Buckeye Nine: Big Ten Tournament, the exclamation point on a great season

As rock band Carolina Liar in their top 100 hit Show Me What I'm Looking For in the chorus belts "Oh lord I’ve been waiting for you.... show me what I'm looking for," no truer words can reflect the 2009 Big Ten baseball season.


Hardball fans around the Midwest have waited far too long for a spring such as one the one this Big Ten baseball season provided. The last four days at Huntington Park was the crowning event, a summation if you will, of two months in which the Big Ten saw the red-headed step child of the "big three" sports finally find a home at the family dinner table with welcomed arms. Even if baseball is still a foot shorter and 40 pounds lighter than its big brother's basketball and football, baseball hit a growth spurt and hopefully that gap narrows and narrows in the upcoming years.

The season started with Michigan and Indiana receiving the accolades, praise, and attention, with expectations of the Big Ten to produce another ho-hum season, one which would not receive any national merit. I mean we're talking Big Ten, northern baseball, a joke compared to the south and west and the power conferences of the ACC, PAC-10, SEC right? Oh boy where those expectations wrong.

It was not Indiana, nor Michigan who week after week could be found in the baseball polls and various rankings. After the first weekend Ohio State went the entire year being ranked by at least one publication. The Buckeyes were not alone either. Illinois and Minnesota spent considerable teams in the top 30s of numerous publications. In fact the preseason favorite Wolverines would wind up being overwhelmed, limping to a 9-15 conference record, finishing 7th after back-to-back-to-back Big Ten conference championships.

Indiana after a slow start in non-conference play went through the Big Ten at a blistering pace. The Hoosiers finished Big Ten play with an 16-7 record, that's winning 70% of your games folks. The mindblower, that winning percentage only allowed the Hoosiers to finish THIRD in the conference as Minnesota went 17-6, and conference champion Ohio State 18-6. Oh and for good measure, Illinois made it four teams that finished within 2 games of first with a 16-8 record. The Illini won 2 of every 3 games and finished fourth. Remarkable.

Not only did the conference see its championship come down to the last day of the regular season, it had individual performances that rival and its probable top any performances the Big Ten has seen in decades. The run of brilliance started Michigan State's Nolan Moody as he would no-hit Northwestern on April 2nd. Moody's no-hitter was the first Big Ten game played in McLane stadium in East Lansing. What's better than a no-hitter? Two no hitters. The second conference no-hitter came courtesy Alex Wimmer's as the Buckeye would no-hit Michigan on May 4th in a 6-0 victory over the arch-rival Wolverines.

Not to take anything away from Moody as his performance, no not at all that is an incredible feat and needs not undermined. However the Wimmer's no-hitter had a special meaning to it.

-Unlike the Moody no-no, the Wimmer's performance was captured live on the Big Ten Network. And replayed again, and again, and again over the next few days. This was HUGE. Obviously Ohio State-Michigan regardless of sport has a certain ring no other rivalries have sorry IU-Purdue, Northwestern-Illinois, etc. People around the nation caught a glimpse at the talent the Big Ten has.

-The attention Wimmers received from national media members like Aaron Fitt, Kendal Rogers, and Eric Sorenson further put Ohio State and the Big Ten into the limelight and brought attention to the conference.

-It solidified Ohio State as a team that can truly beat any in the nation. The Bucks had a high ranking but not many had seen them or really paid attention to them.

-Lastly it would kickstart a heated competition and race for the Big Ten Pitcher of the Year with Indiana's Eric Arnett who at the time had a sub-2.00 ERA and seemingly was throwing complete games in every start making opposing schools look like high school JV teams. The two shared Big Ten pitcher of the week honors for the weekend of April 9th as they before threw complete games, striking out 11 in the process. This wouldn't be the only award they would share.

Also in the string of incredible individual performances Minnesota's Derek McCallum belt 6 home runs and 20 RBI in a single week. That is some players entire year. Over the last two weekends Ohio State's Justin Miller carried the Buckeyes to the conference championship hitting .576 going 15-for-26 being the only conference player to receive back-to-back Big Ten Player of the Week honors. Amazing performance were seemingly produced weekly by Illinois' Brandon Wikoff and Willie Argo, or Indiana's Alex Dickerson, Josh Phegley, Michigan's Chris Fetter or Ryan LaMarre, Purdue with Brandon Haveman and Dan Black. Week after week a different star in the Big Ten would step up and put on a show.

The Big Ten will litter All American lists over the next few weeks. With co-Big Ten Pitchers of the Year Arnett and Wimmers leading the way, Phegley, Burkhart, McCallum, Fetter, Wikoff, Dickerson, and Ohio State's Jake Hale surely to be included. Not even mentioned have been the amazing season's by Michigan State's Eric Roof, Ohio State's Ryan Dew, Illinois' Dominic Altobelli, Indiana's Kipp Schultz and Matt Bashore.

I haven't witnessed a Big Ten season with as many stars and gaudy performances on a consistent basis. The talent in the Big Ten is starting to build and people are starting to recognize that. Though stars like Arnett, Bashore, Phegley, Hale, and McCallum are expected to be drafted and move on, Dickerson, Burkhart, and Wimmers are underclassmen just scratching the surface and will return.

Amazing performances, great teams, and a heated battle for the conference crown would be more than enough to make the season special. Not so fast my friends. For the first time since 1994 the Big Ten went to a pre-determined site for the conference tournament, and it'll probably be another 15 seasons before they make a change to that format.

Taking place at brand new Huntington Park in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The Big Ten hosted a conference tournament that surpasses anything the conference has seen to date. To be quite honest, the actual games let a lot to be desired, only one game, Ohio State-Illinois had any sense of drama and that ended with a Ohio State 3-run victory. Indiana scorched the field tallying 47 runs in 4 games, allowed just 10.

The Hoosiers secured a berth in the NCAA tournament, a field that will see three Big Ten schools competing. That ties the most teams the Big Ten will see in a NCAA Regional, the last time occurring in 2007, that courtesy 6th seed Ohio State winning the Big Ten Tournament and gaining the auto-bid otherwise it would not have occurred.

The 2009 NCAA tournament will see three 3 Big Ten schools with better than solid chances of making noise and further putting the Big Ten on the college baseball map. By all means a 4th Big Ten team, Illinois should be in the field, but the numbers will unfortunately leave the Illini out of the mix. That is a team that did travel down to top-5 LSU and take 2/3 against the Tigers in the Bayou and deserves a bid, but that's an argument for a different day. Ohio State's Bob Todd echoed my thoughts saying “I really believe that, as you take a look at the Big Ten Conference, that we have four teams that are very deserving (of an NCAA Tournament berth), and Illinois is one of those teams.”

After a 2008 season with 1 regional team, 3 is more than a step in the right direction.

Back to the tournament.

The 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament drew a total of 12,219 fans over a four-day period, marking the conference’s highest overall attendance number in at least the past decade. The previous high in that span was 6,728, set in 1999 when Ohio State hosted the tournament at Bill Davis Stadium. The single-day high for the 2009 event was 4,575, set on Thursday, marking the largest total in at least the past decade. The single-day mark exceeds the previous high of 3,012, also set in 1999. To better look into the record books will probably show very few tournaments put more butts in seats than this one.

Outside of just the attendance, the operation was ran at a first class rate. Big Ten official, Huntington Park, and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission official did not miss one aspect in putting on the event. Media was treat exceptionally. Fans witnessed baseball in a beautiful, amazing ball park. In large part due to the hometown Buckeyes, the atmosphere and excitement in the air was alive and well during the primetime Thursday and Friday games. The collective joy and anticipation from Hoosier nation made Saturday's lack of attendance fairly moot.

Day after day coaches and players would rave about their experience and what the tournament felt like.

In a brief statement after being eliminated in a tough loss, Purdue's Brandon Haveman would say about the tournament “The facilities are really nice. The playing field was really nice. I had a great time." His sentiments were not alone.

Ohio State's Cory Kovanda also after elimination would say “It was exciting. It was a new atmosphere for us, a different atmosphere than Bill Davis. Of course it was great to see all the Ohio State fans out there, but that was real fun.”

Indiana's Kipp Schultz would say the following at the conclusion of the tournament “From the facilities and everything else to how we were treated by staff, I certainly can’t imagine a conference tournament that was run better than this one.”

Each head coach after their last game made it an issue to thank the Big Ten, Huntington Park, and the Greater Columbus Sports Commission for the show they put on. Be it Purdue's Doug Schreiber, Indiana's Tracy Smith, Minnesota's John Anderson, Michigan State's Jake Boss Jr., Illinois Dan Hartleb, and Ohio State's Bob Todd, there was a genuine and honest appreciation and wow effect of the tournament.

Every game was played lived on the Big Ten Network and replayed throughout the day. Though the shining moments from an audience perspective would have been the two evening games with Ohio State playing drawing 4,000+, each game showed the Big Ten's step in the right direction. The Big Ten will probably not see 3 of it's schools in the Omaha field of 8 at the College World Series, but its not ridiculous for a team to dream of such a trip and to achieve it. A spectacular season, a spectacular tournament and spectacular goals are alive and well in the Big Ten. That folks is what I've been looking for, and oh lord I've been waiting for it.



The Buckeye Nine would like to thank everyone for their support of Ohio State an Big Ten Baseball and hopes the Big Ten can truly grow from this season.

Lafayette Journal & Courier: Gophers send Purdue baseball team home

Lafayette Journal & Courier

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Minnesota collected 17 hits and eliminated Purdue from the Big Ten Baseball Tournament with a 12-3 victory Friday.

After Purdue jumped out to a 3-1 lead through three innings, Minnesota scored 11 unanswered runs over the next five innings to put an end to Purdue's season at 25-26.
Tom Buske (9-3) gave up just three hits over the final six innings to shut down Purdue.

Derek McCallum's 16th home run of the season, a three-run shot to right in the fourth, handed Minnesota the lead for good.

Brandon Haveman wrapped up his Boilermaker career by extending his hitting streak to 20 consecutive games. He was 3-for-5 with a double and a run scored. He finished with a Big Ten-leading .422 batting average.

Haveman's classmate, John Cummins, hit his first home run of the season, a solo blast to deep center in the third.

Junior Dan Black, who went 0-for-2 , tied the conference season record for walks when he drew his 62nd of the year in the first inning.

Day 3 in video

The day kicked off with Minnesota and Purdue squaring off in an elimination game. The Gophers would take command after Purdue took an early 3-1 lead. The Gophers had 3 home runs on the day. Purdue's John Cummins had a 2-run home run but it wasn't enough as they fell 12-3.

Highlights



Purdue Coach Doug Schreiber's post game press conference



With the Minnesota victory they advanced to play Illinois in elimination game 2 of the day. The Gophers' bats did not cool down. More home runs flew out of Huntington Park, Minnesota's Nick O'Shea with a pair. Minnesota won 13-4.



Minnesota's head coach John Anderson addresses the media after the game...



Illinois' head coach Dan Hartleb and his post game comments...



The offensive shows and lopsided victories did not stop in the night cap. Indiana pounded out 13 runs against Ohio State to win 13-3 and move into today's championship game.

Minnesota eliminates Purdue, will play Illinois

This is Chris Webb your regularly schedule blogger. Thanks to Matt again for handling game 1 as I had a late night.

Minnesota has just defeated Purdue 12-3 to advance in the Big Ten Tournament. Purdue has been eliminated, whle the Gophers will play Illinois at 3:45.

Minnesota senior Tom Buske took the mound for the Gophers and stayed on the mound. The righty threw a complete game, which Coach John Anderson has to love, turning right around and having a bullpen that was not used. Buske in his 9 innings allowed 7 hits, 3 ER all in the first 3 innings, walked 2 and struck out 4.

Leading Minnesota offensively were numbers players, Nohelty, Petterson, McCallum, Kvasnicka, O'Shea, and Decker all logged multi-hit games. Minnesota touched up Purdue pitching for 6 doubles, a triple, and 2 home runs. McCallum with 3-for-5 having on eof the doubles as well as home runs, driving in 4.

The bulk of the offensively output came against Purdue's Matt Morgan. Morgan in 4.2 IP allowed 8 hits, 6 runs all earned, walked 4 and struck out 4. Leading Purdue at the plated was 1st teamm All-Big Ten centerfielder Brandon Haveman. Havemen went 3-for-5 scoring a run. First basemen John Cummins hit a 2-run HR in the bottom of the 1st to account for 2 RBI, Cummins scored 2 runs to close the scoring for the Boilermakers.

A fuller recap will be later, as well as quotes from both teams players and coaches.

We're 10 minutes for Illinois-Minnesota.

During that game I can catch up the world on yesterday's action. Mainly me just posting video from the Big Ten Network, I apologize for hardly doing any of my own writing, blogging can become quite the fulltime job, and everything intended doesn't always get done.

Big Ten Network Indiana-Purdue video

Indiana-Purdue highlights



Eric Arnett's post game comments



Indiana's Chris Hervey's post game comments

Indiana dominates in-state rival Purude 9-1

So I decided that after sitting in the sun for game 1 and receiving sun burn, instead of blogging from my phone, I'd get in the shade plug in my laptop and get rolling.

Eric Arnett is on the mound for Indiana and has a quick 1-2-3 inning. Arnett in the first is already reaching 97 with the fastball.

Purdue counters with Matt Bischoff.

Appears more fans are in attendence for game 2. Both Indiana and Purdue are shorter drives to Columbus than East Lansing and Champaign. Throw in local boy returning home Arnett toeing the rubber and Indiana has a solid contingent.


Chris Hervy with a leadoff HR for Indiana. 1-0 Indiana

Sorry for 2 innings of MIA, chatting it up with a few fans, Eric Sorenson of College Baseball Today is in attendence, spoke to him, more of that later, and caught p with a few Ohio State players. Back to it

Bottom of the 4th, Bischoff in a bit of trouble.
A walk, two outs, an error, and a double scored a run. Runners on the corners 2 outs. Bischoff K ends the inning.

Top 5 Arnett is in control. Sitting hitting the high 90s, dropping it to 81/82 with the offspeed, Slider is nasty. Dominating the Boilermakers.

If you can, watch it on the Big Ten Network. Arnett is showing why he was co-Big Ten Pitcher of the year.

There are nearly 20 scouts with radar guns here to watch Arnett deal.

Bischoff is replaced in the top of the 5th. His line 4 IP 7 hits, 4 ER, 5 runs 3 K's, 2BB.


Bottom of the 5th Indiana puts 5 on the socreboard.

My covering of this game is awful I know I apologize. The stadium is incredible, the weather is perfect, kind of hard to sit in one place.

Final
Purdue 1-7-4
Indiana 9-15-1

Out of Leftfield....Pt I

Out of Leftfield will be a daily post on random non-sense, weird occurrences, or humorous happenings relating to the Big Ten Tournament. Hope you enjoy.

If the Big Ten Tournament was an 80s soundtrack...


Purdue Boilermakers... Bon Jovi "Livin' on a Prayer"



The Boilermakers enter this year's tournament with a sub-.500 conference record. Only one 6th-seed in tournament history has gone on to win the tourament. Awaiting Purdue in game one is Indiana's Eric Arnett, if not the top pitcher in the conference one of the top two. Awaiting Purdue if they get by the Hoosiers? Ohio State's Alex Wimmers, the second of two elite Big Ten pitchers. Purdue's chances to win the trophy is slim at best. But hey you're in our prayers. Good luck.

Michigan State Spartans: Journey "Don't Stop Believing"



Kudos to Head Coach Jake Boss Jr. and his Spartans for advancing to their first Big Ten Tournament since 2004. Michigan State overcame improbably odds, having to nearly replace an entire line-up and rotation of departed seniors. Michigan State started the season 2-14, but kept believing in themselves, and kept their goals in focus. Sparty has an uphill battle to win the Big Ten Tournament, but as Kevin Garnett made famous "Anything's possible". Don't Stop Believing State, hold on to that feeling

Illinois Illini: David Bowie & Queen "Under Pressure"



The Illini find themselves in a predicament that they were in 4 seasons ago. After winning the 2005 Big Ten regular season championship, and winning 40 games in the process, the Illini were unable to capture the Big Ten's automatic bid, and fell short in their goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament due to an unimpressive resume. Fast forward to May 8th, 2009, the Illini fresh off of a win over nationally ranked Ohio State, by all accounts are on their way to Regionals, auto-bid or not. The Illini would go on to lose 4 of the next 5 Big Ten games and are squarely on the proverbial bubble. A solid run in the tournament and the Illini are NCAA bound, an exit before the championship game, it's dicey. The Illini are under pressure.

Part II coming later... when I'm out of class.

Scouting the Field: Purdue

Photo courtesy the-ozone.net


It came down to the final the day of the regular season, but the Purdue Boilermakers were able to lock up the Big Ten's 6th and final Big Ten Tournament seed. The tournament appearance is the Boilers' 13th in program history, and 6th in the last 7 seasons. As a program Purdue has an 11-24 record in Big Ten Tourney play, with a high finish of 2nd place, two times occurring in 1987 and 2008, both times falling to host Michigan in the championship games. Head Coach Dan Schreiber's Boilers look to take it one step further than last years BTT runners-up.

The 2009 edition of the Boilermakers come into postseason play with a 11-12 Big Ten record, and an even 24-24 overall record. Purdue against the Big Ten Tournament field this season went 6-9. Purdue was swept by the tourney's top two seeds, Ohio State and Minnesota respectively in back-to-back Big Ten weekends in late April. But rebounded in a strong way over the last month, collecting 2-1 series wins over Indiana, Michigan State, and Illinois in order. Needless to say Purdue comes into the tournament pretty hot and should be a 6-seed to not take lightly.

As a team, in 48 games, Purdue batted .318, 4th best in the Big Ten scoring 350 runs, 6th best, also finishing in the half of the Big Ten in hits 555 (5th), doubles 102 (4th), triples 14 (4th) and free passes 227 (2nd). Purdue's 38 home runs was 7th best in the Big Ten, as was their 61 stolen bases in 83 attempts. Purdue's .457 slugging percentage was 5th in the 10 team conference, while their .406 on-base percentage paced the Big Ten.

Offensively Purdue is lead by the Big Ten's batting champion, outfielder Brandon Haveman, who on the strength of 70 hits, posted a robust batting average of .412 on the year. Haveman collected 23 RBI, and lead the team with 16 doubles.

Purdue's power threat resides in their stout third baseman Dan Black. Though he was walked a Big Ten high 59 times, and was hit by 13 other pitches, Black still managed to hit 14 home runs, and 13 doubles in his .303 batting average to lead Purdue with a .648 slugging percentage.

Eric Charles at .390, Alex Jaffee's .343, and Nick Overmyer's .317 batting average, gave Purdue 5 players with a .300 or batter batting average in qualified at-bats needed. Ben Wolgamont lead the team with 9 successful stolen bases in 11 tries. Charles had 7 swipes while Haveman had 6.

Purdue's hitting ability and offensive prowess was the force behind the Boilers reaching the Big Ten's postseason. As their pitching unfortunately wasn't able to consistently produce at a high level, accustomed to their hitting.

Purdue enters the tournament with a 5.75 ERA, seventh best during regular season play, and the highest of the six tournament teams. Purdue's ten saves are tied for fifth best. Purdue did allow the second-fewest hits with 525 on the year, but of those 525, 27 were for home runs, and 93 for doubles, both again fifth-most in the conference. The .305 opponents batting average against was third worst, but Purdue limited the damage that could be done, hitting a Big Ten low 27 batters, and the 188 base on balls issued were 4th lowest. Purdue pitchers struck out 331 hitters, which ranked sixth. Some of Purdue's pitching numbers are a bit skewed relative to others as in playing only 48 games, Purdue pitches pitched a total of 421 innings which tied Northwestern for the fewest.

The Purdue leaders from the mound include Friday night starter and team ace Matt Bischoff. Bischoff who was a 1st team All-Big Ten selection in 2008, went 4-4 on the year with a 5.38 ERA. In 87 innings Bischoff allowed 99 hits, and 52 earned runs. Struck out 77 batters while walking 20. Opponents batted .283 of the junior righty Bischoff did encounter problems in the form of extra-base hits, allowing 26 doubles, 2 triples and 6 home runs. The rest of the Purdue rotation is rounded out by Soph. Matt Morgan 6-4, 4.32 and Jr. southpaw Matt Jensen 4-6, 6.52. Junion Kevin Cahill has been Purdue's most decorated closer, collecting five of the team's ten saves, posting a 6.46 ERA, and 3-2 record in the process.

Defensively Purdue committed the third-most errors in the Big Ten this season with 82, resulting in the second lowest fielding percentage at .956. The Boilermakers turned 41 double players always ranking next to last, as was their 73.9% successful stolen bases against. Purdue catchers threw out 23 runners on the bases while allowed 65 stolen bases.

Purdue begins their quest to receive the Big Ten's automatic NCAA bid, and the program's first Big Ten Tournament championship, Wednesday in game two versus in-state rival Indiana. First pitch will be 30 minutes after the conclusion of game 1. Tenative game time is 7:05. Purdue is expected to send Bischoff to the mound. Indiana will counter with Eric Arnett.

Big Ten Tournament Info & Bracket

On Dec. 18, 2008, the Big Ten Conference and Greater Columbus Sports Commission announced that Huntington Park, the home of the Triple-A Columbus Clippers, would serve as the host site for the 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament.

The 2009 event marks the first neutral-site Big Ten baseball tournament since 1994 and just the third in history not held at the site of the regular-season champion or the champion from a pre-selected division.

The tournament bracket will be announced on the evening of the final day of regular-season competition. The Big Ten Baseball Tournament is a double-elimination event that awards byes to the top two teams. The Big Ten Champion is the winner of the regular season, while the Big Ten Tournament Champion receives the conference's automatic bid into the NCAA Championship.

Five different teams have been named Big Ten Tournament Champion in the event's 28-year history, with Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio State owning the most titles with eight each. Illinois has won the tournament three times, and Indiana has taken home that crown once. Having won the last three regular-season championships, Michigan has hosted the last three tournaments, while the event was last held in Columbus in 2001. The 2009 tournament will be the sixth overall played in the city of Columbus.

The Big Ten release the tournament bracket

The Big Ten Conference announced on Saturday the bracket for the 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament, held May 20-23 at Huntington Park in Columbus, Ohio. The Big Ten title was decided during the final game of the last day of the season when an Ohio State win, combined with a Minnesota loss, gave the Buckeyes their first conference championship since 2001.

Ohio State earns its first No. 1 seed since that 2001 championship season and is a top-two seed for the first time since 2004. The Buckeyes finished the conference slate 18-6 and are making their 13th consecutive appearance in the Big Ten Baseball Tournament. Ohio State will receive a bye in the first round and will start tournament competition on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. ET, facing the lowest seeds of the winners of Games 1 and 2.

Minnesota takes the No. 2 seed in this year’s tournament, finishing the conference season with a 17-6 mark. The Golden Gophers are making their Big Ten-leading 25th appearance in the tournament, having advanced to 11 of the last 12 events. Receiving a first-round bye, Minnesota will begin Tournament play on Thursday at 3:35 p.m. ET and will take on the highest seeds of the winners from Wednesday’s games.

In the No. 3 seed, Indiana (16-7) is making its second consecutive tournament appearance and the team’s seventh overall. This year marks the Hoosiers’ highest seed since the tournament expanded to six teams in 2000 and the squad’s best placement since 1996 when it was the No. 2 seed. The Hoosiers will play in-state rival No. 6 Purdue in Game 2 of the tournament at 3:35 p.m. ET on Wednesday. The Boilermakers (11-12) earned the final spot in the tournament on the last day of the season with a win over Illinois. Purdue is making its second straight trip to the tournament and its fifth in the last six years.

The No. 4 seed, Illinois (16-8) earned its fifth straight invitation to the Big Ten Baseball Tournament and the program’s 17th overall. The Fighting Illini are the tournament’s No. 4 seed for the second consecutive year, tying the team’s highest placement since 2005 when the they were the tournament’s top seed. Illinois will open the 2009 tournament at Noon ET on Wednesday, going against No. 5 seed Michigan State. The Spartans (13-11) are making their first tournament appearance since 2004 and the program’s eighth overall showing.

The 2009 Big Ten Baseball Tournament is the conference’s first neutral-site baseball tournament since 1994. Every game of the event will reach a live, national television audience with complete coverage provided by the Big Ten Network.


Printable Bracket