The Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team won the Big 10 Tournament on Sunday night, defeating Iowa 8-7 in the championship game.
This win puts the Buckeyes in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2009.
Ohio State earned the No. 2 seed in the Louisville region. Louisville is the No. 1 seed in the region and No. 2 overall in the nation. It is a double-elimination format.
The Buckeyes open up play against No. 3 seed Wright State on Friday at 2 PM. The game will air on ESPN3.
Ohio State went 43-18-1 overall in the regular season, with a record of 15-10 within the Big 10.
The Buckeyes went on a remarkable run during the tournament, winning five out of six, including four straight to capture the title.
Their first opponent in the Louisville region, the Raiders, won the Horizon League Tournament and went 44-15 overall (23-6 in Horizon League.) It is Wright State’s sixth appearance in school history.
This is Ohio State’s 20th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the Buckeyes look to reach the College World Series for the fifth time in school history. Their only championship in school history came 50 years ago, in 1966, which also marks the last time a “Northern” school won the championship. Since 1966, every team to win the championship has come from either the West Coast or Southern states.
Here are some players to watch from both sides in the regional:
Wright State Raiders:
Senior starting pitcher Jesse Scholtens (10-1, 2.72 E.R.A.) struck out 92 batters in 102.2 (second-most strikeouts in the Horizon League), and led the league in wins as well as innings pitched.
Scholtens pitched the first perfect game in school history on March 11 with a 1-0 win at Dayton, striking out a career-high 12 in the process. He struck out nine at Youngstown State on April 22 and eight on three other occasions, including at North Carolina State on February 26. The Horizon League Pitcher of the Week on March 14, Scholtens was named to the Horizon League First Team.
Senior outfielder Ryan Fucci was the other member of the Raiders named to First Team All-Conference, and is currently hitting .326. He led all Horizon-League batters with 11 home runs and 59 RBI, also led the league in stolen bases with 25 in 59 games played.
Starting pitcher Caleb Stampen (8-3, 2.56 E.R.A.) was named Freshman of the Year in the Horizon League, striking out 53 batters in 88 innings.
Ohio State Buckeyes:
Senior co-captain infielder Nick Sergakis, was one of three Buckeyes named to the First Team All-Big 10. Sergakis is hitting .344 with 10 home runs and 47 RBI in 62 games played. He finished the regular season tied for fourth-most RBI in the Big 10 and sixth-most home runs in the conference. His .344 average ranked ninth in the conference.
Junior left fielder Ronnie Dawson, also named to the Big 10 First-Team, hit .329 with 13 home runs (second-most in conference) and drove in 47 runs (tied for fourth in conference.) Dawson led the Big 10 in doubles with 23.
Junior left-handed pitcher Tanner Tully (8-3, 2.34 E.R.A.) was the third Buckeye named to the First Team All-Big 10, striking out 73 batters in 103.2 innings pitched. Tully owned the third-best E.R.A. in the conference, tied for second-most wins, and tied for the league lead in innings pitched.
When the Buckeyes and Raiders square off on Friday afternoon, both of those teams’ “Big Threes” will be players to keep an eye on.
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