker collected two saves, combining to throw 3.2 innings on four hits, two runs, five strikeouts and no walks.
PRODUCTIVE AND POWER HITTING
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: 12 2B, 1 3B, 6 HR, 37 RBI
Cowles: 9 2B, 0 3B, 3 HR, 25 RBI
Canzone: 7 2B, 0 3B, 4 HR, 25 RBI
Cherry: 9 2B, 1B, 1 HR, 21 RBI
BIG IMPROVEMENTS
After 27 games in 2018, vs. the first 27 in 2018, several individuals are enjoying significant statistical improvements:
- Noah McGowan is batting 185 points higher (.227 in 2017, .411 in 2018) and his slugging is 246 points higher (.464 in 2017, .710 in 2018). He has 18 more RBI in 27 games than his season RBI total a year ago.
- Tyler Cowles is batting 173 points higher (.190 in 2018, .363 in 2018) and his slugging is 225 points higher (.314 in 2017, .539 in 2018). He has 11 more RBI in 27 games than his season RBI total a year ago.
- Dominic Canzone is just 12 hits shy of his season total in 2017 (57 in 2017, 45 in 2018).
- As a team, Ohio State has collected 88 more hits than it did this time last year (297) and has scored 80 more runs than it did this time a season ago (212).
TO THE BULLPEN
The OSU bullpen has combined for 3.55 ERA with 36 strikeouts in 34.2 innings pitched. The Buckeye relievers have combined for a 2.25 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2018. The OSU hurlers are holding opponents to a .227 batting average out of the bullpen in 27 games.
NOTING THE OPENING HOMESTAND
- Ohio State hit .341 with 22 doubles, four triples and seven home runs.
- The team is outscored opponents, 83-53, in 10 games at Bill Davis Stadium.
- Canzone batted .488 and scored a team-best 16 runs and driven in a team-best 12 RBI.
- The OSU pitching staff combined for 3.83 ERA with 92 strikeouts in 94.0 IP in Columbus. Kinker was 2-0 with 17 strikeouts and has not walked a batter in 12.1 innings of relief work.
NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS
Ohio State ranks in the Top 50 in the nation in several statistical categories, including 11th in scoring (7.9), 13th in batting average (.309), 19th in runs scored (212), 20th in hits (297), 24th in on-base (.399) and 28th in slugging (.452).
Noah McGowan is eighth in RBI per game (1.37), 10th in RBI (37), 21st in batting (.411) and 25th in doubles (12).
Dominic Canzone is 14th in hits (45) and 31st in runs scored (32).
IT SHOULD BE NOTED...
- Ohio State has scored 83 runs in the last 10 games.
- The Buckeyes are outscoring their opponents, 38-15 in the opening inning.
- The Scarlet and Gray are 15-1 when leading after the sixth inning and 16-0 when leading after the eighth inning.
- Ohio State has an impressive 78 two-out RBI through 27 games. Tyler Cowles and Noah McGowan each 15 two-out RBI.
- Opposing hitters have just a .136 average (6-for-44) with two outs against Connor Curlis.
- The Buckeyes are tied with Indiana for the second-most wins in the league.
- Canzone went over the 100-hit mark in his career over the weekend. He has 102 hits in 76 games as a Buckeye.
- Kinker is three strikeouts away from 150 in his career. He leads all active Buckeyes with 13 career wins.
UP NEXT
The Buckeyes will have a quick turnaround following their road series vs. the Hawkeyes as the team hosts in-state foe Ohio at 6:35 p.m. ET Tuesday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The contest will be streamed on BTN Plus ($).
http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/040518aaa.html
