Buckeye bats go cold up north
By Joshua Lehman
Usually when Ohio State’s pitchers can hold a lineup below six runs, the scarlet and gray emerge victorious. Entering this weekend’s series against archrival Michigan, the team had a sparkling 18-7 record when holding the opposition to a half-dozen or less.
This series was a different story.
The OSU baseball team dropped three of four in Ann Arbor this weekend to the No. 22 Wolverines, and the normally high-octane Buckeye offense was nowhere to be found. The Bucks managed just 24 hits in the series, only 16 in the three losses.
For reference, they had 19 base knocks in last Wednesday’s 15-12 win against Eastern Michigan.
The worst part for OSU has to be the first two losses, by scores of 4-1 and 6-1, respectively. Buckeye pitchers limited the explosive Wolverine offense, and OSU has won those types of games all season long.
Center fielder/pitcher J.B. Shuck was the lone bright spot for the OSU attack. Shuck went six-for-nine with a pair of walks in the first three games, but even he didn’t have a great weekend. The normally staunch lefty allowed 11 runs in four innings in a 15-1 loss in the fourth game.
Wolo’s streak continues
The sudden emergence of redshirt freshman starting pitcher Dean Wolosianski is a sight to behold. The well-spoken right-hander has established himself as a bit of a stopper for the Buckeyes, and was up to the task again in OSU’s 3-2 game three win.
Wolosianski has won his last five starts for the Buckeyes. His last loss was March 29 in OSU’s Big Ten opening series against Penn State.
Even more encouraging for the Buckeyes has been Wolo’s ability to stop the bleeding. Four of the five wins on his streak have come following an OSU loss. Wolosianski typically pitches in the second game of Saturday double-headers, and has given the Bucks momentum heading into the Sunday game fours.
Big Ten out of reach
This weekend’s series dropped OSU’s Big Ten conference record to 11-12, good for a fifth place tie with Penn State. Michigan, at 20-4 in conference, looks like they have the conference championship in hand with only two weekends remaining in the conference schedule. Only Purdue (17-5) is in reasonable striking distance.
On deck
OSU (24-21, 11-12 Big Ten) will host Marshall (24-23) Wednesday night at Bill Davis Stadium, and then the Illinois Fighting Illini (26-17, 12-10) come to town Friday through Sunday for the final home series of the Big Ten schedule.
Originally Published: Issue 647 - May 7, 2008
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