At 10-11 Bill Mosiello and the Buckeyes find themselves in a position they expected to be better entering Big Ten play. And with two-thirds of the season still ahead they face a pivotal weekend.
At 10-11 entering play this weekend I’m not writing this for the sake of confidence, or motivation; and I’m certainly no ‘homer’.
I’m just writing what’s apparent. I’m writing about the timing of things. And I’m writing about what other people are already thinking.
The Buckeyes have to find it within themselves this weekend to generate some leadership on the field…the start of Big Ten Conference play, and a hoped-for reversal of April, 2023, the last time they started conference play.
Shortstop Henry Kaczmar is leading the Buckeyes in hitting with a .341 average. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
It began on the road last year, in Indiana, and after taking a 6-0 lead in the top of the first with Isaiah Coupet on the mound, it all came undone very quickly, resulting in what would be come a weekend Indiana sweep – 14-6, 9-6, and 7-5.
It set a tone for one of the most frustrating months in the modern history of Ohio State baseball, a conference record of 3-13 over the next 28 days, losing successive series to Indiana, Minnesota, Michigan State, and capped off by another series sweep at Penn State…3-13…and eventually a record of 9-15 and 11th place in the final Big Ten standings. Galling to Bill Mosiello, an experience he’d never known before in coaching, he set his compass for 2024 in preparation that it should never happen again.
“I can’t explain why we were so poor in conference play last year,” he’s said repeatedly. “But was a combination of things that we did all year. It just happened to be worse in Big Ten games.”
And in that preparation for 2024 his non-conference schedule was about facing the kind of quality he knew he’d see come conference, starting this weekend with Purdue.
Nothing they’re going to see over the next eight weeks is going to be more than they already seen…with Southern Cal, Grand Canyon, Arizona State, Cal Berkeley, Oklahoma, and West Virginia.
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There have been plenty of highs – USC, Arizona State, Cal, Oklahoma, and West Virginia. But even then you look at some stats that have a haunting familiarity – are there to see, and own. Because, as Mosiello said last weekend after being swept by Georgetown. You are what your record says you are.
Meaning…..
For a team hitting .262, collectively, they’re 10th in the Big Ten in team batting average, and strike out at an alarming rate.
They’re 9th in pitching, and have 95 walks compared to 170 strikeouts.
Surprisingly, they’re 9th in team fielding percentage.
They’re tied for last (with Northwestern) in overall record, 10-11.
Sophomore Landon Beidelschies is 2-4 and leads the Buckeye starters in earned run average – 3.51.
And as Mosiello pointed out…they’re leading the league in balks. “So we can hang our hats on that,” he said. “You could write a book on all the little things we do to help us lose baseball games.”
So with veteran experience in the outfield, at shortstop, third base, catcher, and two of the three weekend starters on the mound…yes, it’s time to take ownership and fix what they can, while they can!
Because…Purdue is a team that record-wise is impressive at 16-10, but lost to Indiana State on Tuesday.
They’re a team hitting .290.
They have three impressive left-handed starters all primed to pitch on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Luke Wagner and Jordan Morales both rank in the top dozen pitchers in the league, and they’ve read plenty about the Buckeyes and all those left-handed bats.
And, they’re one of those schools who under coach Greg Goff and pitching coach Josh Newman (a former Buckeye, and the last six years at Penn State) they’re developing a new baseball priority in West Lafayette. They recruit well, and they develop that talent.
Pitching-wise, they stand at an impressive 4.72 team ERA. Ohio State is at 5.98.
More talented? Can’t prove it, but definitely more experienced compared to the average age of the Buckeyes roster.
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But is Purdue’s record (16-10) against the likes of Stoneybrook and George Mason comparable to playing against Arizona State, Grand Canyon, Oklahoma, and Cal? Not even, when you compare the collective records.
So, what’s wrong?
Leadership? Experience? Confidence?
Of course, considering that on days when you’ve had it you’ve beaten a Southern Cal.
On days when you haven’t struck out 15 times you’ve beaten Arizona State.
And on days when you don’t walk people you can beat a Brigham Young.
They’ve done all this within the ten games they’ve won. And how can you forget that after just six weeks?
How do you forget scoring 26 runs just twelve days ago?
In a day of over-thinking, I think of players from the early eras of baseball – Ty Cobb, and more recently, a Pete Rose (above, who spoke to them in Las Vegas) – who would rather beat your brains in than listen to a lecture on visualization. At some point on every good baseball team, a person like that emerges, and when they do others follow. There’s still so much to play for!
Young? Yes, but after 21 games there are no more freshmen.
You set aside your Prep Baseball Report rankings and compete.
And this is the perfect weekend.
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