Baseball Stops Ashland in Final At-Bat – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/21/1998 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 21, 1998
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%^$COLUMBUS, Ohio – The 20th-ranked (Collegiate Baseball) Ohio%^$State baseball team used its last at-bat to keep in-state rival%^$Ashland from stealing a victory Tuesday night at Bill Davis Stadium.%^$The Buckeyes defeated the Eagles 6-5, to keep an eight game winning%^$streak intact, moving to 26-10 (11-5/1st Big Ten) on the year. Mike%^$Lockwood (So., Powell, Ohio) put the Buckeyes on the board in the%^$first inning after leading off with a walk and scoring. True freshman%^$Trent McIlvain (Louisville, Ohio) stepped to the plate and singled to%^$center field to move Lockwood over to third base and Dan Seimetz (Sr.,%^$Massillon, Ohio) sent a deep fly ball to the warning track in center%^$field to sacrifice him home. The Eagles took a 3-1 lead in the top of%^$the fourth inning as Ashland recorded four consecutive hits before%^$recording an out. Jason Russell singled to left field followed by%^$Brent Martineau who rapped a hit to right. Chad Lavender sliced a hit%^$to center field to score Russell and Clayton Fitch doubled off the%^$wall in left center field to bring in the two more runs. Fitch%^$advanced to third when Dan Sponseller flew out to right, but was%^$picked off when OSU starter Cory Cox (So., Chillicothe, Ohio) sold a%^$move. Mike Kremblas (Sr., Carroll, Ohio) led off the bottom of the%^$inning with a walk and scored when Marcello Garofalo (So.,%^$Worthington, Ohio) doubled off the wall in left center field. Ashland%^$pushed its lead to 4-2 in the top of the fifth when pitcher Jason%^$Boland singled to right field and came home when relief pitcher Phil%^$Vogelmeier (Sr., Newark, Ohio) loaded the bases and walked Chad%^$Lavender. Lockwood brought the Bucks within one in the bottom half of%^$the inning, singling to center, stealing second and scoring when%^$McIlvain singled to right. The Buckeyes took a 5-4 lead in the bottom%^$of the eighth when Jason Trott (Jr., Dublin, Ohio) led off with a%^$single to center, advanced to second on a fielder’s choice and scored%^$when Dan Zabloudil (So., Newark, Ohio) singled to right. Mike Stafford%^$(Sr., Canton, Mich.) came in to close the door for the Buckeyes in the%^$top of the ninth but Matthew Roseberry took him deep over the left%^$field wall to knot the score at five-all. With two outs in OSU’s final%^$at-bat, Trott singled in Jason Driscoll (So., Middlefield, Ohio) who%^$had reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to second on a walk for%^$the winning run. Catcher Tom Durant (Jr., Columbus, Ohio) will be out%^$at least five days after a split right thumb from a foul tip required%^$five stitches.
