Let me first say that I checked out the Minneapolis Star Tribune and the Bloomington Newspaper hoping to post therir stories on their teams, and found nothing. It's a shame that no coverage was provided. Yes Ohio State is the "home team" but even during the season a breif recap would be provided for road series. No excuse for IU and Minnesota to not be covered. Especially when a lot is on the line: Minnesota regional hosting, Indiana regional bid.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
By Mark Znidar
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
As remarkable as Ohio State has been in this magical season, there have been many days when games turned into batting practice for opponents because of a pitching staff that is youthful and paper-thin.
Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, that happened in the second round of the Big Ten tournament.
Starter Dean Wolosiansky gave up 12 hits in four-plus innings, including five straight to open the fifth, as Indiana roughed up Ohio State 13-3 tonight in Huntington Park.
Thanks to Buckeyes fans -- who were loud and present en masse -- the crowd count was 4,019.
The loss was painful for the hometown fans.
"It is embarrassing to lose a game like this," third baseman and co-captain Justin Miller said. "The best thing is we get to strap it on (again). The next game is for pride."
Ohio State (40-16) must win three games to capture the tournament championship, starting with second-seeded Minnesota (37-16) at approximately 3:35 today.
It looked as though Wolosiansky was on the mark when he struck out the side in the second inning after allowing a leadoff double to Alex Dickerson, the conference freshman of the year.
But Indiana batters adjusted the second time through the lineup and scored three runs in the fourth inning and seven in the fifth to lead 10-2.
The problem for the Buckeyes went beyond pitching. They made three errors, and the bats went silent to the tune of six hits.
"The game of baseball never ceases to amaze me," Ohio State coach Bob Todd said. "I wasn't happy with the way we swung the bats. I wasn't happy with the way we played defense or pitched. That's not taking away anything from Indiana. Our players might be emotionally drained and need to recharge" after the drive to the regular-season championship.
Todd said the turning point came in the top of the fifth inning when Ohio State had the bases loaded with no one out and did not score.
"Then the next half-inning, we just couldn't stop the bleeding," he said.
The Hoosiers have won 10 of their last 11 games and are one victory away from completing an impressive four-year rebuilding job under coach Tracy Smith.
However, Smith isn't about to think that the Big Ten championship and the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that come with it is in the bag.
"I'm taking nothing for granted," he said. "I'm excited. The guys are confident. They are on a roll. Literally, I make out the lineup and get out of the way. The work was done in January and February."
First baseman Jerrud Sabourin said Indiana began the turnaround last season by finishing third in the Big Ten tournament despite being the sixth seed.
"Now, we have a little bit of momentum," he said. "It's the way we're swinging the bats. We're taking pressure off our pitchers. They know we're going to score runs."
Showing posts with label Columbus Dispatch. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Columbus Dispatch. Show all posts
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Columbus Dispatch: With time, Big Ten baseball can thrive here
Friday, May 22, 2009 3:13 AM
By Bob Hunter
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
After first-round games of the Big Ten baseball tournament attracted literally hundreds of spectators to Huntington Park on Wednesday, one of the lucky few in attendance offered a blunt assessment.
"You have to be realistic," he said. "It is what it is. It's college baseball. It's Big Ten college baseball."
The conversation had long since ended when my brain caught up to the discussion.
Exactly. College baseball is a terrific product. Many of these guys will sign pro contracts. Some of them will play in the major leagues. The college game draws huge crowds in many places in the South, even if it's mostly a rumor in much of the Midwest.
Maybe an event such as this -- a televised tournament in a downtown setting in a classy triple-A ballpark -- will cause more people to realize it. Maybe eventually things will start to change.
Some might think it's silly that the Purdue-Michigan State game yesterday was played in a 10,000-seat stadium before a crowd of 609. I don't. I think if the Big Ten decides to continue playing the tournament here -- and right now, this is just a one-year trial -- interest will gradually build.
Many of the adventurous who took in these games will go home and tell their friends about their experience. Local companies might realize what a terrific event this is and buy tickets for their employees. In three or four years, that lunchtime Purdue-Michigan State game might draw 1,609. In five years, it might draw 2,609.
It might not sound impressive, but what are the chances of that happening if the game is played on a campus stadium at Penn State or Minnesota or even Ohio State? Under the previous format, that's what happened. The Big Ten champion played host to the tournament, regardless of whether its home park is a beautiful facility or a cow pasture.
"Right now, I've been very, very, very impressed," Purdue coach Doug Schreiber said. "And I'm even more happy for our players because they're able to play in a first-class facility and they're getting treated first class."
If I were a Big Ten coach, I would be as excited as Schreiber is, especially if the conference decides to extend its stay here. Think a coach might not use this beautiful new ballpark as part of his recruiting pitch? Finish in the top six in the league, son, and you'll get a chance to play in a post season tournament in the park in these pictures. You don't have to play in the SEC or Big 12. Big Ten baseball is first class.
Let's be honest. This is going to take some work. In the Midwest, you can't just throw open the doors for a college baseball game and expect the seats to fill up. Local officials can hope Ohio State gets the No. 1 seed as it did this year and hence gets to play a night game that draws a huge crowd. They can hope the Buckeyes are always playing in the championship game Saturday or Sunday. Or they can work hard to make sure the games draw no matter who is playing.
"Every day we're taking notes," Greater Columbus Sports Commission executive director Linda Logan said. "We charged for the practice day, just based on what some of the other conferences are doing, but we won't do that next year, if there is a next year. Another thing we may look at is lunchtime games. Could we sell tickets by the (day) instead of by games? We're looking at all options. We want people here."
Last night, there were lots of people there for the Ohio State-Illinois game. Someday, with a little patience and plenty of promotion, lots of people may be there for all of the games.
Big Ten baseball can't afford to let this experiment die after just one season.
It is what it is, just as that fan said. But what it is can change.
Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch
By Bob Hunter
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
After first-round games of the Big Ten baseball tournament attracted literally hundreds of spectators to Huntington Park on Wednesday, one of the lucky few in attendance offered a blunt assessment.
"You have to be realistic," he said. "It is what it is. It's college baseball. It's Big Ten college baseball."
The conversation had long since ended when my brain caught up to the discussion.
Exactly. College baseball is a terrific product. Many of these guys will sign pro contracts. Some of them will play in the major leagues. The college game draws huge crowds in many places in the South, even if it's mostly a rumor in much of the Midwest.
Maybe an event such as this -- a televised tournament in a downtown setting in a classy triple-A ballpark -- will cause more people to realize it. Maybe eventually things will start to change.
Some might think it's silly that the Purdue-Michigan State game yesterday was played in a 10,000-seat stadium before a crowd of 609. I don't. I think if the Big Ten decides to continue playing the tournament here -- and right now, this is just a one-year trial -- interest will gradually build.
Many of the adventurous who took in these games will go home and tell their friends about their experience. Local companies might realize what a terrific event this is and buy tickets for their employees. In three or four years, that lunchtime Purdue-Michigan State game might draw 1,609. In five years, it might draw 2,609.
It might not sound impressive, but what are the chances of that happening if the game is played on a campus stadium at Penn State or Minnesota or even Ohio State? Under the previous format, that's what happened. The Big Ten champion played host to the tournament, regardless of whether its home park is a beautiful facility or a cow pasture.
"Right now, I've been very, very, very impressed," Purdue coach Doug Schreiber said. "And I'm even more happy for our players because they're able to play in a first-class facility and they're getting treated first class."
If I were a Big Ten coach, I would be as excited as Schreiber is, especially if the conference decides to extend its stay here. Think a coach might not use this beautiful new ballpark as part of his recruiting pitch? Finish in the top six in the league, son, and you'll get a chance to play in a post season tournament in the park in these pictures. You don't have to play in the SEC or Big 12. Big Ten baseball is first class.
Let's be honest. This is going to take some work. In the Midwest, you can't just throw open the doors for a college baseball game and expect the seats to fill up. Local officials can hope Ohio State gets the No. 1 seed as it did this year and hence gets to play a night game that draws a huge crowd. They can hope the Buckeyes are always playing in the championship game Saturday or Sunday. Or they can work hard to make sure the games draw no matter who is playing.
"Every day we're taking notes," Greater Columbus Sports Commission executive director Linda Logan said. "We charged for the practice day, just based on what some of the other conferences are doing, but we won't do that next year, if there is a next year. Another thing we may look at is lunchtime games. Could we sell tickets by the (day) instead of by games? We're looking at all options. We want people here."
Last night, there were lots of people there for the Ohio State-Illinois game. Someday, with a little patience and plenty of promotion, lots of people may be there for all of the games.
Big Ten baseball can't afford to let this experiment die after just one season.
It is what it is, just as that fan said. But what it is can change.
Bob Hunter is a sports columnist for The Dispatch
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Columbus Dispatch: Big Ten baseball tourney: Watkins' Arnett shines for Indiana
Thursday, May 21, 2009 4:07 AM
By Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Every time Eric Arnett let loose with a pitch yesterday in Huntington Park, a forest of radar guns sprouted behind home plate. Down went the arm, up went the guns.
That's life right now for the Indiana right-hander, a Watkins Memorial graduate and the ace of the Hoosiers' staff.
He pitched seven innings of four-hit shutout ball yesterday, and Indiana trounced Purdue 9-1 in an opening-round game of the Big Ten tournament.
Third-seeded Indiana will play No. 2 Minnesota today. Top seed Ohio State will meet No. 4 Illinois, which pounded out 18 hits in a 16-5 win over Michigan State.
The focus, though, was on Arnett. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder was lifted after 94 pitches, at which point the sea of major-league scouts scattered.
The win raised his record to 12-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.58. He struck out 10 and walked one.
Arnett was still throwing in the low 90-mph range in his final inning.
"If you look back on how this season started, he wasn't on the radar screen of a lot of people," Indiana coach Tracy Smith said. "And as the season has progressed and he has matured as a pitcher and his velocity has crept up there, it's been interesting, because every weekend, it's like a showcase.
"I give him a lot of credit for how he has handled it."
Smith said he thought Arnett's experience playing basketball for the Hoosiers last winter helped him mature. First-year coach Tom Crean, inheriting a depleted squad because of NCAA violations, asked Arnett and fellow baseball player Kipp Schutz to walk on.
Arnett was in uniform for games but did not play. Still, Smith believes he benefited.
"Being in that environment when you're swarmed and there's 17,000 people looking over you and things like that, 30 or 40 scouts probably isn't that big a deal," Smith said. "So I really think mentality-wise, that helped him tremendously."
Arnett, a junior, did admit to some jitters pitching in front of a large group of friends and family.
"It was a blast," he said. "You kind of get extra nervous out there because you're back in front of everyone you know again. But it was good to be able to come back home and pitch in front of people you haven't seen in a while."
Illinois overcame an early 4-0 deficit after Michigan State's Eric Roof hit a grand slam -- the first in Huntington Park's short history.
The Illini scored five runs in the fourth inning and seven in the sixth to make it a runaway.
Ohio State took two of three from Illinois in Champaign two weeks ago, but the Illini are a confident-looking group.
"Ohio State is a very good team," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "But I think our team believes they are as good as anybody here."
By Ken Gordon
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Every time Eric Arnett let loose with a pitch yesterday in Huntington Park, a forest of radar guns sprouted behind home plate. Down went the arm, up went the guns.
That's life right now for the Indiana right-hander, a Watkins Memorial graduate and the ace of the Hoosiers' staff.
He pitched seven innings of four-hit shutout ball yesterday, and Indiana trounced Purdue 9-1 in an opening-round game of the Big Ten tournament.
Third-seeded Indiana will play No. 2 Minnesota today. Top seed Ohio State will meet No. 4 Illinois, which pounded out 18 hits in a 16-5 win over Michigan State.
The focus, though, was on Arnett. The 6-foot-5, 225-pounder was lifted after 94 pitches, at which point the sea of major-league scouts scattered.
The win raised his record to 12-1 and lowered his ERA to 2.58. He struck out 10 and walked one.
Arnett was still throwing in the low 90-mph range in his final inning.
"If you look back on how this season started, he wasn't on the radar screen of a lot of people," Indiana coach Tracy Smith said. "And as the season has progressed and he has matured as a pitcher and his velocity has crept up there, it's been interesting, because every weekend, it's like a showcase.
"I give him a lot of credit for how he has handled it."
Smith said he thought Arnett's experience playing basketball for the Hoosiers last winter helped him mature. First-year coach Tom Crean, inheriting a depleted squad because of NCAA violations, asked Arnett and fellow baseball player Kipp Schutz to walk on.
Arnett was in uniform for games but did not play. Still, Smith believes he benefited.
"Being in that environment when you're swarmed and there's 17,000 people looking over you and things like that, 30 or 40 scouts probably isn't that big a deal," Smith said. "So I really think mentality-wise, that helped him tremendously."
Arnett, a junior, did admit to some jitters pitching in front of a large group of friends and family.
"It was a blast," he said. "You kind of get extra nervous out there because you're back in front of everyone you know again. But it was good to be able to come back home and pitch in front of people you haven't seen in a while."
Illinois overcame an early 4-0 deficit after Michigan State's Eric Roof hit a grand slam -- the first in Huntington Park's short history.
The Illini scored five runs in the fourth inning and seven in the sixth to make it a runaway.
Ohio State took two of three from Illinois in Champaign two weeks ago, but the Illini are a confident-looking group.
"Ohio State is a very good team," Illinois coach Dan Hartleb said. "But I think our team believes they are as good as anybody here."
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Columbus Dispatch: First-year ballpark presents challenge
Wednesday, May 20, 2009 3:14 AM
By Mark Znidar
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State right fielder Michael Arp pointed to the outfield in Huntington Park and spoke as if it were a baseball version of the Grand Canyon.
"It's big out there," he said. "In batting practice, you just run, run, run and run out there. It looks like the center fielder is a long, long way away from you. This is going to be a challenge. There's a lot of room to hit the ball."
The six teams playing in the Big Ten tournament all face the same challenge: trying to get a quick read on the first-year ballpark, so the environment itself doesn't prove costly.
The tournament begins today at the new home of the Clippers, with fourth-seeded Illinois playing fifth-seeded Michigan State at 12:05 p.m. Third-seeded Indiana and sixth-seeded Purdue play at approximately 3:35.
Regular-season champion Ohio State (39-15) will play the lowest seed remaining from the first two games at 7:05 Thursday.
The lack of foul territory, relatively close 365-foot power alleys and many angles and heights of the outfield walls got the players and coaches thinking during batting practice yesterday.
"You just hope your team doesn't have that play that brings out the nuances of the stadium," Purdue coach Doug Schreiber said. "There is no comfort zone for any of the teams. The infield is crowned (for drainage) and the grass is higher. (The ballpark) is possibly going to be a factor."
For years, Big Ten coaches lobbied to have the tournament played at a neutral site. They finally persuaded athletic directors and university presidents to give it a one-year trial.
Ohio State coach Bob Todd said a neutral site is hardly unique.
"The Big Ten men's and women's basketball tournaments are at neutral sites," he said. "This pretty much was a unanimous vote by the coaches to come here. Other cities were talked about, but none seriously.
"I think this will mesh -- I really do."
The conference baseball tournament was played in Battle Creek, Mich., in 1993 and '94 with poor results at the gate.
Coaches say Columbus should be a better site because of its population and because it's a Big Ten city.
The goal, Minnesota coach John Anderson said, is to make Big Ten baseball more visible on a national scale. The Big Ten Network will televise the games.
"One of the concepts is to make Big Ten baseball better," he said. "We'll see if we can turn this into a better event for the Big Ten and for our teams. What we did in the past wasn't working."
In the past, the regular-season champion served as host.
Anderson and Schreiber said it is too difficult to run a quality tournament at the champion's field on sometimes as little as three days' notice.
Fourth-year Illinois coach Dan Hartlieb said his players had their best experience ever at a Big Ten tournament before the first pitch.
"There always seems to be someone waiting ready to help you," he said. "Everything has been first-class."
Ohio State players did a lot of looking around during batting practice.
"You take one look and your jaw just drops," left fielder Zach Hurley said. "This is a top-notch facility. I don't think we'll have any advantage because we haven't played here just like the other teams. We do get to sleep in our own beds."
By Mark Znidar
The Columbus Dispatch
Ohio State right fielder Michael Arp pointed to the outfield in Huntington Park and spoke as if it were a baseball version of the Grand Canyon.
"It's big out there," he said. "In batting practice, you just run, run, run and run out there. It looks like the center fielder is a long, long way away from you. This is going to be a challenge. There's a lot of room to hit the ball."
The six teams playing in the Big Ten tournament all face the same challenge: trying to get a quick read on the first-year ballpark, so the environment itself doesn't prove costly.
The tournament begins today at the new home of the Clippers, with fourth-seeded Illinois playing fifth-seeded Michigan State at 12:05 p.m. Third-seeded Indiana and sixth-seeded Purdue play at approximately 3:35.
Regular-season champion Ohio State (39-15) will play the lowest seed remaining from the first two games at 7:05 Thursday.
The lack of foul territory, relatively close 365-foot power alleys and many angles and heights of the outfield walls got the players and coaches thinking during batting practice yesterday.
"You just hope your team doesn't have that play that brings out the nuances of the stadium," Purdue coach Doug Schreiber said. "There is no comfort zone for any of the teams. The infield is crowned (for drainage) and the grass is higher. (The ballpark) is possibly going to be a factor."
For years, Big Ten coaches lobbied to have the tournament played at a neutral site. They finally persuaded athletic directors and university presidents to give it a one-year trial.
Ohio State coach Bob Todd said a neutral site is hardly unique.
"The Big Ten men's and women's basketball tournaments are at neutral sites," he said. "This pretty much was a unanimous vote by the coaches to come here. Other cities were talked about, but none seriously.
"I think this will mesh -- I really do."
The conference baseball tournament was played in Battle Creek, Mich., in 1993 and '94 with poor results at the gate.
Coaches say Columbus should be a better site because of its population and because it's a Big Ten city.
The goal, Minnesota coach John Anderson said, is to make Big Ten baseball more visible on a national scale. The Big Ten Network will televise the games.
"One of the concepts is to make Big Ten baseball better," he said. "We'll see if we can turn this into a better event for the Big Ten and for our teams. What we did in the past wasn't working."
In the past, the regular-season champion served as host.
Anderson and Schreiber said it is too difficult to run a quality tournament at the champion's field on sometimes as little as three days' notice.
Fourth-year Illinois coach Dan Hartlieb said his players had their best experience ever at a Big Ten tournament before the first pitch.
"There always seems to be someone waiting ready to help you," he said. "Everything has been first-class."
Ohio State players did a lot of looking around during batting practice.
"You take one look and your jaw just drops," left fielder Zach Hurley said. "This is a top-notch facility. I don't think we'll have any advantage because we haven't played here just like the other teams. We do get to sleep in our own beds."
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