For the third straight week, the Ohio State baseball team will face an in-state opponent in another midweek game at Davis Stadium tonight.
But after beating up on Division III Wooster and NAIA Shawnee State, the Buckeyes will have a little tougher test when Mid-American Conference foe Bowling Green comes to Columbus for a game starting at 6:35 p.m.
“Any time a MAC team gets to play Ohio State, they get excited,” said OSU coach Bob Todd. “We’ve seen that with our football team when we’ve played some of the MAC teams. Baseball is certainly that way.”
The Buckeyes (27-12 overall, 14-6 Big Ten) kept pace with conference leader Minnesota over the weekend as OSU swept a pair of doubleheaders from Purdue. The Golden Gophers, who started out the season on a tear, have dropped three of their last seven Big Ten games, including a loss at Indiana this weekend. OSU is now two games behind Minnesota and will face the Gophers in a four-game series beginning May 16.
“Last weekend was really key for us,” said outfielder Christian Snavely. “It was good to get four wins and keep up with Minnesota, especially since they lost.”
Before the Buckeyes can look toward Minnesota, they know they have plenty of games left to play, including tonight’s game and a four-game home series with archrival Michigan.
“Every game from here on out is important,” said catcher Derek Kinnear. “(Michigan) comes in here and always plays their best baseball, and we have to be ready to play four games, and we have to be ready to play tonight.”
The Falcons (13-19 overall, 6-10 MAC) are coming off a tough weekend series against Marshall. In four games, Bowling Green won only once against the Thundering Herd.
First baseman Kelly Hunt is leading the Falcons with a .426 batting average in 32 games. The 6-foot-5-inch righty has accounted for 43 RBIs and five home runs.
On the mound, right-hander Kyle Knoblauch has a 2.76 ERA, but is only 2-4 in nine starts. In 62 innings pitched, Knoblauch has struck out only 35 batters.
“Bowling Green has a good team coming in here,” Todd said. “They’ve played in Bill Davis Stadium in the 1999 Regionals. I know their program is very familiar with our program.”
Kinnear heating up
No one probably benefited more from the weekend series at Purdue than Kinnear. The nominee for the Johnny Bench Award, which goes to the best catcher in the nation, went 6-for-13 against the Boilermakers with two home runs and eight RBIs.
“He has just been phenomenal,” Todd said. “He’s done everything that we’ve asked of him. It’s great to see the person with the attitude and work ethic to get some just rewards.”
The junior’s efforts over the weekend cemented his spot at the top of the Buckeye stat sheet. Kinnear leads OSU in hitting with a .380 batting average and is second on the team with a .565 slugging percentage. The former walk-on also leads the Buckeyes with 29 RBIs.
Kinnear has garnered the most praise when he is behind the plate. Almost all season long, Kinnear has been responsible for handling a pitching staff with a combined 3.82 ERA.
“He knows what we want to throw,” said pitcher Scott Lewis. “There’s a lot of times when I’m in a rhythm out there, and he knows exactly what I want to throw.”
