PGCROSSCHECKER COLLEGE TEAM SCOUTING REPORT

30. OHIO STATE (37-21, did not qualify for NCAA post-season play).

Conference/Projected Finish: Big 10/1^st (19-12, 3^rd in 2006).

Coach: Bob Todd (763-396, 18 years).

First Game: Feb. 23 vs. James Madison at Tampa .

OVERVIEW: Ohio State has a lot of familiar faces back as they return their entire pitching staff and all but two regulars in the field. Few teams can line up four dependable starters like senior LHP Dan DeLucia (10-2, 3.25), junior LHP Cory Luebke (7-6, 3.38), sophomore RHP Jake Hale (4-5, 3.38) and sophomore LHP J.B. Shuck (8-5, 2.51), or a closer like junior RHP Rory Meister (0-1, 3.82, 6 SV). Junior C Eric Fryer (.368-5-52) and junior OF Matt Angle (.369-0-27, 25 SB) are the headliners on offense.

X-Factor: The Buckeyes have big holes to fill on the left side of the infield with the departure of 3B Ronnie Bourquin (.416-8-66), the Big Ten batting champion and a second-round pick of the Tigers, and SS Jedidiah Stephen (.343-9-49), an eighth-round selection of the Orioles.

TOP FRESHMAN: Cory Rupert, ss. The Ohio Division I player of the year should claim one of two openings on the left side of the Buckeyes infield.

TOP SOPHOMORE: J.B. Shuck, lhp-of. Shuck, the 2006 Big Ten freshman of the year, may not be the pro prospect that the 6-foot-7, 180-pound Hale is, but he’s the more valuable Buckeye. He not only takes a regular turn in the rotation but starts in left field (.325-0-19). Shuck has good bat speed with line-drive power to all fields at the plate. His best pitch is a sinking 85-89 mph fastball.

TOP JUNIOR: Cory Luebke, lhp. A lean, projectable lefthander picked in the 22^nd round last year as a draft-eligible sophomore, Luebke is a polished college pitcher capable of mixing an 87-90 mph fastball with an assortment of off-speed pitches.

TOP SENIOR: Dan DeLucia, lhp. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound DeLucia isn’t overpowering for a pitcher his size, but is a stabilizing force atop an impressive Ohio State rotation.