B1G Baseball Update 2/19/16 - 3/7/16‏‏

Hello again B1G baseball lovers. Before the madness of March begins I wanted to give you an update on the happenings of B1G baseball so far. Most teams have been busy the past 2 1/2 weeks in tournaments around the country or a series at schools that are blessed with no "freeze your face off" weather in February. Let's take a look at what has happened so far in B1G non-conference play.

Illinois (6-3)

Feb 19 at #19 Tulane       5-6 L
Feb 20 at #19 Tulane       0-3 L
Feb 21 at #19 Tulane  W 5-2

Feb 26 at Florida Gulf Coast  W 4-2
Feb 27 at Florida Gulf Coast  W 4-2
Feb 28 at Florida Gulf Coast       2-3 L

Mar 5 at Stetson             W 4-1
Mar 6 vs Villanova         W 4-2
Mar 4 vs Central Mich.  W 9-4

Lost a close series to the #19th ranked Green Wave but followed it up by winning the series against Florida Gulf Coast and then rolling through the Stetson Invite.

Indiana (3-7)

Feb 19 at Middle Tennessee  W 14-4
Feb 20 at Middle Tennessee         2-3 L
Feb 20 at Middle Tennessee         4-5 L

Feb 26 at Cal State Fullerton  3-8 L
Feb 27 at Cal State Fullerton  2-3 L
Feb 28 at Cal State Fullerton  1-6 L

Mar 3 vs Seton Hall            2-7 L
Mar 4 vs Illinois State  W 14-1
Mar 5 vs Seton Hall            4-6 L
Mar 6 vs Butler                W 2-1

Started off the year with a convincing win against MTSU but dropped the final two games in one run losses. The Hoosiers then were understandably swept by the Titans in California. They did pick up two more wins in Port Charlotte, FL but had some issues with Seton Hall oddly enough.

Iowa (3-6)

Feb 19 at #31 Dallas Baptist  1-5 L
Feb 21 at #31 Dallas Baptist  1-4 L
Feb 20 at #31 Dallas Baptist  3-7 L

Feb 26 vs Indiana State          3-11 L
Feb 27 vs Dartmouth          W 4-1
Feb 28 vs Chicago State  W 15-3

Mar 4 at Southern Illinois       1-2 L
Mar 5 at Southern Illinois  W 7-5
Mar 6 at Southern Illinois      1-6 L

Got the broom treatment at Dallas Baptist but rebounded with two wins in the Snowbird Classic. The Hawkeyes followed that up with losing the series against the Salukis.

Maryland (5-5)

Feb 19, 2016 at Alabama      1-3 L
Feb 20, 2016 at Alabama  W 9-5
Feb 21, 2016 at Alabama       1-5 L

Feb 26, 2016 RHODE ISLAND    W 1-0
Feb 27, 2016 RHODE ISLAND         1-2 L
Feb 28, 2016 RHODE ISLAND  W 13-10

Mar 1, 2016 at Delaware                 7-12 L
Mar 4, 2016 vs Tennessee       W 10-9
Mar 5, 2016 vs SE Louisiana     W 8-1
Mar 6, 2016 at #16 East Carolina  3-4 L

Lost a close series against Bama but rebounded nicely with a close series win against the Rams. They did manage to pick up two more wins in Greenville, NC and narrowly upset #16 East Carolina.

Michigan (7-3)

Feb 19 vs Canisius  W 9-0
Feb 20 vs Canisius  W 6-2
Feb 20 vs Canisius  W 3-0
Feb 21 vs Canisius  W 9-3

Feb 26 vs Saint Joseph's  W 5-1
Feb 27 at Cal Poly                  1-5 L
Feb 28 at Santa Clara            3-5 L
Feb 29 at #13 California   W 5-0

Mar 2 at San Jose State  W 6-5
Mar 3 at UC Davis                 4-3 L

Michigan so far seems pretty legit as the B1G preseason champion after taking four games from Canisius then winning three in a tour de California including a win over ranked Cal. They did have a three game series with UC Davis but after losing the opener the rest were canceled due to inclement weather.

Michigan State (8-1)

Feb 19 vs Presbyterian  W 11-5
Feb 20 at Furman            W 15-8
Feb 21 vs Fordham           W 7-2

Feb 26 vs Texas State                 W 3-2
Feb 27 vs A&M-Corpus Christi  W 9-3
Feb 28 vs UCF                              W 6-2

Mar 4 vs Southern Miss  0-2 L
Mar 5 vs Auburn          W 3-0
Mar 6 vs Troy               W 3-0

The mitten state is showing up strong so far this year since the Spartans have only dropped one since the start of the season. Granted it may not be the best of competition but they are racking up wins early which will be beneficial later on in the year.

Minnesota (7-3)

Feb 19 vs Utah                   W 6-1
Feb 20 vs Utah Valley       W 8-2
Feb 21 vs Utah                   W 9-3
Feb 21 vs #5 Oregon State  7-8 L

Feb 26 at Campbell      7-11 L
Feb 27 at Campbell  W 3-1
Feb 28 at Campbell  W 7-5

Mar 4 at Georgia State  W 3-0
Mar 5 at Georgia State       3-4 L
Mar 6 at Georgia State  W 11-6

The Gophers started the season off surprisingly well taking care of the schools from Utah and narrowly upsetting top ten ranked Beavers. With two series wins over Campbell and Georgia St. Minnesota is off to one of its best starts in years.

Nebraska (3-6)

Feb 19 at #34 Col. of Charleston  W 4-0
Feb 20 at #34 Col. of Charleston       5-13 L
Feb 21 at #34 Col. of Charleston       3-7 L

Feb 26 at San Diego           5-17 L
Feb 27 vs #23 Arizona     10-11 L
Feb 28 vs #20 Tulane  W 11-5

Mar 4 at Long Beach State  W 9-2
Mar 5 at Long Beach State      0-1 L
Mar 5 at Long Beach State      1-3 L

Nebraska started off the season promising enough shutting out College of Charleston opening day but then pitching issues took them out of the series the rest of the weekend. They then got shelled against San Diego Friday of the Tony Gwynn Classic only to rebound slightly narrowly upsetting Arizona before sealing the deal against Tulane. Pitching turned a corner verses Long Beach St. but the offense took a break as the Huskers dropped the series against the Dirtbags.

Northwestern (4-8)

Feb 19 vs Nevada  W 4-2
Feb 19 vs Nevada  W 5-1
Feb 20 vs Nevada       2-11 L
Feb 21 vs Nevada       6-10 L

Feb 26 at Pacific Tigers  W 3-1
Feb 27 at Pacific Tigers       3-7 L
Feb 27 at Pacific Tigers       3-7 L
Feb 28 at Pacific Tigers  W 14-5

Mar vs SAINT LEO             3-5 L
Mar 5 vs Boston College  3-6 L
Mar 5 vs Butler                   9-10 L
Mar 6 vs Illinois State       4-10 L

Northwestern was moving along pretty well to start the season splitting both the Nevada and Pacific series but then ran into trouble dropping four winnable games against so-so competition in Port Charlotte, FL.

Ohio State (6-4-1)

Feb 19 vs Toledo    W 7-1
Feb 20 vs Niagara  W 10-7
Feb 20 vs Pitt           W 11-8
Feb 21 vs Toledo           5-5 T(?)

Feb 26 vs Duke                                   1-8 L
Feb 27 at #19 Coastal Carolina  W 6-4
Feb 28 vs Liberty                            W 5-4
Feb 29 at #18 Coastal Carolina       2-3 L

Mar 4 vs Seton Hall       W 9-3
Mar 5 vs Illinois State        4-5 L
Mar 6 vs Boston College  2-6 L

The Buckeyes had a good showing in the Dodgertown Classic technically leaving there unscathed (A tie? There are no ties in baseball!). Splitting the Coastal Carolina tournament including an upset win versus the #19 Chanticleers was a nice touch although they followed that up with some poor losses in the Snowbird Classic.

Penn State (3-7)

Feb 19 vs Monmouth  1-3 L
Feb 20 vs Army       W 5-4
Feb 20 vs Army     W 11-0
Feb 21 vs Bryant          1-3 L

Feb 26 at #15 South Carolina  1-7 L
Feb 27 at #15 South Carolina  5-16 L
Feb 28 at #15 South Carolina  2-4 L

Mar 5 at UNCW       1-5 L
Mar 6 at UNCW       2-11 L
Mar 7 at UNCW  W 5-4

Probably not the start PSU wanted to begin the season with three of their two wins coming against Army and one on Monday against UNCW. They do get cool points for taking on the Gamecocks in Columbia but wins might be tough to come by here on out.

Purdue (2-8)

Feb 19 at #21 Georgia Tech  2-5 L
Feb 20 at Kennesaw State     2-5 L
Feb 21 at Georgia State     W 5-3

Feb 26 at #12 California  0-10 L
Feb 27 at #12 California  0-4 L
Feb 28 at #10 California  5-15 L

Mar 04 at East Tennessee State         2-4 L
Mar 05 at East Tennessee State  W 19-6
Mar 05 at East Tennessee State         8-9 L
Mar 06 at East Tennessee State         2-8 L

Purdue also not starting things off on the right foot by dropping two in the Atlanta Invitational, getting swept by #10 Cal, then only winning one against East Tennessee State.

Rutgers (4-6)

Feb 19 at #4 Miami (FL)  1-4 L
Feb 20 at #4 Miami (FL)  0-2 L
Feb 21 at #4 Miami (FL)  1-8 L

Feb 27 at George Mason       5-6 L
Feb 27 at George Mason  W 11-5
Feb 28 at George Mason  W 8-6

Mar 02 LAFAYETTE  W 11-3

Mar 05 at Old Dominion      2-4 L
Mar 05 at Old Dominion      4-7 L
Mar 06 at Old Dominion  W 5-2

The Scarlet Knights understandably got swept by Miami to lead things off but then took a series vs. George Mason. After soundly winning against Lafayette in a mid-week game they then dropped a series to Old Dominion.

Wisconsin (L-o-L)

Enjoyed a pretty nice little Saturday. Went to Home Depot and bought some wallpaper and some flooring, stuff like that.  Also went to Bed, Bath, & Beyond but didn't know if they were going to have enough time.

Okay, they'll do one. They'll do just one.

Fill it up again! Fill it up again! Once it hits your lips, it's so good!

Players of the Week

February 22nd

Player of the Week: Jacob Bosiokovich, OF, Jr.,OSU

Had eight RBIs on seven hits and scored seven runs while batting .412 on the week.

Pitcher of the Week: Oliver Jaskie, LHP, So., MICH

Against Canisius he did not allow a single earned run striking out a career-high nine batters and held the Golden Griffins (Petey Griffins?) to a .130 batting average.

Freshman of the Week: Marty Bechina, IF, MSU

Had a pair of three-run games against Furman and Presbyterian and posted a .846 slugging percentage on the week.

February 29th

Player of the Week: R.J. Devish, Catcher, Sr., RU

Had five RBIs on five hits and scored five runs while batting .625 on the week. Also is the first Scarlet Knight player to receive player of the week honors.

Pitcher of the Week: Mike Shawaryn, RHP, Jr., MD

Pitched eight scoreless innings against Rhode Island with only allowing just one hit in the Terrapins' 1-0 win. This is his fourth career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor.

Freshman of the Week: Brady Cherry, IF, OSU

Was an offensive dynamo hitting .667 on the week, driving in three runs on four hits in the Buckeyes' wins over Coastal Carolina and Liberty all the while posted a 1.667 slugging percentage. Oh, and to top it all off hit two home runs in the 6-4 win over Coastal Carolina.

March 7th

Player/Freshman of the week: Nick Dunn, 2B, Fr., MD

Earns both player and freshman of the week honors his first of both awards. Hit .643 on the weekend with nine hits, four RBIs and four runs.

Co-Pitchers of the Week: Kyle Hart, LHP, Sr., IND & Oliver Jaskie, LHP, So., MICH

For Hart he pitched six scoreless innings against Illinois State, allowing just three hits in the Hoosiers' 14-1 win. Hart also struck out a career-high 10 batters without allowing a walk. This is his third career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor.

Oliver threw 5.1 scoreless innings and struck out six batters in the Wolverines' 5-0 win against top ten California. This is his second career Big Ten Pitcher of the Week honor.

I Want My BTN

The BTN announced its Spring coverage schedule for both baseball and softball this past weekend. This is the most amount of games the BTN will show than ever before and after looking over some of these matchups will be some good baseball/softball on display. All games listed will be shown on BTN/BTN2Go. All times listed as Eastern.

2016 B1G BTN/ BTN2Go Baseball Coverage

Wednesday, March 23     Louisville - Purdue 6:00 PM
Friday, March 25                  Rutgers - Michigan State 3:00 PM
Saturday, March 26       Penn State - Illinois 4:00 PM
Sunday, March 27     Northwestern - Ohio State Noon
Tuesday, March 29          Creighton - Nebraska 7:30 PM
Sunday, April 03                        Iowa - Minnesota 3:00 PM
Friday, April 08                Ohio State - Maryland 5:30 PM
Sunday, April 10                   Purdue - Indiana 3:00 PM
Friday, April 15                  Nebraska - Michigan 6:00 PM
Sunday, April 17                        Iowa - Indiana 3:00 PM
Sunday, April 24                   Indiana - Michigan State 3:00 PM
Friday, April 29        Michigan State - Michigan 6:00 PM
Saturday, April 30             Maryland - Penn State 2:00 PM
Sunday, May 01         Northwestern - Indiana 3:00 PM
Saturday, May 07                  Purdue - Northwestern 3:00 PM
Saturday, May 07                 Rutgers - Michigan 6:00 PM
Monday, May 09               Nebraska - Michigan State 1:00 PM
Sunday, May 15                   Rutgers - Maryland 12:00 PM
Sunday, May 15                Michigan - Ohio State 3:00 PM
Saturday, May 21              Michigan - Illinois 4:00 PM

*additional games on May 19th, 20th, & 21st TBD

B1G Tournament Schedule
Wednesday, May 25 Game #1 TBD
Wednesday, May 25 Game #2 TBD
Wednesday, May 25 Game #3 TBD
Wednesday, May 25 Game #4 TBD
Thursday, May 26 Game #5 TBD
Thursday, May 26 Game #6 TBD
Thursday, May 26 Game #7 TBD
Thursday, May 26 Game #8 TBD
Friday, May 27 Game #9 TBD
Friday, May 27 Game #10 TBD
Saturday, May 28 Semifinal #1 TBD
Saturday, May 28 Semifinal #2 TBD
Saturday, May 28 Semifinal #3 (If Necessary) TBD
Saturday, May 28 Semifinal #4 (If Necessary) TBD
Sunday, May 29 Championship TBD

2016 B1G BTN/BTN2Go Softball Coverage

Friday, March 25                  Maryland - Ohio State 6:00 PM
Saturday, April 02      Michigan State - Penn State 3:00 PM
Sunday, April 03                     Rutgers - Illinois 1:00 PM
Tuesday, April 05                     Indiana - Purdue 3:00 PM
Tuesday, April 05                     Indiana - Purdue 5:30 PM
Wednesday, April 06        Penn State - Ohio State 4:00 PM
Wednesday, April 06        Penn State - Ohio State 6:30 PM
Friday, April 08                      Michigan - Nebraska 8:30 PM
Sunday, April 10                   Michigan - Nebraska 1:00 PM
Tuesday, April 12                Wisconsin - Minnesota 5:00 PM
Tuesday, April 12                Wisconsin - Minnesota 7:30 PM
Wednesday, April 13     Northwestern - Illinois 6:00 PM
Wednesday, April 13     Northwestern - Illinois 8:30 PM
Sunday, April 17                  Ohio State - Michigan 1:00 PM
Wednesday, April 20               Rutgers - Maryland 3:00 PM
Wednesday, April 20               Rutgers - Maryland 5:30 PM
Friday, April 22                       Maryland - Michigan 6:00 PM
Sunday, April 24                   Nebraska - Minnesota 1:00 PM
Friday, April 29               Northwestern - Wisconsin 4:00 PM
Sunday, May 01                             Iowa - Illinois 1:00 PM

*additional games on May 7th & 8th TBD

B1G tournament schedule
Thursday, May 12 Game #1 12:00 PM
Thursday, May 12 Game #2 2:30 PM
Thursday, May 12 Game #3 5:30 PM
Thursday, May 12 Game #4 8:00 PM
Friday, May 13 Quarterfinal #1 12:00 PM
Friday, May 13 Quarterfinal #2 2:30 PM
Friday, May 13 Quarterfinal #3 5:30 PM
Friday, May 13 Quarterfinal #4 8:00 PM
Saturday, May 14 Semifinal #1 1:00 PM
Saturday, May 14 Semifinal #2 3:30 PM
Saturday, May 14 Championship 6:30 PM

Schedules and players of the week courtesy of BTN.com