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Ten Freshmen Join Baseball Buckeyes for Fall Practice

JCOSU86

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  • http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/m-basebl/spec-rel/091304aad.html

    Ten Freshmen Join Baseball Buckeyes for Fall Practice

    Class has nine from Ohio, one from Indiana and features six all-state players
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    Bob Todd, who begins his 18th year at Ohio State, welcomed 10 freshmen when the team began practice Monday.



    Sept. 13, 2004

    COLUMBUS, Ohio - Head baseball coach Bob Todd welcomed 10 freshman faces, including nine from the state of Ohio, when the Ohio State baseball team began fall practice Monday at Bill Davis Stadium.

    "I am very pleased with this year's freshman class," Todd, who is entering his 18th year at Ohio State, said. "There is a lot of athleticism in this group. Their overall quality is very good. I think some of them will be able to play for us this year. This is one of the best recruiting classes we have had in the last five or six years."

    Three left-handed pitchers, two right-handed pitchers, two catchers, two infielders and one outfielder make up the class.

    The class consists of Matthew Angle (OF, Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling), Michael Arp (IF, Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg), Dan Barker (RHP, Dayton, Ohio/Northmont), Kyle Dyar (IF, Newark, Ohio/Newark), Eric Fryer (C, Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg), Josh Hula (C, Castalia, Ohio/Margaretta), Cory Luebke (LHP, Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local), Dan McCauley (RHP, Fremont, Ind./Fremont), Aaron Pikkarainen (LHP, Gahanna, Ohio/Gahanna) and Matt Selhorst (LHP, Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles).



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    Luebke was an 18th round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the June MLB First-Year Player Draft, while Fryer was named the 2004 Agonis Player of the Year by the Columbus Dispatch. Six players earned all-state honors, including Arp, Barker, Dyar, Fryer, Luebke and Selhorst.

    The entire team will practice four weeks and then will participate in the annual Scarlet and Gray World Series, Oct. 11-15 at Bill Davis Stadium. The intra-squad scrimmages that week will begin at 3 p.m. each day with the exception of the game Oct. 13 that will begin at 6:30 p.m. The Buckeyes will not open the 2005 season until Feb. 25-27 against Troy, Iowa and Middle Tennessee at a tournament in Dothan, Ala.

    2004-05 Ohio State Baseball Freshman Class

    Matt Angle, Outfielder, Fr./Fr., 5-10, 170, Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling
    All-league and all-district performer as a sophomore and a junior, but did not play his senior year because of a broken wrist ... three-year starter and four-year letterwinner for coach Dave Hutchison and the Rams ... career .440 hitter with 41 stolen bases and nine home runs ... was all-state in football on a team that won the league championship and finished 10-2 ... earned two letters in basketball and was a regional qualifier in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in track ... was a member of the National Honor Society and was editor of his high school yearbook ... active in student council and wrote for the newspaper.

    Mike Arp, Infielder, Fr./Fr., 5-9, 175, Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg H.S.
    First team all-conference and all-district on his way to second-team all-state honors after breaking the career home runs record and the single season RBI record ... also voted to Team Ohio and the All-Ohio Mizuno Game in 2004 ... hit .419 his senior year that also included six home runs, 50 RBI, a .517 on-base percentage and a .679 slugging percentage ... hit .387 during his high school career while totaling 99 RBI and 14 home runs ... helped lead team to a 22-9 record on its way to the state semifinals as a senior ... hit three homeruns against Upper Arlington in the regional semifinal in 2003 ... was a three-year starter and letterwinner for coach Dave Starling and the Raiders ... was awarded the OHSSA Sportsmanship Award ... 2004 Agonis First Team All-Star as selected by the Columbus Dispatch ... was recipient of Outstanding Citizenship Award in his community ... was high school teammates with fellow Ohio State freshman Eric Fryer.

    Dan Barker, Right-handed Pitcher, Fr./Fr., 6-1, 165, Dayton, Ohio/Northmont H.S.
    Earned first team honors in the Great Western Ohio Conference and by the Miami Valley Baseball Coaches Association on his way to a selection on the All-Ohio second team ... named player of the year by both the GWOC and the MVBCA ... was a four-year starter and three-year letterwinner for coach Chuck Harlow and the Thunderbolts... team MVP and pitcher of the year his senior year ... holds school records in strikeouts (99) and pitching efficiency (107) ... was named Englewood Rotary Student-Athlete of the Month for the month of May ... helped lead team to a 19-11 record and a first-place finish in conference play ... went 7-3 with a 0.83 ERA his senior year while holding opponents to a .125 batting average ... hit .360 with five home runs and a .663 slugging percentage his senior year ... biggest hit of career was a three-run home run in the bottom of the seventh inning facing a two-run deficit with two out and two strikes in the sectional final.

    Kyle Dyar, Infielder, Fr./Fr., 6-5, 200, Newark, Ohio/Newark H.S.
    Two-time First Team All-Ohio Capital Conference and All-Central District selection on his to Second Team All-Ohio honors ... named the OCC Co-Player of the Year ... led team in hitting and fielding two years in a row, earning him team MVP honors both seasons ... batted .500 his senior year, recording six HR with 23 RBI and 13 doubles ... hit .462 with 10 HR, 46 RBI, 48 runs scored, and 17 doubles for his career ... was recipient of Loyd Millisor Award which is given to the best senior student-athlete at Newark ... voted to the Mizuno All-Ohio game ... two-year starter and letterwinner for coach Joe Neff and the Wildcats ... also excelled at football where he was named Second Team All-OCC as well as First Team All-District ... also participated in the choir.

    Eric Fryer, Catcher, Fr./Fr., 6-2, 220, Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg H.S.
    Four-time All-Ohio Capital Conference selection, as well as a three-time all-district honoree and all-state selection as a senior ... named the 2004 Agonis Player of the Year by the Columbus Dispatch and was a two-time Agonis first team selection ... the 2004 Central District and OCC Player of the Year ... a 2004 All-State and Mizuno Ohio Series selection ... batted .544 his senior year with a .697 on-base percentage and 26 stolen bases, helping his team to a 22-9 record ... hit .472 in his career while recording 51 stolen bases and 162 hits ... helped team to two OCC championships, two district championships and one regional championship ... went 3-for-4 with a triple and three stolen bases to lead his team to the 2004 state semifinals with a 9-2 victory over Cincinnati Sycamore ... four-year starter and letterwinner for head coach Dave Starling and the Raiders ... also played basketball for two years ... member of the National Honor Society ... was high school teammates of fellow freshman Mike Arp.

    Josh Hula, Catcher, Fr./Fr., 6-1, 190, Castalia, Ohio/Margaretta H.S.
    First team all-district selection and First Team Sandusky Bay Conference ... batted .384 with seven doubles and three triples his senior year ... holds the single season doubles record ... had an incredible .994 fielding percentage and 185 putouts his senior year ...team captain for a squad that went 17-7 as a senior and finished as the district runner-up in back-to-back seasons ... three-year starter and letterwinner for head coach Steve Gravenhorst and the Polar Bears ... earned an academic letter and was on the merit roll ... also excelled in football, where he led his team in interceptions and was an honorable mention selection for conference and district honors ... vice president of SADD and was active in his church youth group.

    Cory Luebke, Left-Handed Pitcher, Fr./Fr., 6-3, 180, Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local H.S.
    Named All-League Midwest Athletic Conference his sophomore, junior and senior seasons and was the MAC Co-Player of the Year as a senior when he also was named a Second Team All-Ohio selection ... drafted in the 18th round of 2004 Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft by the Pittsburgh Pirates ... posted an amazing 0.42 ERA and 119 strikeouts in 50 innings of work while walking only 11 batters his senior year ... hit .435 with a .583 on-base percentage his senior year ... has a career ERA of 2.00 and 301 career strikeouts ... was team MVP as a sophomore, junior and senior ... was a member of the MAC-WBL District 8 All-Star Team ...four-year-starter and letterwinner for coach Chad Wells and the Flyers ... excelled at basketball, helping lead team to the 2003 state championship in 2003 and a repeat trip in the championship game in 2004... was team captain, earning Second Team All-Ohio, First Team All-MAC and first-team all-district ... was a member of the OHSAA Final Four All-Tournament Team ... also excelled in football, earning three varsity letters ... was team captain and earned best offensive player MVP honors for his contributions as the team's quarterback ... helped lead team to state championship in 2000 and 2001 and state runner up honors in 2003 ... his first cousin, Todd Boeckman, is a reserve quarterback for the Ohio State football team.

    Dan McCauley, Right-handed Pitcher, Fr./Fr., 6-6, 195, Freemont, Ind./Freemont H.S.
    Two-year starter and letterwinner for coach Roger Probst and the Eagles ... batted .290 with two home runs and 28 RBI as a senior ... team finished 21-10 and was fifth in the state rankings ... earned three letters in basketball and two in tennis.

    Aaron Pikkarainen, Left-handed Pitcher, Fr./Fr., 6-6, 190, Gahanna, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln H.S.
    First Team All-Ohio Capital Conference and second team all-district selection ... four-year starter and two year letterwinner for coach Mike Shade and the Lions ... team captain and MVP as a senior ... hit .405 with three home runs and 33 RBI in 2004 ... second on the team with a .988 fielding percentage ... led team in batting average, slugging percentage, total bases and on-base percentage during his senior year ... also led his team with four wins while recording 42 strikeouts and a 3.17 ERA ... team was 17-11 and finished third in the OCC ... won the Reynoldsburg Classic ... was recipient of OCC Scholar-Athlete Award.

    Matthew Selhorst, Left-handed Pitcher, Fr./Fr., 6-1, 185, Westerville, Ohio/St. Charles H.S.
    Named a Mizuno All-Ohio selection as a senior after repeating First Team All-Central Catholic League First Team and All-Central District First Team from his junior campaign ... named first team Columbus Dispatch-Agonis in 2004 after earning second-team honors in 2003 ... named the Columbus Dispatch Player of the Week in 2004 ... named to Team Ohio in 2003 and 2004 ... helped team finish 18-2 in league play his junior and senior year ... for his career, was 22-7 with 146 strikeouts with only 26 walks ... walked just five batters his senior year ... hit .487 his final season while recording 15 doubles, three home runs, and 32 RBI ... was recipient of Home Plate Club Player of the Year award in 2004 ... was team captain and MVP his senior year ... helped team to a conference championship in 2003 and 2004 and finished second in district in 2004.
     
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