Baseball: Home Opener Wednesday at 2 p.m.; Penn State this Weekend! - The Ohio State Buckeyes Official Athletics Site - OhioStateBuckeyes.com
[COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State opens its 12th season of play at Bill Davis Stadium Wednesday, March 26 at 2 p.m. against the Pittsburgh Panthers. The team is coming off three weekends of games on the road and a six-games-in-seven-days spring trip to Bradenton, Fla. Ohio State enters the game with a 9-6 record. Pittsburgh is 6-11 and 0-3 in the BIG EAST Conference after dropping three at West Virginia last week.
Ohio State (9-6; 0-0 Big Ten)
vs.
Pittsburgh Panthers (6-11, 0-3 Big East)</B>
Wednesday, March 26, 2 p.m. EDT
Bill Davis Stadium
RADIO/TV/WEB COVERAGE
Radio: None
Television: None
Webcast: Buckeye Vision on OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Live Stats: OhioStateBuckeyes.com
Leading Off...
1. The game opens the 12th season of action at Bill Davis Stadium (BDS).
2. This is the last radio-less game.
3. The rest of this season?s games will either be carried on WMNI-AM 920 or on http://www.ohiostatebuckeyes.com/.
4. Ohio State leads the series, 15-1.
5. Pitt won the last meeting: 7-3 at BDS in 2006.
Buckeye Notes & Numbers
? Ohio State held a lead in each of its first 13 games and in 14 of its first 15.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058708"]Dan DeLucia[/URL] has climbed to eighth on the career innings pitched chart with 285.2.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058668"]Rory Meister[/URL] has moved into third place in all-time appearances with 83.
? Four freshmen pitchers have multiple appearances: [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1378111"]Alex Wimmers[/URL] (8), [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1378109"]Drew Rucinski[/URL] (5), [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058684"]Dean Wolosiansky[/URL] (5) and [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1378096"]Andrew Armstrong[/URL] (2). All but Wolosiansky are true freshmen.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058687"]Cory Kovanda[/URL] and [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058659"]J.B. Shuck[/URL] lead the team with eight multi-hit games apiece.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058693"]Cory Rupert[/URL] and [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058701"]Justin Miller[/URL] lead the team with eight and five multi-RBI games, respectively.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058723"]Brian DeLucia[/URL] (vs. Arkansas State), Shuck (vs. Louisiana Tech), [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1378100"]Dan Burkhart[/URL] (vs. Harvard), [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1378106"]Ryan Meade[/URL] (vs. Dartmouth) and Kovanda (vs. Kansas) each have four-hit games this season.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058708"]Dan DeLucia[/URL] struck out a career-high 10 batters in his win over Bradley.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058654"]Tony Kennedy[/URL] has thrown out two runners at home plate and he has three outfield assists total.
? Five Buckeyes who start every day, led by Rupert (17-for-30; .567 avg.) and [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1378106"]Ryan Meade[/URL] (16-of-36; .444), are hitting .400 or above with runners on base. Kovanda (.429), Kennedy (.414) and [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058701"]Justin Miller[/URL] (.412) are the others.
? With runners in scoring position, Rupert?s average climbs to .632.
And Some Quick Hitters
? The Buckeyes are hitting .342 as a team and have outhit their opponents by 60 hits: 191 to 131.
? Opponents are hitting just .255 off Ohio State?s pitching staff.
? Among Buckeyes with 10 or more starts: seven are hitting at least .300.
? Among Buckeyes with 10 or more starts: seven are hitting at least .300.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058693"]Cory Rupert[/URL] (18), [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1378106"]Ryan Meade[/URL] (13), [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058701"]Justin Miller[/URL] (12) and [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058654"]Tony Kennedy[/URL] (11) are leading the team in RBI.
? [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1378109"]Drew Rucinski[/URL] (1.80), [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058684"]Dean Wolosiansky[/URL] (3.00) and [URL="https://admin.xosn.com/ViewArticle.dbml?SPSID=87801&SPID=10418&DB_OEM_ID=17300&ATCLID=1058708"]Dan DeLucia[/URL] (4.05) lead in ERA.