Scouting the tournament
Right: Second-seed Minnesota is led by junior infielder Derek McCallum, who has a .401 batting average. (File Photo)
In the battle for the Big Ten regular season conference crown, just two games separated the league champion from the fourth-place team.
Ohio State won the conference title with an 18-6 Big Ten mark, while fourth-place Illinois concluded the league portion of the slate at 16-8.
Sandwiched between the Buckeyes and Illini were second-place Minnesota (17-8), and third-place Indiana (16-7), indicating that the tournament championship is up for grabs among the top four teams, which will be held at Huntington Park in Columbus starting on Wednesday. Only the top six finishers out of the 10 teams in the Big Ten qualify. Rounding out the field is Michigan State (13-11) and Purdue (11-12).
In the first game of the tournament on Wednesday afternoon, No. 4 Illinois will take on No. 5 Michigan State at 12:05 p.m.
The Illini are 33-18 overall, and are led by senior infielder Dominic Altobelli, who is batting a team-best .379 while leading the club with 52 RBI. Willie Argo, a freshman outfielder, tops the roster with 11 home runs. Junior infielder Brandon Wikoff leads the Illini in hits (81) and runs scored (54), while freshman shortstop Josh Parr has stolen a team-best 13 bases.
On the mound for Illinois, sophomore southpaw Phil Haig leads the team in starts (15), innings pitched (75.1) and in wins with six. Haig checks in fourth on the team with a 4.90 earned run average. He will start against Michigan State on Wednesday. Senior righthander Ben Reeser, who has 10 starts and three wins in as many decisions, tops the club with a 2.90 ERA in 49.1 innings of work. Freshman righty Bryan Roberts leads the team with 52 strikeouts and is second on the team with five wins, but has a 6.34 ERA.
For the Spartans, senior infielder/catcher Eric Roof currently leads MSU in batting average (.339), RBI (37), hits (65), doubles (13) and total bases (97). Junior outfielder Eli Boike tops the club in runs scored (46) and home runs (7) while batting .309. Sophomore utility man Jeff Holm leads the team with 16 stolen bases.
Senior right-hand pitcher Nolan Moody will get the start against Illinois. He leads the club in wins (6) and innings pitched (89.0), and has a 4.04 earned run average. Freshman righty Tony Bucciferro is 5-2, topping the squad in ERA (3.13) and strikeouts (59), while only issuing 10 base on balls in 68.2 innings pitched.
Statistically in the Big Ten, Illinois is third in batting (.319), fourth in pitching (5.16), and tied for first in fielding (.971). Meanwhile, Michigan State ranks ninth with a .284 batting average, third in pitching with a 4.97 ERA, and fourth with a .967 fielding average.
The nightcap on Wednesday pits third-seed Indiana against No. 6 Purdue at 6:35 p.m.
The Hoosiers enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 28-25 overall record and are led by junior catcher Josh Phegley, who tops the club in runs scored (52), home runs (17), and RBI (62). Sophomore outfielder Kipp Schutz leads the team batting .368, just one point ahead of freshman outfielder Alex Dickerson (.367), though Dickerson tops the ball club with 80 hits while notching 14 homers and 52 RBI, both second-best on Indiana’s roster.
Junior starting pitcher Eric Arnett, who hails from Pataskala, Ohio, is one of the best hurlers in the Big Ten. In 12 starts, he has a record of 11-1 with a 2.73 earned run average. In 94.0 innings pitched, Arnett has fanned 93 while walking 34 batters. He will likely get the starting nod against the Boilermakers, though no official word has been announced. Junior southpaw Matt Bashore has a record of 6-4 in 14 starts with an ERA of 3.87 to go along with 92 Ks in 83.2 innings of work.
In the Big Ten ranks, Indiana is second in batting (.322), fifth in pitching (5.32), but a lowly eighth in fielding (.959). Their opponent and in-state rival, Purdue, has a team batting average of .318 (4th), a team ERA of 5.75 (7th), and a team fielding percentage of .956 (9th).
At the dish for the Boilers, senior outfielder Brandon Haveman leads the team in hits (70), doubles (16), and batting average (.412). Junior infielder/catcher Dan Black tops the Black & Gold with 14 homers and 49 RBI while batting .313.
Purdue’s best starting pitcher, sophomore righthander Matt Morgan, is 6-4 with a 4.32 ERA. In 73.0 innings pitched, Morgan has 57 strikeouts to go along with 18 walks.
Minnesota, with an overall record of 35-15, is the tournament’s second-seed and has a first round bye. The Golden Gophers are led by junior second baseman/shortstop Derek McCallum, who leads the team in batting (.401), hits (79), home runs (15) and RBI (72). On the mound, senior starting pticher Tom Buske tops the staff in wins (8), innings pitched (79.1), strikeouts (67), and ERA (3.40). Sophomore closer Scott Matyas has 13 saves and has struck out 37 batters in 23.1 innings of work while walking just seven.
Minnesota ranks fifth in the Big Ten in batting (.316), first in pitching (4.50), and is tied for first in fielding (.971).
Ohio State has the best overall record out of the six ball clubs in the tournament with a record of 35-15, and is ranked 27th in the latest USA Today/ESPN coaches’ poll, the highest ranking among the Big Ten schools.
Junior designated hitter Ryan Dew leads the Buckeyes in batting (.395) and hits (70), while junior center fielder Michael Stephens tops the club in runs scored (54) and home runs (12). Sophomore catcher Dan Burkhart has a team-high 57 RBI. Senior third baseman Justin Miller leads the team with 14 doubles to go along with 10 homers, 52 RBI and a .314 batting average.
Toeing the rubber is starting pitcher Alex Wimmers, who not only leads the Ohio State roster, but the entire Big Ten in strikeouts (122) and ERA (2.58) while going 9-1 in 14 starts. Meanwhile, 6-foot-7 senior closer Jake Hale has 15 saves to his credit and has fanned 54 batters in 45.1 innings pitched. Hale’s opponents are batting just .175 against him, and has a microscopic 1.19 ERA.
All of the Big Ten baseball tournament games will be televised live, while 103.9 WTDA-FM in Columbus will broadcast all of Ohio State’s contests.
First the first time ever, I will be in the press box for an OSU sporting event, blogging live from Huntington Park. Check the site or our Twitter page: twitter.com/buckeyebanter
