Ehrnsberger’s Grand Slam Downs Cal State Fullerton – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 4, 1999
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State defeated Cal State Fullerton 10-7 on Friday to go ahead 1-0 in the best of three NCAA Super Regional. Chad Ehrnsberger drilled an eighth inning grand slam to break a 6-6 tie and give the Buckeyes the win.
Ehrnsberger picked up three hits on the day, driving in five runs and scoring two more. Justin Fry pitched 8.1 innings for Ohio State to get the win, tying a season high with 12 strike outs. Andy Lee finished the game to save his first game of the year.
Ryan Owens went 3 for 4 with five RBI and a run scored for the Titans.
Fullerton struck first with a run in the top of the first inning. Spencer Oborn started things off with a one-out single and then stole second base. After Aaron Rifkin was hit by a pitch, Owens singled to drive in Oborn.
Ohio State tied the score with a run in the bottom of the second. Ehrnsberger reached on a error to lead off the inning. Jason Turner followed with a single to put runners on the corners. Ehrnsberger then got caught in a rundown after Jason Driscoll hit a ground ball to third, but Titan third baseman Sean Bischofberger threw the ball away to allow Ehrnsberger to score.
The Titans regained the lead with two runs in the top of the third. Oborn picked up his second one-out hit of the game to start off the inning. Chris Beck then walked. Two batters later Owens drilled a double off the wall to knock in both runners and make the score 3-1.
The Buckeyes picked up a run in their half of the third to cut the Titans lead to 3-2. Tom Durant and Jason Trott drew back-to-back walks with two outs. Ehrnsberger then ripped a single to drive home Durant.
A pair of two-out solo home runs in the fifth gave Fullerton a 5-2 lead. Rifkin hit his fifth of the season and Owens went deep for the 21st time on the year.
Four walks helped the Buckeyes pick up four runs in the bottom of the fifth. Joe Wilkins led off with a free pass. Trent McIlvain followed with a single. After a fly out, Durant walked to load the bases and Trott walked to plate Wilkins. Two batters later Jason Turner walked to score McIlvain. Driscoll then singled to center to knock in two and give Ohio State a 6-5 lead.
The Titans tied the game with a run in the sixth. Bischofberger was hit by a pitch and Craig Patterson walked to lead off the inning. Robert Guzman followed with a single to bring Fullertons sixth run of the game across the plate.
The Buckeyes took their largest lead of the game with four runs in the eighth. McIlvains one-out single got things started. With two outs, Durant and Trott walked back-to-back for the third time in the game to load the bases. Ehrnsberger then nailed his 16th home run of the year, a grand slam over the left field fence to give Ohio State a 10-6 lead.
Fullerton scored its final run in the ninth. Reed Johnson led off with a single. After a single by Chris Beck, Rifkin was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Owens then walked to bring in Johnson and make the score 10-7.
1999 NCAA Baseball Tournament, Super Regional
