The atmosphere in the Ohio State dugout was upbeat last Friday during the middle innings of a 9-2 rout of Northwestern in the first game of a Big Ten series.
Ryan Riga, though, glanced to his right and noticed that pitching coach Mike Stafford was doing a slow burn.
“We were up by something like six runs when our pitcher went 2-and-0 on a batter,” Riga said. “Coach Staff was getting pumped up. Hey, we don’t walk people. He wants our guys to go after the hitter.”
This has been a revival season for the Buckeyes in that they are ranked nationally in three of the six major polls for the first time since the 2009 season, and a deep, versatile and diverse pitching staff has been leading the way.