Big Ten Baseball Championship Preview: Rutgers vs. Ohio State

OMAHA, Neb. (Interstat) — The Big Ten Baseball Championship will feature a Wednesday evening matchup between seed Rutgers and seed Ohio State at TD Ameritude Park.

The Scarlet Knights (26-29) enter the single-elimination tournament seeking to reverse recent fortunes after a 10-0 loss at Michigan on Tuesday. The Buckeyes (29-24) dropped their regular-season finale 8-6 to Washington on Tuesday, but they enter Omaha with momentum from a series sweep at Michigan last weekend.

Rutgers took two of three from Ohio State in Piscataway, New Jersey, in late April, including a 3-0 shutout on April 24 and an 11-5 win on April 26. The Buckeyes won the middle game 8-0.

Players to Watch

Rutgers right-hander Vincent Borghese is an unpredictable but potentially dominant force. The junior holds a 4.50 ERA over 16 innings in May, but he pitched a seven-inning, one-hit shutout against Maryland on May 9, striking out eight. He also threw five innings of four-hit, scoreless ball against the Buckeyes on April 24, striking out six. However, his last two outings were short and rocky: he allowed four earned runs on zero hits in 5.2 innings against Michigan on Tuesday, and allowed four earned runs in three innings at USC on May 2. He also pitched a scoreless inning against Northwestern on May 15.

Ohio State right-hander Jake Michalak has been effective in recent short outings. The senior tossed two scoreless, hitless innings against Nebraska on May 3 with four strikeouts. He also threw three scoreless, hitless innings with two strikeouts against Rutgers on April 24. However, he took the loss against Washington on Tuesday, allowing two earned runs on two hits in 4.1 innings, and allowed two earned runs in four innings against Michigan State on May 9. He was charged with an earned run in an April 26 loss at Rutgers without recording an out.

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Rutgers closed the regular season by losing five of its last six games, including a three-game split at Northwestern (win 15-9, losses 7-6 and 5-8). The Scarlet Knights were shut out in their final two games at Michigan.

Ohio State won 10 of its last 13 games, including a three-game sweep at Michigan (8-1, 7-3, 13-2) and a series win over Nebraska (10-1, 7-3, 2-1). The Buckeyes also took two of three from Michigan State.

The winner advances to the next round of the double-elimination tournament. First pitch is scheduled for 7 p.m. EDT.