Penn State thread

[JCOSU86]

The Nittany Lions come to Columbus for the final regular-season series of the year this weekend. The Lions are currently 1 game out of making the tournament. In their last action, they dropped a game to Villanova Penn State is currently 12-16 in the Big 10.

Game one is scheduled for 6:35 Friday. A double-header on Saturday starts at 1:05. The series concludes with a 1:05 start on Sunday.

 

[rhgbosu]

Penn State RP1 188

Other than Purdue, they have been the biggest dissapointment to me.

One stat about Penn St really gets your attention... 3-12 in games decided by 1 run! A few breaks here and there and they could be right in the middle of the Big 10 race.



BTW, our RPI is down to 86..dropped 11 spots after yesterdays loss

C'mon big ten tourney..cant get here soon enough!

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

5/19/06

OHIO STATE BASEBALL

Numbers don’t add up

DeLucia, Bourquin seek titles, not stats

Friday, May 19, 2006

Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH




It would be ironic should Ohio State pitcher Dan DeLucia and third baseman Ronnie Bourquin come away with two of the most important individual awards in the Big Ten.
Baseball is the ultimate individual statistical game, but each would rather be in first place than have numbers that put them among the best at their positions in the conference.
DeLucia, a junior from Watterson, is the favorite to be named pitcher of the year by the conference coaches. He is 9-2 — three victories more than anyone else — and has shown broad shoulders by working a Big Ten-high 90 1 /3 innings.
Bourquin, a junior from Canton South, is the front-runner for player of the year. He leads the conference with a .429 batting average, 60 RBI and 82 hits going into the final regularseason series of the season against Penn State (19-33, 12-16). Game 1 is at 6:35 tonight in Bill Davis Stadium.
Numbers tell much about each, but not everything.
"At the beginning of the season, the coaches sit down with each player and ask what their goals are, and I said I wanted to be one of the best pitchers in the Big Ten and a candidate for pitcher of the year," DeLucia said. "I didn’t set goals for wins. I just wanted the team to win when I was pitching. That way, wins will come."
As the staff’s ace, there has been pressure on DeLucia to perform in a rotation of sophomore Cory Luebke and freshmen Jake Hale and J.B. Shuck. The result has been six wins in seven Big Ten starts and a chance to become the Buckeyes’ first 10-game winner since Justin Fry won 11 and E.J. Laratta 10 in 1999.
In a victory over Michigan State, DeLucia battled for the win by throwing 134 pitches in eight innings.
"When you get into jams, you have to bear down because you’re the one who got the team into that situations," he said. "It’s up to you to get out of it. I want the ball in my hand during those situations. It has been like that every since I was a kid."
Coach Bob Todd recruited DeLucia, even though the book on him didn’t necessarily read success in college.
"A lot of people said maybe Dan didn’t throw hard enough to play Division I college baseball and that maybe his breaking ball wasn’t sharp enough," Todd said. "What we saw time after time was someone who was winning for his team. He was the quarterback when the football team won the state championship. In basketball, he was the player who took the last shot in close games. Dan’s a winner."
Bourquin has been consistent and might become Ohio State’s first Big Ten batting champion since Jason Trott in 1997 and ’98.
He has had hitting streaks of 14, eight and seven games.
"I’ve kept the same approach all year, and it’s paying off," Bourquin said. "I’m not swinging at bad pitches and I’m getting ahead in the count. I’ve felt great at the plate, more than any year of my life. It has been hard work, and it’s paying off."
The frustrating part for Bourquin is the Buckeyes (32-18, 16-11) seem destined to finish third in the Big Ten. They must win the conference tournament to reach the NCAA tournament for the seventh time in 10 years.
"I’d trade my numbers for a Big Ten championship any time," he said. "It’s nice to see your name in the newspaper, but I’ve always been a team player. I’m here to help Ohio State win championships."
Todd has admired Bourquin’s focus at the plate.
"Ronnie is always ready to hit," he said. "I’m sure he has the attention of other coaches in the league. Like Dan DeLucia, he also was a football player and he has that hard-nosed mentality. Maybe the toughness comes from his family background. His dad (Rocky) played small college football."
[email protected]

Friday, May 19, 2006

 

[JCOSU86]

Buckeyes take Game 1

Ohio State Edges Penn State 4-3 in Series Opener

Dan DeLucia becomes first Buckeye to win 10 games since 1999

Dan DeLucia became the
first Buckeye to win 10
games since 1999, when
Justin Fry won 11 and
E.J. Laratta won 10.

May 19, 2006
Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State starting pitcher Dan DeLucia earned his 10th win of the season and closer Rory Meister picked up his sixth save as the Buckeyes got by Penn State 4-3 in the Big Ten series opener in front of 2,144 fans Friday at Bill Davis Stadium.
DeLucia, a junior co-captain from Columbus, Ohio (Bishop Watterson), pitched 7.2 innings and allowed the three runs on 10 hits, finishing the outing with five strikeouts, three walks and threw 131 pitches. He is the first 10-game winner since 1999, when Justin Fry won 11 games and E.J. Laratta won 10.
The other two co-captains, Jedidiah Stephen (Sr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) and Jacob Howell (Jr., Ashland, Ohio/Ashland), each had two of the Buckeyes' eight hits in the game. Howell had a pair of singles, including an RBI in the second inning, while Stephen had his first multi-hit game since May 6, getting a solo home run in the fourth and a one-out single in the sixth which led to the decisive run. The two hits gave Stephen 200 career hits, which is tied for 19th in school history. His next game will be the 200th of his career.
With the win, Ohio State will finish no worse than fourth in the Big Ten. With three games to play, the Buckeyes still have an outside shot to win the conference, needing to complete the sweep of Penn State and hope both Northwestern and Michigan lose at least three of their four games this weekend. The Wildcats lost its series opener at Purdue 11-0, but Michigan escaped with a 2-1 victory in its first game vs. Iowa in Ann Arbor.

Ohio State scored a pair of runs with two out in the bottom of the second. Penn State starting pitcher Alan Stidfole started the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, but hit Jason Zoeller (Jr., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy). Justin Miller (Fr., Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby) followed with a single to left-center to move Zoeller over to third. Michael Arp (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) put the Buckeyes on the board when sent a base hit up the middle. Miller scored on a base hit to left by Howell.
Scott Gummo drove in Travis Laird to put Penn State on the board in the top of the third. Laird drew a lead-off walk and went to second on a single up the middle by Rick Marlin who had come in for starting right fielder Brian Ernst. Ernst ran into the wall after catching a fly out by Eric Fryer (So., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) in the first inning. After a strikeout, the Buckeyes stopped Marlin at second on a fielder's choice before Gummo singled to shallow center to plate the Nittany Lions' first run.
Stephen led off the fourth inning with a home run to left field. It was his team-best eighth home run this season, which ranks second in the Big Ten. He now has 26 career home runs and moved into a 15th-place tie on the school's career list with Steve Caravati (2001-05), Doug Deeds (2001-02) and Matt Middleton (1996-99).
Jim Leitgeb singled to right center with one out in the sixth and scored when Cory Wine followed with a double over the head of centerfielder Matt Angle (So., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling). Angle caught a fly ball off the bat of Scott Gaffney and fired into Zoeller, the Buckeye second baseman. Zoeller threw over to Stephen, who doubled off Wine at second base to end the inning, but the Lions pulled within one run, 3-2.
The Buckeyes got the run back in the bottom the inning, getting an RBI double by Zoeller. Stephen singled through the left side with one out and stole second to set up the score. Zoeller doubled off the wall in right-center field to plate Stephen and give the Buckeyes a 4-2 lead.
Penn State again made it a one-run game with an RBI single by Wine over a diving Stephen in shallow center field that scored Lance Thompson. Thompson singled to right to lead off the inning and went to second when Gummo walked. DeLucia responded to get a pair of fly outs before Wine pulled his team within a 4-3 score. OSU coach Bob Todd went to his bullpen for Meister, a sophomore from Mansfield, Ohio (Mansfield Madison), who came in and caught Gaffney looking at strike three to end the inning.
Meister walked Laird, the lead-off batter to start the ninth, but responded to strike out his next two batters. After Laird stole second, it left a base open for Thompson, who entered the series batting .374, the fifth best average in the Big Ten. Meister pitched around him, eventually putting him at first in order to face Gummo, a right-handed batter. Gummo flew out to center on an 0-1 pitch to end the game to earn his sixth save. Despite two walks, he did not allow a run or a hit and struck out three in his 1.1 innings.
Stidfole took the loss for Penn State to fall to 3-5 on the year. He allowed the four runs on eight hits and struck out five with one walk in his 7.0 innings. He threw 139 pitches. His offense had 10 hits to eight by Ohio State.
Ohio State (33-18 overall, 17-11 Big Ten) and Penn State (19-34, 12-17) continue the series Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:35 p.m. Archie Griffin will throw out the first pitch before the first game as part of OSU Alumni Association Day. Between games, Ohio State will recognize the 40th anniversary of the 1966 national championship. The series concludes Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

5/20/06

OHIO STATE 4 PENN STATE 3

DeLucia wills Buckeyes to victory

Ace struggles throughout but pins down Penn State

Saturday, May 20, 2006

Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

JAMES D . DECAMP DISPATCH Ohio State shortstop Jedidiah Stephen, preparing to snare a ground ball in the fourth inning, homered in the bottom of the inning. He finished 2 for 4.


All systems checked out when Ohio State left-hander Dan DeLucia warmed up in the bullpen last night.
But from the first of his 131 pitches against Penn State until his last with two outs in the eighth inning, his fastball sailed out of the strike zone like a Frisbee.
Luckily for the Buckeyes, DeLucia never lost the most important part of his repertoire – an enormous heart.
DeLucia gave up 10 hits and walked three but never gave in to the Nittany Lions in leading Ohio State to a 4-3 win before 2,144 in Bill Davis Stadium.
In all probability, the junior from Watterson locked up Big Ten pitcher of the year honors with his 10 th victory, including a seventh in conference play.
Rory Meister did his best impersonation of Cleveland Indians closer Bob Wickman by walking two and striking out three to get his sixth save.
"It was obvious Dan DeLucia did not have his good stuff, but he found a way," coach Bob Todd said. "That’s why he’s No. 1 in the rotation. He competed. He battled."
DeLucia will study video of his delivery and work in the bullpen to make corrections. Yet Penn State had only one hard hit, a triple by Lance Thompson.
"That’s probably the most 2-and-0 counts that I’ve had in my life," DeLucia said. "I guess I threw a lot of 2-and-0 pitches that they weren’t looking for. I just couldn’t spot my fastball, and that was the problem. There’s something I’m not doing right. My arm is dragging a little bit."
Still, the game was vintage DeLucia as he patiently squirmed out of jams.
In the second inning, he walked the leadoff man and gave up a soft single, but he threw out the lead runner at third on a bunt attempt and retired the next two batters on flies.
In the fifth, DeLucia gave up a leadoff single to Rick Marlin but picked him off first. After Thompson tripled with two outs, DeLucia got Scott Gummo on a fly to center.
Few OSU pitchers have experienced so many highs and lows as Meister. The coaches stick with him because of a hard fastball and his mental makeup.
Last night, Meister struck out Scott Gaffney with two on and two out in the eighth. He walked Travis Laird leading off the ninth but eventually got Gummo on a long fly to center to end the game.
"I wanted to get Dan that 10 th win for sure," Meister said. "That’s the first time I’ve been in a save opportunity in a while. I think I was too pumped up at first."
The Buckeyes (33-18, 17-11) clinched no worse than fourth place in Big Ten tournament. Another win would clinch third place.
Shortstop Jedidiah Stephen, who hit a home run in the fourth and singled and scored in the sixth, said Ohio State was ready.
"From the first pitch everybody was into the game," he said. "That’s what we need going into the Big Ten tournament."
[email protected]

 

[JCOSU86]

Buckeyes split double-header with the Nittany Lions

Game 1

Penn State Spoils Buckeye Title Chance, Win 3-2

Ohio State needs one win to clinch third seed in next week's Big Ten Tournament

Jason Zoeller pulled the
Buckeyes within the one-run
final with his fifth home run
in the bottom of the seventh.

May 20, 2006
Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Penn State got three early runs off Ohio State starter Cory Luebke and made them stand up in a 3-2 victory to spoil the Buckeyes' chances at the Big Ten regular-season championship. Ohio State needs one win with two games left in the series or one Minnesota loss in its three remaining games to lock down the third seed in next week's Big Ten tournament.
Penn State benefited from a fielding error on Buckeye right fielder Wes Schirtzinger (Jr., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North) to score the game's first run in the top of the first inning. Matt Cavagnaro drew a one-out walk and went to third on Schirtzinger's error. Luebke, a sophomore from Maria Stein, Ohio (Marion Local), responded with his second strikeout of the inning, getting Scott Gummo to wave at strike three for what should have been the final out of the inning. Instead, Aaron Greenfield singled through the right side to score Cavagnaro for the 1-0 lead.
Two more Penn State runs scored in the second thanks to three consecutive one-out walks to Cory Wine, Rick Marlin and Travis Laird. After he struck out Scott Gaffney for the second time in the game, Cavagnaro singled through the left side to plate both Wine and Marlin to give the Nittany Lions a 3-0 lead.
Luebke got Lance Thompson to fly out to end the second to begin a stretch of 11 straight Penn State batters to be retired. He walked Greenfield with one out in the sixth, but the Buckeye defense stepped up to turn an inning-ending double play, 4-6-3.
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, the offense could never get anything going. They did not get their first hit until the third when Justin Miller (Fr., Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby) singled to right center with one out. Penn State starter Mark Wyner struck out Jacob Howell (Jr., Ashland, Ohio/Ashland) and got Matt Angle (So., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) to fly out and end the inning.

Eric Fryer (So., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) led off the fourth inning with a double down the right-field line, but after a one-out walk by Jedidiah Stephen (Sr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah), J.B. Shuck (Fr., Galion, Ohio/Galion) grounded into a double play to end the inning. In the fifth, Schirtzinger singled through the left side with one out, but Miller grounded into a 6-3 double play to end the inning.
When Howell drew a walk to start the sixth, Angle bunted him over to second. After a flyout to shallow right-center field, Ronnie Bourquin (Jr., Canton, Ohio/Canton South) put his team on the board with a single through the left side to plate Howell and pull the Buckeyes with two runs, 3-1.
Luebke pitched himself out of a bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh inning to give Ohio State a chance in its final at bat. Luebke (6-4) gave up a single and a double with one out and then issued a two-out free pass to Cavagnaro, before recording his ninth strikeout, equaling his career high. The complete game was Luebke's seventh straight, all in Big Ten play.
Zoeller hit a one-out home run in the bottom of the seventh to pull within the one-run final. The shot to right was his fifth of the season. A lineout and a fly out to right ended the game.
Ohio State (33-19 overall, 17-12 in the Big Ten) out-hit Penn State (20-34, 13-17) 5-4, but the difference in the game was the run the Nittany Lions scored in the first inning when the Buckeye defense should have been out of the inning.
Wyner improved to 3-8 on the year after allowing just the two runs on five hits in his 7.0-inning complete game. He struck out four and walked three.
The second game of the doubleheader immediately follows the conclusion of this game, while the series wraps up Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on AM 920 WMNI.


Game 2

Buckeyes Clinch Third Seed with 3-0 Shutout of Penn State

Freshman pitcher Jake Hale tosses three-hit, complete game shutout

Big Ten Player of the Year
candidate Ronnie Bourquin
is batting .422 after two
hits vs. Penn State,
including his sixth home
run of the season.

May 20, 2006

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio State freshman Jake Hale pitched a three-hit, complete-game shutout in leading the Buckeyes to a 3-0 victory over Penn State to salvage a doubleheader split Saturday in front of 3,497 fans at Bill Davis Stadium. Penn State won the first game of the twinbill 3-2 after the Buckeyes opened the series Friday night with a 4-3 victory.
With the victory, the Buckeyes (34-19 overall, 18-12 Big Ten) clinched the third seed in the Big Ten tournament, May 24-28, in Ann Arbor, Mich. The Wolverines have won the first three games of their Iowa series to earn the top seed, while Northwestern will be the No. 2 seed.
Hale, a freshman right-handed pitcher from Albany, Ohio (Alexander), pitched his third complete game of the season to improve to 4-4 overall and 3-3 in Big Ten play. He tied a season high with six strikeouts, but walked four in throwing 124 pitches.
Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Ronnie Bourquin (Jr., Canton, Ohio/Canton South) gave the Buckeyes a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning when he launched his sixth home run of the season over the fence in right-center field. The ball left the park about 20 feet left of the scoreboard, which sits just behind the 370 sign in right-center, to also score Eric Fryer (So., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg), who doubled to right-center with one out.
That proved to be the only runs the Buckeyes would need, but they added an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth on a pinch-hit, RBI by Adam Schneider (Jr., Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura). Wes Schirtzinger started a two-out rally with a single to left-center and stole second before Justin Miller (Fr., Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby) drew a walk. That prompted a Penn State pitching change and coach Robbie Wine went to lefty Matt Ogrodnik, who got Schneider in an 0-2 hole before he sent a base hit through the right side.

Hale allowed three hits, walked three and hit another batter, but Penn State stranded all seven batters. The Buckeyes left eight runners on base.
Penn State starting pitcher Seth Whitehill was tagged with the loss to fall to 2-3 on the year. He allowed the three runs on seven hits. He struck out five and walked three in 5.2 innings.
Bourquin and Fryer led the Buckeyes with two hits apiece. Bourquin drove in two with his home run and Schneider delivered the other run with his sixth-inning, pinch-hit single.
Prior to the game, Ohio State recognized its 1966 team that won the College World Series. The Buckeyes went 5-1 in Omaha and beat Oklahoma State 8-2 for the title. The national championship was the last by a Big Ten team.
Ohio State and Penn State conclude the series Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast on AM 920 WMNI and on ohiostatebuckeyes.com. Three Buckeye seniors - Cody Caughenbaugh, Chris Hanners and Jedidiah Stephen - will be recognized before the game, the final regular-season contest for Ohio State.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

5/21/06

OHIO STATE 2-3 PENN STATE 3-0

Hale’s gem gives OSU a split

Freshman delivers goods for Buckeyes in three-hit shutout

Sunday, May 21, 2006

Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG> ADAM CAIRNS Ohio State’s Eric Fryer loses the ball as Penn State’s Rick Marlin slides across home plate on a single by Matt Cavagnaro in the second inning of the first game.


What made Ohio State freshman right-hander Jake Hale suddenly look like a cunning Big Ten pitcher with 200 innings under his belt yesterday?
Hale said it was a matter of finally finding the rhythm that made him an All-Ohio pitcher and 24 th-round draft choice by the Cleveland Indians last spring when he played for Albany High School.
Buckeyes coach Bob Todd thinks Hale might be growing up mentally.
Another reason Hale threw a three-hitter in defeating Penn State 3-0 in the second game of a double-header might have been an extreme adrenaline rush. Ohio State lost the first game 3-2.
At least 30 of the 2,144 customers in Bill Davis Stadium were friends and family of Hale, and it seemed every single one wanted his or her picture taken with him on the field afterward.
The Buckeyes (34-19, 18-12) locked up third place in the Big Ten with the victory. More important, Hale looked like a pitcher who can shut down teams next week in the conference tournament that will decide an NCAA tournament berth.
"That’s the Jake Hale we recruited," Todd said. "Emotionally, he just hasn’t matured as quickly as we’ve wanted. But today he showed why we wanted him at Ohio State.
"At times this season, when things haven’t gone his way in the middle of ballgames, he has responded by crawling into a shell rather than worry about the next pitch."
Yesterday, Hale bore down on Penn State batters despite not having his best control. He walked four and hit a batter but bailed himself out of trouble with a fastball that helped him strike out six.
Hale, a 6-foot-7, 180-pounder, said the problem hasn’t been all a lack of maturity. A pulled ligament in his right elbow prevented him from pitching in a summer league and Ohio State’s fall practices.
"It has taken me a while to get my rhythm," he said. "Today, I felt confident. I felt that I was better than the hitters. I had a greater command of my pitches. I changed my mechanics a little bit. I have a lower leg kick."
He has learned that what got batters out in high school won’t work in college.
"In high school, if you miss with a fastball you can get away with it," Hale said. "Here, you can’t. You have to watch your mechanics and the placement of the ball."
Third baseman Ronnie Bourquin, who is a semifinalist for the Dick Howser Award that is presented to the nation’s top player, gave Ohio State a 2-0 lead with a two-run homer in the third inning. Eric Fryer doubled with one out.
Bourquin hit the ball so hard that it looked like a tee shot in golf. Yet the wind was blowing in and he has hit many balls that have been caught on the warning track at home.
"When you’re playing at home, the wind is usually blowing in from left, straight to right or there’s a crosswind," Bourquin said.
"I wasn’t sure with the wind, but I got a good piece of it. I was able to get up in the count and (Seth Whitehill) left one up. I was waiting on it."
Ohio State added a run in the sixth when Wes Schirtzinger singled to center, stole second and scored on a single to right by pinch-hitter Adam Schneider.
[email protected]

 

[JCOSU86]

Bucks take Penn State series

Ohio State Closes Regular Season with 12-2 Win vs. Penn State

Bourquin hits two home runs and four RBI, Stephen finishes 4-for-5 with two RBI

Senior Jedidiah Stephen was
4-for-5 with two RBI in his
final game at Bill Davis Stadium.

May 21, 2006

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Already leading 4-1, Ohio State put the game out of reach when it exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the fourth inning on its way to a 12-2 victory over Penn State Sunday in front of a Bill Davis Stadium crowd of 2,686. With the victory, Ohio State claimed it sixth series of the year by a 3-1 count. The win also gave the Buckeyes 35 wins for the 16th consecutive season.
In the fourth, Justin Miller (Fr., Dayton, Ohio/Turner Ashby) reached on a one-out, infield single and went to third on a single to center by Michael Arp (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg). Matt Angle (So., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) doubled to left center to score Miller and send Arp to third. Eric Fryer (So., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) singled to right-center field score both runners and give the Buckeyes a 7-1 lead.
The scoring was not done. Big Ten Player of the Year candidate Ronnie Bourquin (Jr., Canton, Ohio/Canton South) sent a rocket just over the right-field fence to score two more runs. After a ground out for the second out of the inning, Jedidiah Stephen (Sr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) doubled to right-center. Jason Zoeller (Jr., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy) scored Stephen with a triple to the right-field corner. Zoeller scored when third baseman Scott Gummo let the relay through get past him.
Zoeller's triple was the 25th by the Buckeyes this season, which ties the 1991 school record for triples in a season. It was his fourth this season which tied him for the team lead.

Bourquin hit his second home run of the game to lead off the sixth. The shot over the right-field fence was his eighth of the year and tied Stephen for the team lead, one behind Big Ten leaders Antonio Mule of Northwestern and Mike Schmidt of Michigan. It was the first multi-homer game of Bourquin's career. Penn State added a run in the eighth on an RBI single by Rick Marlin.
Bourquin finished the game 2-for-3 with a walk and sacrifice fly to drive in four runs, while Stephen was 4-for-5 with a pair of RBI. Fryer was 2-for-3 with three RBI as the Buckeyes pounded out 20 hits, reaching or topping that mark for the fourth time this season.
J.B. Shuck (Fr., Galion, Ohio/Galion) picked up his seventh win of the season against four losses. He pitched five innings, allowing one run on three hits. He was replaced by Josh Barrera (Fr., Somerset, Ohio/Sheridan) to start the sixth. He did not allow a run on four hits before handing the game over to Chris Hanners (Sr., Groveport, Ohio/DeSales), who made his season debut on senior day. He came in to pitch the eighth inning. Rory Meister (So., Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Madison) pitched the ninth.
Penn State starter Craig Clark was pegged with the loss to fall to 3-8 on the season. He allowed 11 runs on 13 hits in 3.2 innings. In a day when the sun made fielding difficult, the Buckeyes did not have an error. Penn State, which concluded it season with the loss (20-36 overall and 13-19 in the Big Ten), had two.
The Buckeyes jumped out to a 4-0 lead after the first two innings.
Arp led off the Buckeye first with an infield single and went to second on a bunt-for-base-hit by Angle. A fielder's choice by Fryer caught Angle at second but put runners at the corners for Bourquin, who got the sacrifice with a fly to left field to score Arp even though leftfielder Lance Thompson dropped the ball.
Adam Schneider (Jr., Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura) drew walk to load the bases and Stephen singled down the right-field line to score two more runs and give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead in his final home game.
Angle doubled to center with two out in the second and then scored on a double by Fryer to give Ohio State a 4-0 lead. Fryer tried to stretch the hit into a triple but was thrown out at third to end the inning. A triple would have tied the school record as the 25th this season.
James Leitgeb drew a two-out walk in the top of the third and turned it into Penn State's first run when Stephen lost a pop up by Thompson in the sun. Leitgeb scored from first and Thompson reached second before Scott Gummo flew out to end the inning.
Ohio State (35-19, 19-12) will be the third seed in the Big Ten tournament which will get underway Wednesday. The Buckeyes will face No. 6 seed Purdue at 3:30 p.m. at Ray Fisher Stadium in Ann Arbor, Mich. Ohio State claimed the series with the Boilermakers 3-1 in Columbus. The game will be broadcast on AM 920 WMNI and on ohiostatebuckeyes.com.

 

[crazybuckfan40]

Nice way to close out the season.

Hey JC who do you think will throw on Wednesday?

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Dispatch

5/22/06

Stephen has day to remember in Buckeyes’ win over Nittany Lions

Monday, May 22, 2006

Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

</IMG> DORAL CHENOWETH III DISPATCH Eric Fryer congratulates Ohio State teammate Ronnie Bourquin after Bourquin’s fourth-inning home run, the first of Bourquin’s two homers yesterday.


In a perfect world, Senior Day would be so successful for outgoing players that it would seem to be a figment of the imagination.
Ohio State shortstop Jedidiah Stephen had that kind of day yesterday in his final game in Bill Davis Stadium.
Stephen went 4 for 5, drove in two runs and scored once as the Buckeyes routed Penn State 12-2 in their final regular-season game.
"That’s the way you want to go out," said Stephen, who is from Caldwell, Ohio.
"Everything seemed to roll right for me as a senior. It’s tough (emotionally), but we went out on top. Our team played great and our fans were great."
The victory gave Ohio State (35-19, 19-12) momentum going into a first-round Big Ten tournament game against Purdue at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Ann Arbor, Mich.
Stephen was fortunate on three of his hits: a two-run single landed on the right-field line, a wind-blown pop-up fell between fielders for a double and a single went off the second baseman’s glove.
Few of his hits the past four years have been cheap. He has become one of the best shortstops in the Big Ten. This season, he’s batting .348 with eight homers and 45 RBI.
"We saw an athlete when we recruited him," coach Bob Todd said. "I’m not sure we could project he would do this or have a chance to play at the next level. He really has turned the heads of pro scouts."
Another of the Buckeyes’ pro prospects, junior third baseman Ronnie Bourquin of Canton, also might have played his last home game.
The buzz is that Bourquin, the probable Big Ten player of the year with a .429 batting average and 66 RBI, will be selected in the first three rounds of the major league draft in June.
Bourquin could elect to leave school with a year of eligibility remaining.
"There’s no secret that Ronnie is a pro prospect and that he will be drafted," Todd said.
"He’ll have a chance to play pro ball. If the money is right, I’m sure we’ll sit down and discuss those options."
Bourquin hit two two-run homers yesterday, and it did cross his mind that he might have played his last home game.
"But you never know what’s going to happen," he said. "You think something will happen and it doesn’t. If I come back next year, I’ll take the same approach."
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