Justin Miller Second Consecutive Big Ten Player of the Week

Photo Courtesy the-ozone.net


BIG TEN BASEBALL PLAYERS OF THE WEEK

PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Justin Miller, Ohio State
Sr., 3B, Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby
Miller led Ohio State to a sweep over Iowa last weekend, helping the Buckeyes earn their first Big Ten title since 2001. The senior hit .583 with a slugging average of 1.000 and an on-base percentage of .615 for a combined OPS of 1.615. He also drove in six runs and scored four over the weekend, recording multiple hits in every game. In Game 1 of the series, Miller went 2-for-5 with three RBI and a run scored as Ohio State earned the 13-4 win. In Friday’s Game 2, he was 2-for-4 with a run, an RBI and a double as the Buckeyes edged the Hawkeyes, 5-4, to remain in contention for the conference championship. In the series finale on Sunday, needing a win to have a shot at the Big Ten crown, Miller was a perfect 3-for-3 with a pair of RBI and two runs scored on a double and his 10th home run of the year, propelling OSU to an 8-6 win. The senior takes home his second consecutive Player of the Week award and the third of his career. The Dayton, Va., native is the only hitter to take home Big Ten accolades on back-to-back weeks this season.

Last Ohio State Player of the Week: Justin Miller (May 12, 2009)


The honor is Ohio State's 9th Big Ten weekly award. A new conference record.

Midweek Woes Continue, Bucks Fall

I'll have much more on this game I promise. I'll finish up the Illinois weekend, update everyone on news, Gus was Big Ten Player of the Week, Big Ten Tourney news, and everything else thats happening. BUT it'll have to wait until tomorrow. I apologize. Been very bsy with midterms this week, picked up a shift for a friend that was ill, and the normal studying that comes with 19 hours is piling up. So in short, I'm a very tired man. I'm getting ready to pass out right now. Hopefully this means I'll wake up somewhat early and can update you guys.

Again sorry for the lack of coverage and updates, but I'll have it ready to go tomorrow.

Wimmers Racks Up the Awards

Alex Wimmers’ 15-strikeout, complete game win over Pittsburgh Friday has earned the sophomore from Cincinnati recognition as a “Louisville Slugger” National Player of the Week. The Archbishop Moeller graduate was also honored by the Big Ten Conference this week as its co-pitcher of the week.

Collegiate Baseball, which selects the “Louisville Slugger” honorees each week, released its Top 30 poll and the Buckeyes, winners of five consecutive games and now 13-2 on the season, have climbed to No. 22 in the nation.

Wimmers, 3-0 with a team-low 2.52 earned run average in 25.0 innings pitched, logged 9.0 innings in the 20-3 win over Pitt. He scattered six hits and allowed three earned runs while walking only two. He gave up a first inning, two-run home run and then was overpowering the rest of the way in registering the most strikeouts in a game by a Buckeye since Major Leaguer Scott Lewis struck out 16 Indiana Hoosiers on April 18, 2003.

Referring to his performance, Wimmers said after the game that “everything was working. My curveball was working. My change was working with the lefties. I felt good the whole game. I just went out there and competed the best I could. Dan [Burkhart] called a great game. He and I just kept talking in between innings about what we wanted to do out there and it paid off. A couple guys hit me hard but thank goodness our offense picked me up today.”

Burkhart who has played baseball with Wimmers since they were nine-years-old and has caught him hundreds of times, including as teammates at Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller H.S., was impressed with what he saw and caught during the game.

“I don’t think I’ve every seen his curveball better and his off-speed pitch was on the whole day,” Burkhart said after the game.

Wimmers struck out the side in the first inning. He added two more strikeouts in each of the second and third innings to tie his career high of seven in one game. When he got Danny Lopez swinging to start the fourth inning, Wimmers had set a new career best with his eighth of the game. And he wasn’t done...strikeout-wise or inning-wise.

“I liked the fact that Alex wanted to go out there in the eighth and ninth innings and finish the game,” Ohio State coach Bob Todd said afterward. “He competed for us and that was good to see.”

Wimmers leads the Big Ten in strikeouts (33) and ranks among the conference’s top 10 in ERA (2.52) and opponents’ batting average (.237).

Ohio State Release

Louisville Slugger Player of the Week Release & Collegiate Baseball Rankings

Big Ten Co-Pitcher of the Week

Catcher Dan Burkhart named Big Ten Co-Player of the Week

Second weekly honor for Buckeyes in two weeks.

Burkhart led Ohio State to a 4-0 record at the Kennel Club Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., improving the Buckeyes record to a flawless 7-0 on the season. The sophomore batted .474, reaching base at a .574 clip while slugging .895 and spending all four games behind the plate. At North Florida on Friday, the sophomore tallied his fourth career four-hit game, going 4-for-5 with a home run, a double, four RBI and two runs scored to lead the Buckeyes to an 11-6 win. On Saturday against George Mason, the backstop recorded one hit with a run and an RBI in an 11-5 Ohio State victory. In the second game of the day, again against North Florida, he tallied a pair of hits, including a home run for three RBI and two runs scored as the Buckeyes outlasted the Ospreys, 10-8. In the final game of the weekend, against Connecticut on Sunday, Parr was 2-for-4 with a double, three runs and two RBI in a 21-14 slugfest. During the four-game weekend, the Cincinnati, Ohio, native tallied three games with multiple hits, runs and RBI.

Big Ten Release

Miller Named Player of the Week

Ohio State first baseman Justin Miller has been named the Big Ten Player of the Week for his efforts in the Buckeyes’ 3-1 week last week that included a 2-1 series win over Illinois. The honor is the first for the junior from Dayton , Va.

Miller batted .538 (7-for-13) with a .571 on-base percentage and a .692 slugging average, recording at least two hits and an RBI in each game of the series vs. Illinois. Miller drove in nine RBI in the three games and scored three runs. He leads the team with 52 RBI and is riding a nine-game hit streak. He is batting .486 (17-for-35) during the streak with 15 ribs.

In the series opener he was 2-for-4 with two RBI and a runs scored and then followed it up by going 2-for-4 with three RBI and a double in game two before going 3-for-5 with four RBI in game three. The fourth game of the series was rained out.

Kovanda Named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week

Ohio State second baseman Cory Kovanda has been named the Big Ten Co-Player of the Week for his efforts last week in Bradenton , Fla. Kovanda, a sophomore from Columbus and Worthington Kilbourne H.S., led Ohio State with a .688 average and a .737 on-base percentage.

He opened the week with a 3-for-5 performance against Northern Iowa on Monday, scoring one run. Against Bradley the following day, he went 2-for-3 with two runs scored and a walk. Against St. Louis on Wednesday, Kovanda went 2-for-3 with a walk before closing the trip with his best appearance on Friday as he went 4-for-5 with three runs, two RBI, a double and a walk in a win over Kansas . He combined to go 11-for-16 with four multi-hit games, also scoring six runs over the four contests. Kovanda currently ranks in the top five in the Big Ten in batting average (.451) and on-base percentage (.517).

Kovanda shares the honor with Jon Moore, of Purdue.