It wasn’t altogether pretty, but the Buckeye offense came through when it needed to and opened the spring break trip with 9-7 victory over Harvard at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla. (box score)
Ohio State held a 1-0 lead through 4 ½ innings, but Harvard took a 3-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth. The Buckeyes scored one in the sixth and another in the seventh to tie the game before exploding for four runs in the eighth to take a 7-3 lead. After Dan Burkhart and Tony Kennedy drove in runs, J.B. Shuck delivered a two-run single to left to give the Bucks a four-run lead.
Harvard answered with one run in the bottom of the inning and Ohio State scored twice more in the ninth, thanks to RBI from Burkhart and Kennedy. Three Harvard runs scored in the bottom of the ninth. The first scored courtesy of a wild pitch with the bases loaded and one out. Tom Stack-Babich, who homered earlier in the game, doubled in two more.
Junior Jake Hale allowed three runs on five hits in his 6.0-inning start. He walked two and did not have a strikeout. Three of the five hits he allowed were for extra bases, including a three-run home run by Matt Vance to account for all three Harvard runs in the fifth.
Andrew Armstrong, a true freshman from Bridgewater, Va., made his Buckeye debut, taking over for Hale in the seventh. Armstrong put the first two batters on board in the bottom of the ninth before giving way to senior Rory Meister. Armstrong allowed one run on two hits in his 2.0-inning effort. Meister walked his first batter to load the bases and a wild pitch scored the first of three runs that inning. His next batter drove in two with a double down the left-field line and he handed the ball over to freshman Alex Wimmers, who struck out his only batter to earn the save.
Burkhart led the Buckeyes with four hits (4-for-5), including a pair of doubles. Ryan Meade was 3-for-4 and drove in two. Four other Buckeyes had two hits, including Shuck, who drove in three while Kennedy drove in two. Ohio State out-hit Harvard 16-9 and each team had two errors. Stack-Babich and Vance each finished 3-for-5 with three RBI.
For the Harvard recap, click here.
Ohio State is 6-4, while Harvard slipped to 0-5. The Buckeyes play Dartmouth Sunday at 3 p.m.
2 comments:
Nice to start the trip off with a win.
Great game by Meade,Shuck and Burkhart tonight at the plate.TK also had 2 RBI's
Hope Meister gets it together for the Big Ten season, rough 9th inning tonight.Nice to see Armstrong get a chance to pitch and his 1st career W
2 more errors by the left side again. I think i might start coaching the IF. What does coach Cypret do in practice? This is driving me crazy.
Still no production from Dew in the 3-hole. Why is Arp/Hurley on the bench still? I have no clue what BT is thinking some times.
Go Bucks
I have nothing to add. You're last 3 points, Rory, errors, and Dew, sums up my thoughts.
Nice to get a win, but still should never be this close.
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