Baseball: Wimmers, OSU travel to Louisville

The Ohio State baseball team ranks third in the Big Ten after failing to complete the sweep of Michigan Sunday. The Buckeyes have not been ranked this low in the Big Ten standings since losing two of three games against Minnesota in early April.

ZACH TUGGLE/THE LANTERN Ohio State junior outfielder Michael Stephens slides safely into home during the first game of Saturday's doubleheader against Michigan. OSU won 6-0.

The 9-2 loss took all momentum away from OSU. The Buckeyes had been coming off Alex Wimmers' no-hit performance in game one of Saturday's doubleheader and a 9-6 win in game two.

Wimmers' earned his fourth Big Ten Pitcher of the Week award Monday. He was also named Louisville Slugger's National Player of the Week.

Wimmers threw for OSU's first nine-inning no-hitter in school history against Michigan in game one of Saturday's doubleheader. The Pitcher of the Year candidate struck out 14 batters, which was his sixth outing with 10 or more strikeouts in a game this season. The sophomore right-hander walked four batters, but faced just one over the minimum as catcher Dan Burkhart threw out three base-stealers. Wimmers leads the Big Ten with 103 strikeouts this season, and he is the ninth Buckeye to exceed 100 strikeouts in a year.

Dan Burkhart did not play Sunday because of a left leg injury suffered in game two of Saturday's doubleheader. It was only the third game he has not started this season and it was the first Big Ten game he had missed after 45 consecutive starts. Burkhart is hitting .390 this season, which is second best for the Buckeyes. He also leads the team in home runs with eight and RBIs with 51.

The No. 27 Buckeyes start a two-game midweek series against the 32-13 Louisville Cardinals Tuesday. Tuesday's game starts at 6:05 p.m. and Wednesday's game is set to start at 12:05 p.m at Jim Patterson Stadium.

"They're going to be in a regional this year so this should be good competition for us," OSU coach Bob Todd said.

It will be the first time the Buckeyes are on the road since April 18 when they played Purdue in a three-game series in West Lafayette, Ind.

The surface of Jim Patterson Stadium is field turf, the same type the Buckeyes played on when they faced Minnesota in the Metrodome. OSU lost two of three games in that series. It was the most recent series the Buckeyes lost in 2009.

The Cardinals have won their last three games. Louisville defeated Kentucky 11-2 April 28 and won 10-4 and 9-2 against Villinova on Friday and Saturday.

The Cardinals are 21-6 at home and the Buckeyes are 9-4 on the road this season.

The series takes place in the middle of an eight-game stretch that the Buckeyes will play in nine days. OSU will finish the stretch with a three-game series at Illinois that begins Friday.