Mitchell Okuley has had a good week at the plate, raising his average to .305 with three home runs in wins over Nebraska, Bowling Green, and Morehead State. (Press Pros File Photos)
A game over .500, the Buckeyes face a critical test this weekend…an Iowa team that’s standard to the test before them…a glimpse of what’s necessary to make Big Ten Tourney, and beyond.
It’s arguable, of course.
But this is a weekend series with Iowa that will go a long way in determining just how far the Buckeyes can go this year – the Big Ten Tourney and beyond.
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Because, the Hawkeyes (17-13, 5-4 in Big Ten) were a team projected as one of the top three back in February, a team that’s shown its own nicks and dings through the first 30 games, and one that mirrors some of the most telling stats as that of the Buckeyes.
Primarily, the Hawks haven’t pitched as well as many thought they would. They currently sit eighth in conference earned run average, 6.20, and just once place behind the Buckeyes, at 5.75.
It’s true, that they hit like we said they would back in February, ranking second in the Big Ten in team batting average (.319).
But for every run they’ve scored their pitching has struggled to live with such prosperity. Notably, the bases-on-balls-bug has bitten them. Starters Brody Brecht (0-1, 4.62), Cade Obermueller (2-1, 3.11), and Marcus Morgan (1-3, 8.33) have struck out 152 hitters in a combined 101 innings pitched, but have also surrendered 87 walks over that same course…overall, the staff has 186 walks in 261 innings.
The Buckeyes, by comparison, have a team ERA of 5.75 in 252 innings, with 239 strikeouts and 139 walks.
If clean baseball wins games, then Iowa’s Rick Heller can point to having allowed too many extra base runners through walks (186 in 261 innings).
Two many free bases by both, slightly more than a 2 to 1 ratio, and accountable (if you want to take that far, mathematically) for their respective records of 17-13 and 15-14. The Hawkeyes sit 5th in conference standings, while the Buckeyes are in 7th place (15-14, 3-3 in Big Ten).
Offensively, the Hawks are averaging about 9.2 runs per nine innings, while the Buckeyes stand at 6.3 runs per nine innings, about three runs per game less.
Defensively, Iowa ranks fifth in fielding percentage (.975%), while the Buckeyes sit at eighth (.970%).
So, while it’s not quite that cut and dry, if the Buckeyes can limit the number of free bases this weekend – fewer than the Hawks – from a competitive standpoint the two teams are close enough that whoever plays better, simply wins. And that’s just what Bill Mosiello has preached since day one.
Clean baseball wins baseball games. And if you regret some of the 14 losses that have come as a result of not playing clean baseball, Iowa fans, too, can point to the same issues that have plagued the Buckeyes.
There is the matter, however, of a hammering Hawkeye lineup, led by Raider Tello, Sam Peterson, Kyle Huckstorf, Reese Moore and Davis Cop…averaging about .330 while slugging in excess of .500. They feast off the extra base hit (about 33%), as compared to Ohio State’s 34%, but the Hawks simply have more hits, 345 to 261, in roughly the same number of games and a hundred fewer at bats.
So again…clean baseball. Avoid the free bases, play good defense, and take your chances. That’s what Mosiello preaches, and over the course of 27 innings this weekend the Buckeyes might just claim a series.
And for that matter, it’s no different than any other weekend. But as we wrote, this one could mirror the next several.
Other notes…
Averages have risen with the Buckeyes back-to-back wins over Bowling Green and Morehead, notably with the play of Mitchell Okuley who followed up his game 3 heroics at Nebraska with a 4 for 7 performance, midweek, that included a pair of home runs and 5 RBIs. Okuley is back over the .300 mark at .305.
Tyler Pettorini has raised his batting average 25 points over the past two weeks, to .315 entering this weekend’s Iowa series. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Tyler Pettorini is on a hot streak, going 5 for 9 against BG and Morehead, and has raised his mark to .315 with 29 RBIs.
Okuley and Pettorini are #1 and #2 in RBIs, with 30 and 29, respectively.
Henry Kaczmar still leads the Buckeyes in hitting, at .325.
Catcher Matt Graveline is at .315.
The quartet of Kaczmar, Okuley, Pettorini, and Graveline have accounted for 139 of the Buckeyes total of 261 hits (53%).
Buckeye pitching has dropped nearly a run per game in earned run average over the past two weeks, from 6.60 to 5.75.
And the three freshman pitchers, Gavin DeVooght, Chase Herrell, and Zach Brown, have combined for a record of 6-2 and an ERA of 3.43 in 64.2 innings.