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Scots Take Swing at Buckeyes Again
By Eric Seling '05 Tonight, The College of Wooster baseball team (17-8), ranked No. 24 in the NCAA Div. III Poll, will take another shot at unseating its Div. I brethren. Wooster has won its last three against D-I opponents, and will go for No. 4 in Columbus, Ohio, where it will face Big Ten Conference power Ohio State University. The contest will mark a second family reunion on the diamond, as Scot head coach Tim Pettorini's son, Terry Pettorini, plays for, and is a regular starter for the Buckyes. Last season, the father won bragging rights. Despite a home run by Terry that tied the game at 7-7 in the seventh inning, Wooster rallied to defeat the eventual Big Ten champions 9-7 with the win going to now-current assistant coach Matt Englander. The 2003 version of the Scots, who defeated a Kent State University team that was picked to win the Mid-American Conference 10 days ago, will have a challenging task this evening in facing Greg Prenger on the mound. In Prenger's last start against Oakland University, the fifth-year senior threw a perfect game to up his record to 2-0 and earn him National Player-of-the-Week honors from three media organizations. Starting on the hill for Wooster will be junior right-hander James Amendola, who enters the game with a 3-1 record and 5.18 ERA. Pettorini will likely use several other hurlers, too, to get in some mid-week work, including Justin Alaburda (5-0, 3.80 ERA), Luke Katich (1-1, 10.32 ERA), Brian Miller (1-0, 3.63 ERA), and Jon Oliver (4-2, 4.03 ERA). Offensively, the Scots have a variety of weapons who will look to solve Prenger, as they currently have seven starters batting over .300, led by Matt Miller and Jake Frank, along with Luke Ullman, George Radigan, and Brian Stevens. The group, which was all part of last year's win over Ohio State, has started all 25 games for Wooster. Miller leads the team with a .465 batting average and 12 doubles, while Frank, who belted a solo home run against the Buckeyes in 2002, is trailing closely at .448 and has driven in a team-high 39 RBI. Also, track Scot senior Dave Wernecke, who has developed a reputation as a big-game player, highlighted by a 4-for-4 effort in Columbus last spring. Ohio State's offensive leaders are Derek Kinnear and Drew Anderson. Kinnear, a junior catcher, enters tonight hitting .358 and also leading the team with 18 RBI, while Anderson, a sophomore infielder, owns a .325 average. Pettroini has been a regular starter as well and is hovering around the .300 mark (.296). The first pitch at Bill Davis Stadium (cap. 4,500) is slated to begin at 6:35 p.m. |
