Just days after winning the Big Ten title, the Ohio State Buckeyes were gifted the No. 4 seed in the Nashville Regional and will take on the Vanderbilt Commodores in 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Yes, OSU was given the fourth seed, but, it may not work like you think. There are sixteen No. 4 seeds. There are a total of 64 teams with only one coming out of each four-team region.
Vanderbilt had a regular season record of 49-10 and drew the No. 2 overall seed in the tournament, only second to UCLA who went an outstanding 47-8.
Ohio State, at 12-12 in the Big Ten Conference, surged ahead of the pack at the finish line just to make the conference tournament. That said, anything can happen when it comes to the tourney which bodes well for the Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes will have a few options at pitcher when the times comes.
They’ll likely start Seth Lonsway against Vandy. He leads Ohio State with 122 strikeouts on the season and just a 3.65 ERA. He’s their best chance to tame the dynamic Vandy offense.
On the offensive end, the starting lineup won’t be a surprise for the Buckeyes. They’ve had just seven players record over forty starts. After that, it could be up to who head coach Greg Beals feels comfortable with.
For Vandy, its offense will be hard to stop. Led by two Golden Spikes semifinalists, Vandy boasts one of the country’s best offenses. Combine those two with a projected top-five pick in first baseman Andrew Vaughn and it’ll no doubt be a significant upset for the Scarlet and Gray to take down the SEC powerhouse.
Vanderbilt beat four top-ten teams en route to their SEC Tournament victory. We didn’t even mention outstanding pitcher Mason Hickman who was a perfect 7-0 with a 2.20 ERA.
But he’s not all. There’s numerous options at pitcher, but the Commodores have two elite options, Hickman who went 7-0 and Drake Fellows who also went unbeaten as well at 11-0. However, the best option with the best stuff might be Patrick Raby who went 9-1 in 15 starts.
The pitching is outstanding, the offense a monster, and there’s few holes to exploit. But hey, that’s why they play the games. The Buckeyes have already banked the odds, and play the underdog card well. There’s no doubt they’re be in the same position beginning Friday night.
