BASEBALL Expect a promising season, once again, for the Ohio State baseball team as all four pitchers who started during the Big Ten Conference weekend games, plus five additional everyday players, return from a team that finished third in the Big Ten regular season and tournament last season.

“We are entering the 2007 with a lot of optimism,” said 20th-year coach Bob Todd. “We have quite a few returning players and more importantly, we have all four of our starting pitchers back.”

The four starting pitchers combined for 29 of the team’s 37 wins last year and were the nucleus of a staff that gave up a Big Ten-best earned run average of 3.46. The four include:

- Dan DeLucia, a preseason All-American who was 10-2 with a 3.25 ERA last season. He led the Big Ten with 108 innings pitched.

- Cory Luebke, who was 7-6 with a 3.38 ERA last season. He was drafted by the Texas Rangers in the 22nd round last summer, but elected to stay with the Buckeyes.

- J.B. Shuck, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year last season after posting an 8-5 record and a team-best 2.51 ERA.

- Jake Hale, who was 4-5 with a 3.38 ERA in his freshman season with the Buckeyes.

The bullpen will have to improve on its efforts last season, according to Todd. Middle relief duties will be spread around five freshmen and sophomores, with closing responsibilities in the hands of Trey Fausnaugh and Rory Meister.

Replacing two standout position players – Ronnie Bourquin at third and Jedidiah Stephen at shortstop – won’t be easy. Bourquin was the Big Ten Player of the Year and was drafted in the second round of the MLB draft by the Detroit Tigers. Stephen was taken in the eighth round by Baltimore. The duo combined for 165 hits and 17 of the team’s 28 home runs. They were leaders on and off the field.

Everyday position players returning include catcher Eric Fryer, first baseman Justin Miller, second baseman Jason Zoeller, centerfielder Matt Angle and left fielder Jacob Howell. Fryer was second-team all-Big Ten after a season in which he hit .368 with 78 hits. Miller made 30 starts as a true freshman. He did not commit an error in 269 chances and hit .280. Zoeller was first-team all-Big Ten last year after hitting .337 overall with good power (13 doubles, four triples and five home runs). Angle was also a first-team all-Big Ten pick. He batted .396 in Big Ten games (.368 overall) and led the conference with 63 runs scored. He also stole 25 bases in 29 attempts. Howell split time in left field last year and hit .402 in 35 games.

Junior Chris Macke was Bourquin’s backup at third the past two years, but he’ll have competition to become OSU’s everyday player. Battles will be waged at shortstop as well, with freshman Cory Rupert, the 2006 Ohio Division I Player of the Year, looking impressive during fall ball. Jonathan Zizzo and Zach Hurley will contend for playing time in the outfield.

Seniors DeLucia and Howell were named captains for the second consecutive year. Joining them as captains are the juniors Angle and Fryer.

Todd feels the team has the tools necessary to compete for Big Ten titles as well as another NCAA regional berth. Quality offensive players return from the team that led the Big Ten in batting last year with a .332 average. Starting pitching could be awesome. Todd also likes the team’s overall speed. He knows, though, that improving the relief pitching and finding solid replacements for the left side of the infield will dictate how far this team goes in 2007.

GOLF

Head coach Jim Brown’s 34th Ohio State golf squad will be led by four seniors and will welcome three newcomers in pursuit of a Big Ten Conference championship and NCAA appearance. The team will have an opportunity to accomplish both goals in Columbus: Ohio State will play host to the Big Ten Championships April 27-29 at the recently renovated and reconstructed Scarlet golf course.

Scarlet would be a fitting place for Brown to be presented with his 24th Big Ten crown and 31st trip to the NCAA tournament, but it won’t be easy. Northwestern, the defending champion, heads a quartet of teams that includes Minnesota, Purdue and Michigan State that return numerous top players capable of carrying their team to the title.

Senior Colin Biles is OSU’s top returning performer, with seven top 20 finishes last year and a 73.4 scoring average. He was OSU’s low scorer in nine of 12 tournaments.

Jack Tyler is another senior who will be counted on for low scores and leadership. He had a 76.5 scoring average last year.

“They [Biles and Tyler] return with a wealth of experience,” said Brown. “Both are strong competitors with a fierce desire to win. I trust that they are ready for the responsibility of leading this team through their words and actions.”

Jared Jones and David Vallina are Brown’s other two senior veterans. Sophomore Dan Rush will also be in the mix to represent OSU each week.

Newcomers include David Cape, a transfer from the College of Canyons in California, Zach Sebert, a Division III All-American who transferred from Otterbein College, and Patrick Simard, a true freshman from Marbella, Spain.

“I expect our team to compete week-in and week-out as we prepare for an extraordinary stretch run [to close the season] that includes the Kepler Intercollegiate and Big Ten Conference Championship,” said Brown.

LACROSSE

An experienced team will look to improve on a 7-6 season last year (3-2/T2nd in the Great Western Lacrosse League) and lead Ohio State back to the NCAA championships where they competed back-to-back in 2003 and 2004.

The return of the team’s two leading scorers from 2006, plus the addition of two transfers 5 expected to make an immediate impact, has 10th-year coach Joe Breschi thinking of multiple combinations to throw at opponents from the attack position. Junior Kevin Buchanan led the team with 26 goals, and he totaled 41 points while earning first-team all-GWLL honors. Sophomore Joel Dalgarno matched Buchanan with 41 points off 24 goals and 17 assists, and he was named GWLL Newcomer of the Year. The transfers are Jeff Ryan (Hobart) and Joe Benson (Johns Hopkins).

Seniors Jason Lutz and Jon DeCanio lead the corps of midfielders, with Brian Lalley and Ryan Lowe returning and expecting to contribute. Lutz had eight goals and 14 points last year, while DeCanio had four and seven, respectively.

Senior Ben Drake and underclassmen James Green, Paul Beery and Corey Bentine, headline the second group of attackers. Tim Pataki, who has started 18 straight games, and Scott Matthews, the team’s most improved player, return at close defense. Wes Schneider has the most experience among the contenders for the third starting position with 18 starts and 41 games.

All-GWLL selection Ricky Pages looks to dominate on the wings again at longstick middie. He shared the team’s defensive MVP award last season. Senior captain Chris Li, Josh Funk and Chris Friel are returning starters at shortstick midfield. Top faceoff specialists Eric O’Brien and Jon Rydberg also return.

In the net, sophomore Jon Bolen returns after starting eight games last year and sharing the team’s outstanding freshman award. He’ll be challenged by a trio of performers, including junior transfer Stefan Schroder, who was a twotime All-American at Onondaga Community College.

Chris Li and Jason Lutz were selected by their teammates as team captains for the 2007 season. “Chris and Jason will have our team ready to go each and every time we step on the field, in practice and game days,” Breschi said. “Our program is in great hands being led by two well respected senior leaders.”

TENNIS

Ty Tucker’s Ohio State tennis machine is just like that little bunny in the commercials…it keeps going and going and going. His eighth Buckeye team is loaded with savvy veterans, nationally-ranked performers, terrific and talented recruits, and a mentality that last year is history.

And what a year 2006 was. The Buckeyes went undefeated in Big Ten play, won both the regular season and tournament titles, and advanced deep into the NCAA tournament before being ousted in the round of eight. A final national ranking of No. 5, on the strength of a 28-2 record, was the highest finish ever for the program.

With that kind of backdrop, the Buckeyes’ goals for this season goes beyond another Big Ten championship and another NCAA berth. The team wants to play for the national championship. Time will tell if they’ve got the firepower this year to accomplish that goal.

The top four singles players from last year return: seniors Chris Klingemann and Devin Mullings, and sophomores Bryan Koniecko and Steven Moneke. Klingemann was 9-2 vs. the Big Ten’s other No. 1 singles performers and 24-9 overall. Mullings was 12-0 at No. 3 singles and 29-9 overall. Koniecko, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year and the ITA Midwest Rookie of the Year, was 19-8 overall playing at the Nos. 1-2-3 positions. And Moneke was 19- 5 in dual matches, including an 11-2 mark at the No. 4 position.

Moneke opened the season as the nation’s No. 1-ranked singles player. Five teammates will join him among the top 70 players in the nation, with Mullings (42), Klingemann (46), Koniecko (62), Eberly (64) and Justin Kronague (69) making this squad, on paper, the finest Buckeye team ever. They open the season ranked No. 3 nationally. Kronague, a freshman, was the No. 1 rated high school player in the country last year.

The outstanding doubles tandem of Ross Wilson and Scott Green, who spent much of their careers as the No. 1-ranked collegiate doubles team, is gone. But their departure shouldn’t phase Tucker, who is 156-43 overall as a collegiate coach, 72-16 against Big Ten foes, and with seven NCAA appearances in seven tries.

Tucker has scheduled an impressive list of foes to challenge his team this year, with dual matches against Washington, Florida State, Tennessee, LSU, Kentucky, Miami and defending national champion Pepperdine. OSU has won 42-consecutive home matches, dating to the 2003 season.

OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD

Robert Geary is in his first season as the indoor and outdoor track and field coach at Ohio State University. He added track and field to his cross country responsibilities, which he has been in charge of for the past 11 years. A quartet of juniors, led by 2006 Indoor All- American and Big Ten champion Lenny Jatsek (weight throw), will try to improve on the team’s sixth-place finish at the Big Ten indoor championships last season, and ninth-place performance at the Big Ten outdoor championships. Sprinter Anthony Cole, the 2005 conference indoor freshman of the year, will look to regain his 60-meter crown. Marios Iacouvo, an All-American in 2005 in the high jump, and John Ealy, a talented distance runner who has competed at two NCAA cross country championships, will also provide leadership as juniors.

Gerald Griffin (400 meters), Jeff See (mile), Brandon Cathcart (triple jump) and Matt Comer (400-meter hurdles) have all scored points at the Big Ten championship meets and will be expected to contribute.

The outdoor season begins in March. Ohio State will host for the 22nd time the Jesse Owens Classic May 5. The Big Ten outdoor championships will be May 11-13 in State College, Pa. The NCAA outdoor championships are June 6-9 in Sacramento.