Off The Bat: Buckeyes On The Bubble

Due to the vagaries of the Big Ten Conference schedule, Ohio State hosted archrival Michigan this weekend for the first time since 2011. Beyond being one of the best rivalries in college sports, it was a critical series for both teams, with the Wolverines entering the weekend a half-game out of first place in the Big Ten and the Buckeyes trying to hang on to one of the eight spots in the conference tournament.

Ohio State took advantage of its chance to get Michigan in Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes swept the series, eliminating the Wolverines from the Big Ten race, positioning themselves well to qualify for the conference tournament and pushing toward the NCAA Tournament bubble.

“It’s Ohio State-Michigan, it’s always big games,” coach Greg Beals said. “It’s always a great feeling to beat your archrival. To do it in a sweep and at this time of year, it is great for us as a ball club to be playing this good this time of year.”

Ohio State also swept Michigan in 2011, the last time the series was in Columbus, and Beals improved to 8-2 against the Wolverines in his six season with the Buckeyes.

The sweep of Michigan capped a 4-0 week for Ohio State (35-16-1) that started with a 10-2 victory Wednesday against then-No. 17 Florida Atlantic. Since losing a series at Illinois late last month, the Buckeyes have won 10 of their last 12 games.

Beals said his team has continued to get better all season.

“We’re playing clean baseball from a pitching and defense standpoint,” he said. “We have a talented offense and a lineup that’s starting to get timely hits.”

Ohio State’s pitching staff had its work cut out for it against Michigan, which entered the weekend averaging 6.9 runs per game. But the Buckeyes staff proved to be up to the challenge, holding Michigan to a total of seven runs.

Junior lefthander Tanner Tully (8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 8 K) set the tone for the weekend on Friday, and rotation mates senior lefthander John Havird (7 IP, 8 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 9 K) and redshirt sophomore Adam Niemeyer (5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K) followed suit the next two games.

Ohio State’s staff is not overpowering, but with the help of team captain and junior Jalen Washington behind the plate and pitching coach Mike Stafford in the dugout, they have gotten the job done and rank third in the Big Ten with a 3.03 ERA.

“It’s a workman-style pitching staff,” Beals said. “We don’t have any rock stars on the pitching staff. They know what their strengths and weaknesses are and are executing a high-pitch quality.”

The Buckeyes’ biggest star is junior outfielder Ronnie Dawson, who ranked No. 54 on the Top 200 Draft Prospects list. The junior is likely to be Ohio State’s highest draft pick since righthander Alex Wimmers went 21st overall in 2010.

Dawson has an enticing combination of power and speed and is hitting .302/.407/.578 with 10 home runs and 15 stolen bases this season. He went 4-for-10 with three runs and four RBIs against Michigan.

Beals said Dawson has handled the pressure of being a focus of opponents and scouts well this season.

“There was a lot of attention on him and he got off to a hot start and then had a little bit of a spell there,” Beals said. “He learned how teams are pitching to him and the challenges he has.”

But Ohio State’s offense goes beyond Dawson. Senior third baseman Nick Sergakis (.362/.481/.600) is leading the team in hitting, and redshirt junior first baseman Jacob Bosiokovic has 11 home runs.

A year after being left out of the NCAA Tournament despite its No. 44 RPI because of its poor form at the end of the season (it went 4-10 in May), Ohio State now has the opposite problem. The Buckeyes are rolling toward the finish line, but rank 76th in RPI according to WarrenNolan.com.

Ohio State will have a chance for another marquee series win when it travels to No. 21 Minnesota this weekend with the Big Ten title on the line. With a solid showing against the Golden Gophers and in the Big Ten Tournament, the Buckeyes could be in the heart of the NCAA Tournament race by Selection Monday.

But, first, Ohio State must secure its spot in the Big Ten Tournament. While it is tied with Nebraska for third place, 2 1/2 games behind first-place Minnesota, it is also three games ahead of ninth-place Illinois and Iowa.

“It’s a black-and-blue conference,” Beals said. “It’s pretty tight up and down the standings. The difference between being in the (conference) tournament bubble and being right there on the cusp of playing for a championship, it’s tight.”

Bryant Again Tops The Northeast

With a 9-2 victory in the second game of a doubleheader Saturday against Central Connecticut State, Bryant won its fifth straight Northeast Conference regular season championship. The Bulldogs finished off their ninth straight series win with a 9-3 victory Sunday.

Bryant (39-10) has won more than 40 games twice in coach Steve Owen’s tenure, and he said he recognized early that this team could be special because it was able to beat quality opponents early in the season (including then-No. 22 Kentucky at the Tony Gwynn Classic in San Diego), despite not being able to practice outside.

That premonition has been borne out, as the Bulldogs have posted winning records on all but one weekend and are the only team in the country that has yet to lose back-to-back games. This week, they moved into the Top 25 for the first time in program history, ranking No. 24.

“This year we have a very complete team,” Owens said. “We have a deep lineup, quality starters, good relief pitching. We’ve just played very consistently this year in all aspects of the game.”

Bryant also has some stars in junior outfielder Matt Albanese (.366/.471/.639, 11 HR, 15 SB) and sophomore righthander James Karinchak (10-2, 2.36).

The Bulldogs have depth to their lineup, with six regulars, mostly upperclassmen, hitting better than .330. They average 7.75 runs per game, giving plenty of run support to a younger pitching staff.

“That gives you an opportunity to win even if things don’t go well on the mound,” Owens said.

That formula has worked well this season, and Owens is hopeful the Bulldogs will get a chance to put it to test in the NCAA Tournament even if they don’t win the Northeast Conference Tournament. With an RPI of 33 to go with its gaudy record, Bryant should be in the mix for an at-large spot if it falters in the conference tournament.

“When you look at our body of work, from beginning to end we’ve been very consistent,” Owens said. “We’ve played good teams and beat them. We’ve been almost perfect at home (15-3) and have 19 road victories and are 5-1 in neutral site games.

“We can’t do any more than we’ve done.”

Eight for Omaha

Florida, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Vanderbilt

This week, I move Texas Tech in and Texas Christian out of the field. With a loss to Baylor this weekend, TCU has lost three of its last four series and just isn’t trending in the right direction with the postseason approaching. Texas Tech’s freshman-heavy pitching staff has been a concern of mine, but it has held up well. So in come the Red Raiders.

Eye-Catchers

Five players or programs who stood out this weekend.

Trevor Craport, 3b, Georgia Tech: With two home runs Sunday, Craport led Georgia Tech to a 5-4 victory in the series finale at Virginia. The sophomore homered four times last week, and is now hitting .351/.409/.526 with six home runs this season.

Eric Lauer, lhp, Kent State: An incredible season for Lauer continued this weekend, as he threw a no-hitter Friday at Bowling Green, and Kent State clinched the Mid-American Conference regular season championship with a 14-0 victory. The junior matched his career high with 13 strikeouts, and improved to 9-2, 0.81 this spring.

Princeton: The Tigers won their first Ivy League championship since 2011 in dramatic fashion Sunday against Yale. After the teams split the first two games of the three-game series, Yale took a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth. Princeton pushed two runs across on a hit batter and a wild pitch for a 2-1 victory, becoming the first team to qualify for this year’s NCAA Tournament.

John Schuknecht, of, Cal Poly: Led by Schuknecht, Cal Poly won its series against UC Irvine, despite its starting rotation being suspended for the weekend. Schuknecht homered twice and drove in eight runs, including a six-RBI game Sunday. The senior is hitting.283/.346/.473 with six home runs this season.

Xavier: With back-to-back walkoff wins Saturday and Sunday, Xavier became the first team to beat Creighton in a Big East Conference series since the Bluejays joined the league for the 2014 season. The teams are now tied for first in the conference going into the final weekend of the regular season.

Looking Ahead

Three weekend series we’re most excited for:

(6) Mississippi at (2) Texas A&M: The top four teams in the Southeastern Conference’s West Division – Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Mississippi and Louisiana State—are separated by one game going into the final weekend of the regular season. How the race shakes out will likely help the selection committee determine national seeds. Both the Rebels and Aggies have one final chance to bolster their resumes with a marquee series win.

(4) Miami at (14) Florida State: A few weeks ago, it looked like this rivalry series would pit the Atlantic Coast Conference’s two division winners against each other. But Florida State has lost back-to-back conference series and fallen two games behind Louisville in the Atlantic Division. The Seminoles will look to bounce back and finish the regular season strong against the Hurricanes.

Indiana at Nebraska: The Big Ten race has come down to the final weekend with Minnesota leading Indiana by a half game. Lurking just beyond that pair at 2 1/2 games out are Nebraska and Ohio State (which travels to Minnesota this weekend). In addition to the conference title, both the Hoosiers (31-18) and Huskers (33-18) need to buff up their NCAA Tournament resumes. The Hoosiers are playing like an NCAA Tournament team, but with an RPI of 95, likely need the ornament of a conference title to have any hope of an at-large bid. Nebraska, meanwhile, is in bubble territory with its RPI of 54.

Two weekend series you shouldn’t overlook:

Mercer at UNC Greensboro: It will be a winner-take-all showdown between the Bears and Spartans this weekend in Greensboro with the Southern Conference’s regular season championship on the line. It should be a very offensive series, as both average at least eight runs per game. Mercer is hoping to repeat as conference champions, while UNCG is looking for its first championship since 1998.

Holy Cross at Navy: The top two teams in the Patriot League this season will now meet in the championship series with a berth in the NCAA Tournament on the line. Holy Cross has never won the Patriot League tournament, while Navy is looking to win its first tournament title since 2011.

One midweek game to keep an eye on:

Houston vs. (16) Rice (Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. ET in Sugar Land, Texas): Houston and Rice split their first two games against each other, meaning this year’s Silver Glove series will come down to the final meeting. While the Owls hold the all-time edge in the series, 103-77, the Cougars have won the series the last two years.