Dendinger to be honored with Ohio State Big Ten title team

GREENWICH — Doug Dendinger will be one of as many as three dozen Ohio State baseball players from the 1999 Ohio State baseball team that won a Big Ten championship team that will be honored at Bill Davis Stadium prior to Saturday afternoon's conference game against Michigan.The recognition is part of the 20th anniversary of that title team."It will be nice to see those guys again," said the 39-year-old Dendinger, a 1997 South Central graduate. "I have stayed in touch with only three or four of them over the years. I remember back when I was a junior they had one of these championship team introductions. I am sure there were a lot of memories relived back then just like there will be on Saturday."That truly was a memorable season, because we not only won the Big Ten, but we were just one win away from making the College World Series," Dendinger said of the Buckeyes banner season that saw them fall in the decisive third game of an NCAA Super Regional against Cal State-Fullerton.Dendinger was nothing short of a high school phenom at South Centra. He earned 12 varsity letters as an athlete and was named to the All-Ohio first team three years in baseball, along with being named the Division IV Player of the Year as a senior. In addition, he was also named to the All-Ohio second team in both basketball and football as a senior.Dendinger was a starter from the get-go in every sport. In football it was either at quarterback (2.5 seasons) or running back on offense and linebacker on defense. In baseball, it was either catching or pitching."Basketball got off to kind of a strange start," Dendinger said. "I had been practicing with the varsity as a freshman at a guard position, but on the night of the first game, Coach (Pat) Durham said I was going to start on the reserve team. I guess he was testing me to see how hard I would play after being demoted. I played the first half and when the varsity game started, I was in the starting lineup."It was not every-year success as a member of the South Central baseball teams Dendinger remembered."We only won the Firelands Conference once over the four years, that being my senior year," he said. "But, every year but my senior year we made it to the regional. My freshman year, we lost 2-1 in the state championship game (vs. Cincinnati Country Day), but that was after we finished sixth in the FC. It was a matter of hitting our stride late in the season. We lost in the regional finals in my sophomore season and lost in the regional semis my junior year and then lost in the district when I was a senior."After being recruited by Ohio State's hitting coach Greg Cypert, Dendinger started the first game his freshmen season as the designated hitter. He came out of high school with a four-year batting average of .565 with 47 home runs."Out of the 64 games my freshman season, I probably started 40 of them, mostly as the DH." Dendinger said. "Occasionally it was in the outfield, a position I really started to like even though many who followed my career believed I should have been behind the plate. That was not my call, however. Ohio State had a senior catcher back when I was a freshman. I quickly realized that if I wanted to play, I had better learn to hit college pitching as a left-handed hitting DH."And he did, ending his freshman season with a .300 average, then just under .300 as a sophomore when he became more of a role player as one of the corner players in the outfield. He hit .320 with 10 home runs as a junior in what he called his breakout season when the team won the Big Ten. He batted .315 as a senior, the season Ohio State lost the Big 10 regular season campaign by a game — but went to Minnesota and won the Big Ten tournament.Nick Swisher, who would go on to a solid MLB career, came on the scene at Ohio State when Dendinger was a sophomore and was an immediate impact. The following year the two took turns batting third and fourth in the lineup."As I look back on my freshman year, it just seemed like baseball was not even close to being my biggest culture shock," Dendinger said. "I had played against some of the best talent in the Midwest in summer baseball, so I knew what to expect from the pitchers. I knew they would all be good. The bigger shock by far was going from a town of 1,200 to my very first class, a lecture hall that had well over 1,500 students in it."Dendinger's fondest memories were the spring trips the team took to Florida, Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico."I sure remember the daily routine of a Coach (Bob) Todd practice followed by weightlifting, the books and camaraderie with a number of guys that either lived in the same house or just down the street," he said. "That's the reason this weekend will be enjoyable, seeing many of the guys that lived on our block on campus, many of who I have not seen for 20 years."Dendinger and wife, Jessica, have one child, a two-year-old daughter, Adrienne. He presently assists his younger brother Ty, as an assistant coach on the South Central baseball team — off to a 7-3 start (4-0 FC). He has coached in one capacity or another at his alma mater since 2007.Following in the footsteps of his father, John, he is in his 12th year with the Huron County Highway Department.Former South Central standout and Ohio State baseball player Doug Dendinger, pictured here with uncle, Roy Dendinger (left) and father, John (right), will be honored with his Buckeye teammates for the 20th anniversary of the 1999 Big Ten championship team.