The 2003 Ohio State Buckeyes knew they were a good team last year, but just how good was not discovered until its postseason run in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments.

Needing two wins on the final day of the conference tournament against Minnesota, Ohio State rallied for a 13-3 win in game one and a 10-8 victory in game two to claim its second straight and sixth ever Big Ten tournament championship.

The win also handed the Buckeyes the league's automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. Now, Ohio State, as a No. 3 regional seed, was faced with an even greater challenge against a trio of Tigers, including two southern baseball powerhouses. Yet the Buckeyes again rose to the challenge, shocking the nation with a sweep of the Auburn Regional, defeating Clemson, a 2002 College World Series participant, in the opening round, before taking a pair of victories from host and national No. 4 seed Auburn.

That set up a super regional matchup with Southwest Missouri State, which itself came out of the Lincoln Regional as a No. 3 seed. The NCAA awarded the super regional to Ohio State, yet the Buckeyes fell two games short of advancing to the College World Series for the first time since 1967 despite crowds of more than 5,000 fans each game at Bill Davis Stadium.

Omaha again is the goal of the Buckeyes in 2004. This year's team also has a goal of winning the regular season Big Ten championship, which it has not done since 2001.

Facing the departures of three seniors, all pitchers, and junior outfielder Christian Snavely, who was drafted in the sixth round by Toronto, and redshirt sophomore closer Matt Davis, who was drafted in the seventh round by Cleveland, the Buckeyes will have somewhat of a challenge ahead of them.

They will be an experienced bunch as seven of the eight position starters return. The only hole to fill in the field is Snavely's position in right field. Ohio State also returns three of the four pitchers in the weekend starting rotation, including junior Scott Lewis, the 2003 Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and the school's 10th-ever First Team All-American and the first since 1999. In the Field
With seven of eight position players back, the Buckeyes will no doubt be stronger in the field and at the plate. That experience should pay dividends as they push for the school's 17th NCAA tournament appearance and the 11th under head coach Bob Todd.

"We should be really strong up the middle with Derek Kinnear, Brett Garrard, Drew Anderson and Mike Rabin," Todd, who is in his 17th year as the head coach at Ohio State, said. "We return seven position starters and three of four from the weekend pitching rotation."

Kinnear received mention on the watch list for the Johnny Bench Award, given annually to the top catcher in college baseball.

Garrard and Anderson have been playing together at shortstop and second, respectively, since the duo attended Brownsburg High School in Indiana. Garrard was the most outstanding player at the 2003 Big Ten Tournament after belting four home runs and two doubles and batting .474 in the five games. Anderson was the most outstanding player at the Auburn Regional after hitting four home runs and two doubles while batting .429. Anderson was named a 2004 Third Team Preseason All-American by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.

Rabin, who was a member of the Big Ten All-Tournament Team after getting 11 hits in five games, has incredible range in centerfield and has made several spectacular plays, including a few highlights in the NCAA tournament last year.

Junior Paul Farinacci returns for a second season at first base, while sophomore Jedidiah Stephen is back at third base. Sophomore Wes Schirtzinger will take over in rightfield to fill Snavely's departure, while Steve Caravati will jump in at left field after spending most of 2003 as the Buckeyes' designated hitter. Caravati played all of last season through a shoulder injury that required surgery in June. He will be back at full strength and could have the most impact at the plate for Ohio State in 2004 after batting .333 a year ago. He finished with eight home runs, seven of which came in postseason play.

"Steve Caravati can make the most impact for our team," Todd said. "He can hit for power and run and is one of the best defensive outfielders in the nation. We look forward to having him healthy."

On the Mound
Gone are three senior pitchers from 2003, though only one was a weekend starter. Departing were Nate Smith, a first team all-conference pick in 2002, Greg Prenger, who tossed the Buckeyes' first complete game in school history, reliever/occasional starter Kyle Brown, and Matt Davis, the closer who notched a school record 14 saves.

The Buckeyes do return three of the four weekend starters from a year ago, though Scott Lewis, who underwent Tommy John surgery in late May, likely will not return until April 1 at the earliest. Picking up the slack for Lewis and the other departures are left-handed pitcher Josh Newman and junior righty Mike Madsen. Each had eight wins last year with Newman finishing with an 8-6 record and a 4.64 ERA in 99.0 innings with 70 strikeouts. He earned second team All-Big Ten honors. Madsen finished 8-1 with a 3.31 ERA and in 65 1/3 innings struck out 45.

Joining the two will likely be lefty Trent Luyster, a midweek starter last year, who finished with a 3-1 record, and Chris Hanners, who entered the weekend rotation the second half of the season.

Team Captains
The Buckeyes elected four of their fellow teammates to serve as team captains for the 2004 season: outfielder Steve Caravati, shortstop Brett Garrard, catcher Derek Kinnear and pitcher Josh Newman.

The Newcomers
Bob Todd welcomed 14 new players to his squad in the fall. Lefty Dan DeLucia, righties Matt Headington and Rory Meister will be joining the pitching staff, while three catchers joined the roster: Jamey Moore, a sophomore transfer from Ohio Valley College, Adam Nemo and Adam Schneider. Infielders Ronnie Bourquin, Jeffrey Carroll, Tony Kennedy, Chris Macke and Jason Zoeller and outfielders Nick Feucht, Brett Hoerig and Jonathan Zizzo also will put on the scarlet and gray.

The Schedule
The schedule begins Feb. 13 at the Minute Maid College Classic on the grass at Minute Maid Park in Houston. This is the earliest start for the Buckeyes since the 1998 season, when the team opened the year Jan. 30, the earliest start in the history of the program.

In all, Ohio State will play nine teams that advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2003, including the opener against Texas, which won the College World Series in 2002.

"We have an ambitious schedule," Bob Todd said. "Playing Texas is a tremendous challenge and a great way to open the season. The quality of that tournament field is such that any of those teams could be in Omaha. It is a College World Series-caliber tournament."

The Buckeyes will play on the road the first five weeks of the season, a span of 16 games, with a bye week following the Minute Maid College Classic. The team travels to Myrtle Beach, S.C., Jacksonville, Fla., Mobile, Ala. and Boca Raton, Fla. for tournament action before the home opener March 31 against Eastern Michigan.