Ohio State Buckeyes
Overall Rank: #38
Conference Rank: #3 Big Ten
Last season Ohio State reached their second NCAA Tournament in three years. They did not have much success once there, losing to South Carolina and UNC Wilmington in extra innings. The early exit was disappointing, but it was a successful season for Coach Greg Beals and his Buckeyes. If Ohio State is going to replicate that success, they will have to find some new pitchers with the loss of starters Ryan Feltner and Connor Curtis and closer Seth Kinker. There are options, most notably Jake Vance, who started six games in 2018, but there is not much experience.
2018: 36-24, 14-10
2018 Postseason: NCAA
Coach: Greg Beals
Key Departed Players:
Noah McGowan, UTL, .351 BA, 9 HR, 55 RBI
Tyler Cowles, OF, .322 BA, 8 HR, 49 RBI
Jacob Barnwell, C, .261 BA, 27 RBI
Ryan Feltner, P, 4.52 ERA, 5-5 W/L, 91.2 IP, 86 SO
Connor Curlis, P. 3.55 ERA, 7-4 W/L, 88.2 IP, 77 SO
Seth Kinker, P, 2.27 ERA, 6-2 W/L, 63.1 IP, 60 SO, 15 SV
Key Returning Players:
Kobie Foppe, IF, .335 BA, 29 RBI
Dominic Canzone, OF, .323 BA, 4 HR, 35 RBI, 15 SB
Conner Pohl, IF, .279 BA, 7 HR, 49 RBI
Projection:
The Buckeyes should continue to be a very patient team at the plate. Kobie Foppe boasted the team’s best on-base percentage and scored 47 runs. He is a consistent hitter and the same is true of Dominic Canzone, who batted .323 during his sophomore season. Canzone also has some power and belted four homeruns and drove in 35. But it is Conner Pohl who will likely drive in the most runs. He tallied 49 RBIs last season and hit seven homeruns. He also led the team with 36 walks and epitomizes Ohio State’s patience at the plate. The Buckeyes will get scoring opportunities, but they will need to take advantage of those opportunities and score a few more runs this year if the pitching staff struggles to replace Feltner, Curtis and Kinker.
Projected Postseason: NCAA Baseball Tournament
