Big Ten teams will be in fourteen games this March 14. Ohio State, Penn State, Northwestern and Illinois all have doubleheaders on Saturday. Iowa (vs. # 30 Louisville) and Minnesota (vs. # 17 Texas Christian) are taking on ranked opposition. Indiana returns to action versus Bowling Green State and in-state rival Purdue travels to Evansville. # 25 Michigan plays the second game of their series against Arizona.
Almost entirely day games today. Only the Wolverines contest against the Wildcats starts in the P.M. In fact, if I read the schedule correctly, Indiana will have a breakfast date with BGSU. A 9:00 a.m. affair in Florida? Are college students up that early on a Saturday?
As we have such an early start and a robust slate of games, I'll open this thread now for you to share scoring updates and opinions. Per usual, I'll be checking in at points throughout the day. Enjoy your Saturday.
6:30pm Update
Thanks to everyone for the scoreboard updates. I'll take this moment to expound on a few of the games.
Minnesota 6 (#17) TCU 4
A three-run eighth wins it for the visiting Gophers. Kyle Knudson and Kyle Gleason each have two RBI for Minnesota. Knudson and Michael Kvasnicka both had a pair of hits a piece. Cullen Sexton's 2.1 innings of relief earn him the win. Scott Matyas recorded the final two outs to record the save. A very strong road W for the Gophers.
(#30) Louisville 7 Iowa 2
The Hawkeyes' T.J. Cataldo had two hits and both Iowa RBI. UL starter Justin Marks fanned 11 in just seven innings. Marks didn't allow a run on four hits and two walks. Josh Richmond drove in two runs for UL.
Illinois 4 Akron 3 (Game One - Seven Innings)
The Illini score in the bottom of the final inning to pull out the win. Willie Argo has two hits, a run scored and a RBI for Illinois. Nick Chmielewski picks up the win in relief.
Illinois 13 Akron 9 (Game Two - Seven Innings)
Dominic Altobelli had three hits (including two doubles and a triple), two runs scored and four RBI to lead the Illini. Aaron Johnson had two hits, including a homer, two runs scored and three RBI. Brandon Wikoff and Craig Lutes both drove in two runs. Bryan Roberts worked 6.2 innings to earn the win.
Indiana 15 BGSU 7
Alex Dickerson collects three hits, including his fifth homer of the year, and drove in five to help IU past Bowling Green State. Jerrud Sabourin also went yard and extended his hitting streak to fourteen games. Sabourin had three RBI. Eric Arnett is your winner, Drew Leininger picks up his first save.
Northwestern 2 Illinois-Chicago 1 (Game One)
Joe Muraski gives up one run and seven hits and a walk over 8.1 innings. Brian Morgan sets down the last two Flames to close out the game. Jake Goebbert has two hits. Trevor Stevens and Tony Vercelli have the RBI for NU.
Ohio State 13 SIU-Edwardsville 10 (Game One)
Zach Hurley has three hits, three RBI and two runs scored for OSU. Michael Stephens and Michael Arp both have a pair of hits and two RBI. Hurley and Stephens both went deep for the Buckeyes. Drew Ruckinski posted his fifth win of the year.
Rutgers 6 Penn State 5 (10 innings - Game One)
PSU's Wes Borden was 1 for 1 with two RBI and four walks. Catcher Bobby Jacobs had two hits and scored twice for the Nittany Lions. Rutgers' Dan Betteridge went 4 for 5 with four RBI. Willie Beard gets the win, Ryan Beard collects the save. (They've got to be brothers, don't they? I'll have to check.)
Purdue 3 Evansville 1
Dan Jansen yields one run on six hits and a walk over 8.2 innings to post the win. Jansen also struck out 11. Kevin Cahill came in and whiffed the only batter he faced to end the game. A balanced Purdue attack was led by Jonathan Moore's hit and RBI.
I'm running out to get something to eat and when I return, we'll see how the evening games conclude. (See, who needs Twitter?)
8:00pm Update
It was only carry-out. Is it just me or does it seem like french fries with a calzone is a bit of overkill? Oh, I ate some of 'em, but it just doesn't feel like they belong together. Maybe it's just me. Thankfully, I'm going back to baseball.
Ohio State 16 UMBC 9 (Game Two)
Zach Hurley gets three more hits and five RBI in the nightcap. Michael Stephens, Justin Miller, Dan Burkhart and Michael Arp homered. Arp had a four-hit game. Miller had three hits, three runs and three RBI.
Rutgers 5 Penn State 2 (Game Two - Seven Innings)
The Scarlet Knights take both ends of the doubleheader. Dan Betteridge gets two more RBI in the nightcap. Steven Zavala wins, Ryan Beard gets his second straight save. Cory Wine and Louie Picconi had the Penn State RBI. Blake Lynd had two hits for PSU.
Illinois-Chicago 4 Northwestern 3 (Game Two)
The Flames score one in the seventh and three in the eighth to claim the come-from-behind win. Brett Schaffer homered and had three RBI for UIC. Chris Lashmet had two RBI for the Wildcats. Kenneth Avila had two hits for NU. Zach Morton thres six innings of four-hit, three-walk baseball, but the bullpen couldn't hold the lead.
Michigan State's game against Xavier has been postponned due to rain in Greenville, SC., so that only leaves one game left on the docket.
Michigan is up on Arizona, 5-0, in the bottom of the third. The good news, other than the score? Jake McLouth has two hits and two RBI. Nick Urban has a hit and two RBI. Mike Dufek has a pair of hits and a RBI.
The bad news? Arizona is threatening in their half of the third. The bases are loaded. UM starter Eric Katzman is already out of the game after issuing four free passes, but zero hits. This is far from over.
8:45pm Update
That Michigan lead has gone bye-bye. The desert 'Cats are now up 6-5. Tyler Burgoon is Michigan's third pitcher. It's the fourth inning. It could be a long night, as both teams are getting their hacks.
10:00pm Update
It's now 9-7, Arizona. It's the bottom of the seventh.
10:30pm Update
Arizona wins, 9-7. Rafael Valenzuela and Dillon Baird both drive in three UA runs. Jake McLouth and Nick Urban both have three hits and three RBI for Michigan. Mike Dufek also had a three-hit game.
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10 comments:
Indiana busted out 15 runs in a win early. Illinois and Penn State are tied late in each of theirs. Illinois is at 3-3 in the bottom of the 7th. Penn State has one on and 2 outs in bottom of 9, tied at 5.
Buckeyes wins 13-10 over SIU Edwardsville. OSU moves to 11-2 on the year. Game 2 of the DH is scheduled for 4pm vs Maryland Baltimore County in Palm Beach, Florida.
Penn State drops the first game in extra innings, 6-5, to Rutgers.
Currently leading 1-0 in the nightcap.
Brian,
Sorry I have not contacted you lately, I will shoot you an email to catch up on things, and discuss a few things.
Glad to see the site going as well as it is. I'm learning first hand with the Buckeye Nine its quite the time committment. Stupid final exams get in the way as well.
Question,
Have you seen an offensive attack such as the Bucks this season in recent memory? I know Michigan has been very powerful of late, and I do know OSU's competetion has not been the best, though their RPI going into this weekend was 12th.
The numbers being put up are insane. Tonights game vs. UMBC marks the 3rd time the Bucks had 20 hits in a game. Their streak of scoring 6+ extends to 13.
And just in the last 4 games, 65 runs, and 76 hits. The 76 hits are the same as the entire Iowa line-ups season to date. The 65 runs more than Iowa, NW, and MSU so far this year.
It has to stop right? A team can't hit .352 on the year?
Yes I'm fully aware our pitching stinks and we need to hit .352 to be 12-2.
Chris Webb
Not all of Ohio States pitching has been bad.
Oh I know, I'm fully aware of that. Unfortunately when the ones performing well are the exception and not the norm, it gets overlooked. As a whole we have worked to do.
Sorry to imply or take credit away from those deserving of it.. Wimmers, Hale, etc.
Ohio States top Pitching
Wimmers 2.53 Era, 3-0, 25/IP, 33/K
Rucinski 2.95 Era, 5-1, 21.1/IP 27/K
Hale 4.05 Era, 3/Sv, 6.2/IP, 9K
Armstrong 5.06 Era, 1-0, 21.1/IP
Best 5.71 Era, 2-0, 1/Sv, 17.1/IP, 18/K
Chris, it's good to see you stop by. I look forward to your email. And, yes, this blogging can be a full-time job.
As to OSU's offensive output, I can't recall a more productive group in Columbus. It's been incredible. I did not see this coming.
And, yes, the competition hasn't been the caliber of some, but they've been hitting like this for a month now. That has to count for something.
No, the math says they can't maintain their current pace, but if they get the kind of balance they've exhibited thus far, they will remain one of the better lineups in the conference.
I think the best word to describe the Buckeyes' pitching is inconsistent. They've had a few individuals, as powerdog18 points out, that have been steady, but they've been in their share of slugfests.
I still like like their staff, though. Overall, they are pretty young, so you have to expect highs and lows.
I watched some of the Arizona-Michigan game last night on the Wildcats website. The closer for Arizona Jason Stoffel is a stud. He faced 5 UM hitters yesterday and K all of them. He has great stuff and is a great pro prospect. Also Michigan DH Jake McLouth is going to be a great hitter, he had a nice game last nite too. Also why is Dufek not pitching more this year. I have heard he has a great arm. Why not try him a little?
I totaly agree the Bucks will not hit like this all year,but i really think they will score runs all season in the Big Ten. They have hit 24 HR in 14 games already. They only had 19 all of 2009. Lol!
I can't wait till conference play starts in a couple of weeeks.
Had the same question pop up in the comments at VarsityBlue...
Dufek's had two good outings, but I think Maloney is trying to use him just in close games as a closer-like position as to not lose his bat. Michigan really hasn't been in that many close games (at least on the right side of the score) in the last two weeks. If they jump out to a lead today, I wouldn't be surprised to see him get the ball in the 7/8/9th.
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