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The Ohio State Baseball (Official Thread)

Clear Fork alum Ridge Winand reflects on career with Ohio State Buckeyes
COLUMBUS - RIDGE WINAND IS THE PRIDE OF THE CLEAR FORK VALLEY. HE WAS BORN THERE, RAISED THERE AND BUILT THERE.


Jake Furr, Mansfield News Journal

Published 5:55 a.m. ET May 3, 2019 | Updated 10:18 a.m. ET May 3, 2019

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COLUMBUS - Ridge Winand is the pride of the Clear Fork Valley.

He was born there, raised there and built there.

Which is why it is no surprise to see he is having himself a ball during his senior season as a center fielder for the Ohio State Buckeyes baseball team. So far this season, Winand is hitting .347 with 25 hits, 10 RBI, three home runs and 12 walks for a cool .447 on-base percentage.

Winand was named the team captain before the season started, making for a very nice ending to a story that started as a walk on.

The story takes twists and turns that include a season-ending injury, the death of his No. 1 fan, and earning the highest honor a Buckeye baseball player could earn from his teammates for the 2019 season.

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Clear Fork's Ridge Winand practices his jump shot during practice at Clear Fork High School in 2014.
(Photo: News Journal File Photo)



"It is crazy," Winand said. "It has been a lot of hard work that has gone into all of this. My freshman and sophomore year, I didn't play too much because I was just trying to get acclimated to the college game. I think I earned this captain honor this year. I feel like I am held to a high regard by my teammates and they have seen all the hard work I put in at the weight room and on the field."

It did take a ton of hard work. Winand, who bulked up to 200 pounds on his 6-foot-2 frame, walked on as a freshman at Ohio State and redshirted his first year. He had a stellar high school career at Clear Fork as a four-year letterman in baseball and earned All-Ohio Cardinal Conference and All-District three times during that span. He hit .460 as a junior and .411 as a sophomore while also lettering four times in basketball where he was an All-Ohioan in 2014 when he averaged 23 points a game.

While playing for the Colts prepared him for life as a Buckeye, growing up in Butler, population 899, did not prep him for life in Columbus, population 879,170.

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Ohio State Buckeyes baseball player Ridge Winand, a 2014 Clear Fork graduate, is having a standout year during his senior season.
(Photo: Jeff Hoffer/Hoffer Photography)



"It really didn't prepare me for this," Winand said. "Growing up in such a small town and coming down here, it is like a different world. You have to adjust and adapt and I think I have done well with that so far."

Like everyone else in the Valley, Winand used a blue collar work ethic to become a success story. He played in five games as a redshirt freshman. But it was during his redshirt sophomore year when his will and determination would be put to the test.

In December of 2017, Winand lost his father, Bart, to cancer at the young age of 55. His best friend and biggest supporter would no longer be in the stands at Bill Davis Stadium cheering on his boy. In his obituary, Bart was described as, "his children’s greatest supporter. Cheering and coaching them in both athletics and academics; he invested in his family."

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Ohio State Buckeyes baseball player Ridge Winand, a 2014 Clear Fork graduate, is having a standout year during his senior season.
(Photo: Jeff Hoffer/Hoffer Photography)


There were no truer words to describe Bart, and Winand vowed to succeed for him.

"That was one of the hardest years of my life," Winand said. "Losing someone who had been with me through it all. My dad was someone who I credit for me being here right now. He would play catch with me every day in the front yard after he got off work. He helped me prepare for these moments."

But, that success wouldn't come in 2017. Instead, Winand suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament causing him to miss his entire redshirt sophomore season. It was devastation after devastation, but Winand wasn't about to let the obstacles define him.

"I tore my UCL as well and that just added to the worst year of my life," Winand said. "Whatever you face, you have to bounce back, adapt and you keep going. I still have such a great support system with my family and friends and everyone who helped me get to this point. This is all for them."

8809bf80-a11c-46c6-a4c9-85f78d4616c0-710_7415.JPG

Ohio State Buckeyes baseball player Ridge Winand, a 2014 Clear Fork graduate, is having a standout year during his senior season.
(Photo: Jeff Hoffer/Hoffer Photography)


He came back stronger than ever as a junior, making 21 appearances which included seven starts for the Buckeyes. His first game back was on Feb. 18, 2018 seeing the field for the first time since 2016 as he scored a run off of the bench in a win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Just more than a month later, Winand earned his first start of his career on March 23 in a game against Georgetown. He may have gone hitless, but it wouldn't be the end of his opportunities. Nine days later, on April 1, Winand collected his first career multi-hit game against Nebraska. It was his only two hits of the season, but Winand was just happy to be back on the field.

"Where I am from, not too many people get this kind of opportunity," Winand said. "I am so blessed to be here and to be able to take advantage of this opportunity. To be playing right now, it is the greatest feeling in the world."

6bcad241-bb56-4348-a759-6c24b0b60e16-710_7467.JPG

Ohio State Buckeyes baseball player Ridge Winand, a 2014 Clear Fork graduate, is having a standout year during his senior season.
(Photo: Jeff Hoffer/Hoffer Photography)



Fast forward to his senior season. Winand had just three career hits and was coming off of a .077 average the previous year. He completely flipped the script in 2019. He had a 3-hit games on March 11 against Furman, matching his career total, and then had a career day with four hits in a game against Rutgers. He has had seven multi-hit games this season including a moment he will never forget.

On April 13, Winand blasted his first career home run against No. 24 Michigan. His 3-run homer put the Buckeyes up 8-0 in Game 1 of a double header. The Buckeyes won 10-4.

A week later against Maryland, Winand had another career day, drilling two home runs with a career high four RBI in a Buckeyes win, giving him three career homers and the first time in his college career he had a multi-home run game.

In just a part of one season, Winand hit just as many home runs as he had hits his entire college career.

"I hit the big home run against Michigan and that was my first one which was storybook," Winand said. "You can't write it any better than that. Against that team up North, it was crazy. Then, going into that Sunday game against Maryland, I was seeing the ball well and just got a couple good pitches that happened to leave the yard and I was just happy to help my team win."

fc829b70-11ed-439d-bd77-008c600336de-710_7442.JPG

Ohio State Buckeyes baseball player Ridge Winand, a 2014 Clear Fork graduate, is having a standout year during his senior season.
(Photo: Jeff Hoffer/Hoffer Photography)


Winand's teammates have a running joke since the Maryland game saying he has his home run trot down like a veteran despite just a few homers.

"They love it when I round third and I am about to reach home, I take off my helmet rocking my shades and headband," Winand said. "They love that stuff. It is awesome."

As much support as he has from his teammates, he feels all of the love from the Valley.

"It is awesome," Winand said. "Being an hour away, I know everyone is behind me. The Valley has some of the best fans in the world and I am blessed to be from there and I am blessed and happy to come out here and put on for them."

As Winand's Ohio State career comes to a close, he will forever be known as a 2-time OSU Scholar-Athlete, Academic All-Big Ten in 2018, a part of the 2018 Buckeye Strength and Conditioning Power Club and a team captain in 2019 for a program that produced MLB stars such as Steve Arlin, Frank Howard, Nick Swisher, Barry Bonnell, Dave Burba, and Fred Taylor.

More than that, he will be known as the son of Karla and the late Bart Winand, the brother of Taylor, Bailey and Tanner Winand, a true Buckeye and the pride of the Clear Fork Valley.

https://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.co...WeBmPW31fyhILCUh_lTUnkGyOJrma37VmO2T1yMdpX6TI
 
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Ohio State baseball has a tough weekend in Minnesota
The Buckeyes battled, but came up short against the Golden Gophers.
By Gene Ross@Gene_Ross23 May 6, 2019, 11:18am EDTSHARE
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Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Ohio State baseball team had a tough, rain-soaked weekend in Minneapolis. The Buckeyes were supposed to play a single-game exhibition at Miami (OH) on Wednesday, but the game was cancelled due to persistent lightning with no plans for a makeup. Instead, OSU hit the road to take on Minnesota, where again weather postponed the first game of the series. Game one of the three-game Big Ten bout was scheduled for Friday, but the weather had other plans as the opener was pushed to Saturday.

After winning back-to-back conference series against Michigan and Maryland, Ohio State lost two of three against Iowa in Columbus last weekend, and was looking for a bounce-back performance this weekend against the Golden Gophers. Things would not go as planned, however, as the Buckeyes struggled with yet another conference opponent.

Game One
With the game one Friday being rained out, Ohio State was set to play on doubleheader on Saturday. Extra innings would have something else to say about that, as the opening match between the two schools would wind up going 18 innings and lasting five hours and 45 minutes — the longest game for the Buckeyes in the last 15 years. OSU got a decent outing from starter Garrett Burhenn, who lasted 5.2 innings allowing one earned run on four hits with three strikeouts. Andrew Magno pitched seven innings in relief, allowing one run on four hits and eight walks (three intentional) with eight strikeouts.

Down 3-2 in the eighth, Ohio State regained the lead on an RBI single by Dillon Dingler with the bases loaded, followed by a run-scoring wild pitch to put the Buckeyes on top 4-3. A lead-off walk in the ninth inning led to a game-tying run by the Gophers as the game would go to extras. The two teams would remain scoreless over the next eight innings, but it was Minnesota who was able to push one across in the 18th inning to walk it off 5-4. OSU left nine runners on base, while the Gophers left 27 men on.

Game Two
With game one of the series lasting almost six hours, the doubleheader was moved to Sunday, with the first game beginning at 11 a.m. Seth Lonsway took the mound for Ohio State, but was knocked out after only three innings after walking eight batters, allowing four runs and four hits despite striking out eight. Minnesota starter Sam Thoresen was brilliant, allowed just one earned run on a hit and five walks through six innings. As a staff, the Golden Gophers allowed just three Buckeye hits all game.

The long ball really hurt Ohio State in this one as Minnesota mashed three homers to drive in five runs. The Gophers really got to OSU reliever TJ Brock, scoring seven runs on seven hits off the freshman. Stymied by the opposing pitching staff, the Buckeyes pushed just two runs across thanks to a few errors in the first inning and a Brent Todys sac fly in the sixth as Ohio State was dominated 11-2 in the first game of the doubleheader. Dominic Canzone’s 18-game hit streak — the longest by a Buckeye in 17 years — was snapped as the junior outfielder went 0-for-3 with a pair of walks.

Game Three
Ohio State would attempt to salvage the series in the second game of the doubleheader, with starter Griffin Smith giving them a fantastic start. The sophomore southpaw put in eight innings of work, allowing three earned runs on five hits with eight strikeouts. Neither offense was able to get much of anything going, as both teams would record five hits apiece in the low-scoring series finale.

After a solo homer by Minnesota in the first inning, the Buckeyes would answer right away with a two-run double in the second to take a 2-1 lead early. Another solo shot by the Gophers would tie the game at two apiece, and the game would remain knotted up through the next five innings. With Smith still in the game for Ohio State, Minnesota got a two-out bloop double to fall in the bottom of the eighth inning to push across the go-ahead run. The Bucks were unable to answer in the ninth inning, and would fall 3-2 as they could not avoid the sweep in Minneapolis.

Ohio State falls to 24-23 on the season, with a 7-11 record in the Big Ten. The Buckeyes are near the bottom of the conference standings — with only Michigan State and Penn State trailing behind — despite being in the top half of the B1G when it comes to overall win percentage including non-conference opponents. The Buckeyes have just two Big Ten series remaining in the regular season, taking on the Nittany Lions at home next weekend with a road series against Purdue the following weekend.

Despite a bad series for the team as a whole, a few OSU players continued some impressive streaks. With a leadoff single in the final game of the Minnesota series, Canzone extended his on-base streak to 43 games. Dingler was able to extend his on-base streak to 23 games, while Connor Pohl pushed his to 15 games. There was more good news for the Bucks this weekend as well, as five players received their degrees from The Ohio State University on Sunday: Brady Cherry, Andrew Fishel, Kobie Foppe, Nate Romans and Thomas Waning.

Ohio State will conclude its 2019 home schedule with a four-game homestand this week, playing one game against Wright State on Wednesday night before beginning a three-game series with Penn State on Friday. Wednesday’s game will be broadcast on BTN, with Sunday’s game against the Nittany Lions functioning as OSU’s Senior Day as the Buckeyes look to finish the last few weeks of the season strong.


https://www.landgrantholyland.com/2019/5/6/18530632/ohio-state-baseball-recap-minnesota-2019
 
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MAY 13, 2019
SETH LONSWAY NAMED B1G PITCHER OF THE WEEK
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  • Facebook, Twitter and Instagram | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Roster | Baseball Homepage | Big Ten Baseball

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – Seth Lonsway was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week, the conference office announced Monday afternoon. The redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher claims his second weekly award of the season. Ohio State has now collected seven Big Ten weekly awards on the year, the second-most in the conference in 2019.

    Lonsway, from Celina, Ohio, was dominant on the mound vs. Penn State in game one of a doubleheader last Saturday at Bill Davis Stadium. He fanned a season-high 13 hitters in eight scoreless innings and limited the PSU bats to five hits with one walk. Lonsway is 6-4 on the year with a 4.35 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 70.1 innings pitched. Lonsway is second in the league in strikeouts (96) and leads the conference in batters struck out looking (31).
https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/seth-lonsway-named-b1g-pitcher-of-the-week-2/
 
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MAY 20, 2019
SETH LONSWAY NAMED NATIONAL PLAYER OF THE WEEK
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  • Facebook, Twitter and Instagram | 2019 Schedule | 2019 Roster | Baseball Homepage | Big Ten Baseball | Big Ten Tournament Bracket | Tournament Central

    COLUMBUS, Ohio – Redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Seth Lonsway was named a National Player of the Week, Collegiate Baseball announced Monday afternoon. Lonsway, from Celina, Ohio, becomes the first Buckeye to earn national player of the week honors since Noah McGowan was recognized in 2018.

    Lonsway fanned a career-high 14 in eight innings of work and allowed just one unearned on two hits and two walks to help the Buckeyes to a series sweep at Purdue last weekend in West Lafayette, Ind. Lonsway is the Big Ten strikeout leader with 110 this season. He became the first Buckeye pitcher to strike out at least 100 hitters in a single-season since Alex Wimmers in 2009. His 110 strikeouts currently ranks seventh in OSU history.

    https://twitter.com/OhioStateBASE/status/1129569661731909633
    Ohio State travels to Omaha, Neb., this afternoon via charter flight to the 2019 Big Ten Tournament. The No. 7 seed Buckeyes face No. 2 seed Michigan in the opening round at 2 p.m. ET Wednesday at TD Ameritrade Park. The contest will be televised on BTN and can also be heard on the radio on AM 1460 ESPN.
https://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/seth-lonsway-named-national-player-of-the-week/
 
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