Baseball Stumbles Against No. 3 Miami – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/6/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 6, 1999
CORAL GABLES, Fla. – The third-ranked Miami Hurricanes (13-5) put a stranglehold on Ohio State (4-2) and never let go, handing the Buckeyes a 23-3 thumping Saturday night at Mark Light Stadium in the BELLSOUTH Hurricane Diamond Classic. The loss marks the worst in OSU baseball history and the worst since 1982 when the Buckeyes lost 19-1 at South Carolina.
The Hurricanes jumped on freshman Nate Smith (Bryan, Ohio) early, scoring six runs on five hits in the bottom of the first inning. Bobby Hill led off with a single to centerfield and proceeded to steal second and third on consecutive pitches. Hill scored when Manny Crespo pounded a Smith offering down the left field line. Lale (pronounced lah-lee) Esquivel stepped to the plate and crushed a two-run home run off the palm trees in centerfield. Smith then walked Kevin Brown and served up a single to Russ Jacobson. Marcus Nettles came to bat and hammered a triple to right centerfield, scoring Brown and Jacobson. The shaken Smith delivered a high fastball that hit Kris Clute, knocking him to the ground. Head coach Bob Todd pulled Smith in favor of Kurt Fullenkamp (Sr., Minster, Ohio). Fullenkamp executed a third-to-first pickoff move that resulted in a double steal with Clute nabbing second and Nettles swiping home for a 6-0 lead. Fullenkamp forced Brian Seever to ground out and struck out Hill for the final out of the damaging inning.
With one out in the top of the third, Trent McIlvain (So., Louisville, Ohio) hit his first homerun of the 1999 season, a shot to left field that finally putting OSU on the board.
Chad Ehrnsberger (So., Kalida, Ohio) mirrored McIlvain, belting a one-out solo homerun in the top of the fourth inning. Jason Turner (Jr., Versailles, Ohio) followed with a single to right field and scored when Jason Driscoll (Jr., Middlefield, Ohio) recorded his second double of the year, a line drive deep to right center that brought the score to 6-3.
Clute led off the Hurricane fourth with a single to left field and moved to second when Fullenkamp hit Seever. Hill laid down a sacrifice bunt that advanced both runners and Clute scored on Mike Rodriquezs deep sacrifice fly to centerfield.
Hurricane starter Darryl Roque hit McIlvain in the top of the fifth and put Mike Lockwood (Jr., Powell, Ohio) on with a walk before being relieved by David Gil who forced Tom Durant (Sr., Columbus, Ohio) to ground into a double play and Jason Trott (Sr., Dublin, Ohio) to ground out, ending the inning.
Esquivel opened the Miami fifth with an infield single and was brought home by Browns sixth homerun of the year, a towering blast over the left field scoreboard. After recording one out, Fullenkamp gave up five consecutive base hits to Nettles, Javier Rodriguez and Seever, Hill and Mike Rodriguez. Nettles scored on Seevers punch that fell into left field. Javier Rodriguez and Seever scored when Mike Rodriguezs high fly ball fell in left field between Driscoll, Lockwood and Ehrnsberger. Fullenkamp left the game in favor of Ted Kalnins (Fr., Burlington, Ontario). The Hurricanes put up 10 runs total in the inning, including Browns second homerun of the set, a grand slam which tied a Miami record for individual homeruns in an inning and total runs in an inning. Miami put up six more runs in the bottom of the sixth and the game was called due to the tournament 12-run rule.
OSU will face East Carolina in the championship game Sunday at 1 p.m. and Miami will face Georgia in the consolation match.
