COLLEGE BASEBALL Inconsistent OSU on a roll

The Buckeyes' roller-coaster season enters tournament time.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- On a chart, it would look a lot like springtime high temperatures in Ohio.
First, the Ohio State baseball team won 10 games in a row after stunning No. 4-ranked North Carolina. Then the Buckeyes lost six straight, including their first five Big Ten games. Their 3-8 conference start was the program's worst in 18 years.
Then, after all those bad times, the Buckeyes won 17 of their last 20 games to earn the No. 5 seed in this week's Big Ten tournament. Ohio State (35-17, 17-12), with more mood swings than a team full of Dr. Jekylls, takes on Michigan Wednesday at regular season champion Illinois.
Asked to pinpoint a low point, the Buckeyes can't come up with a consensus.
"The low point was that season-opening series, getting swept by Illinois," outfielder Mike Rabin said. "You always come in with high hopes going into the Big Ten, hoping to win another championship. Your goals are to win three of four every weekend. Instead we got swept. That was a shock to us. We thought we had a great team. Then to go in there and lose all four games kind of caught us off guard."
Michigan State fiasco
Then came a disastrous home series against Michigan State in mid-April.
"The low point was that Michigan State series, losing three out of four," senior pitcher Mike Madsen said.
First baseman Paul Farinacci disagreed.
"It was when we lost to Indiana 10-1," he said. "That was probably the most embarrassing game I've played in. That was the low point."
They might dispute when the Buckeyes bottomed out, but everyone points to coach Bob Todd's reaction after that loss to Indiana on April 29 as the moment the team came out of its stupor.
"He was like a volcano. He was getting ready to erupt," outfield Steve Caravati said, a smile creasing his face at the thought of his coach's angry outburst after that series opener. "You could see it during practices when there was normal stuff he wouldn't yell at -- like somebody missing a ground ball -- and he would jump them. Then after that Indiana game, he definitely erupted."
Pep talk
Todd, who has won 718 games in his 18 years at Ohio State, questioned his players' character. He said he couldn't do anything more with them, that if they truly wanted to turn things around it was up to them. Then he stalked out of the locker room.
After an uncomfortable silence, the players started talking. They expressed their frustrations, and vowed to play harder and smarter.
The Buckeyes swept a doubleheader the next day and have kept right on winning. Freshman catcher Eric Fryer has hit .434 since then, 59 points higher than anyone else in the lineup. Farinacci has 18 RBIs in the ensuing 17 games, including several to bring Ohio State back or put the Buckeyes ahead. Madsen has gone 3-0 as a starter, Rory Meister has a 0.66 ERA and a 4-0 record in relief.
The Buckeyes were ripped 11-3 by Michigan in an April 22 game shown on ESPN -- which also got votes as a low point.
Wednesday afternoon's game will be the first time the teams have seen each other since.
The previous meeting provides incentive for Ohio State.
"It was on national TV. It was a little embarrassing up there," said pitcher Trent Luyster, who is 2-0 since Todd blew his top.
Just a month ago, the Buckeyes were so submerged in the conference standings that it didn't appear they could qualify for the six-team Big Ten tournament. Now they want a memory so good that it erases all the bad ones from their erratic season.
"We can make it a great year by winning this tournament," Rabin said.