Ohio State vs. Cal State Fullerton – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/5/1999 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 5, 1999
Notes – Ohio State
E.J. Laratta pitched 4+ innings, allowed eight hits and sevenruns (all earned). The outing was his shortest of the year at home.The runs allowed was also a season-high for Laratta at Bill DavisStadium.
The Buckeyes had four RBI in the game, giving them 475 on theseason. That total ranks second behind the 477 RBI the 1991 Buckeyeteam knocked in.
The 11-4 defeat was OSUs fourth-largest loss this season.
Kevin Goodrum struck out the side in the seventh inning and tied aseason-high for strikeouts in a game with three.
When Tom Durant singled with one out in the eighth inning, it wasthe 696th hit of the season for the 1999 Buckeyes, passing the 1995teams all-time school record for hits in a season.
The relief appearance for Brandon Steen was his first appearance ina game since May 5 when he pitched four innings in a start againstOakland University.
Tonights game was the Buckeyes first in the NCAA Tournament inwhich they did not hit a home run.
Quotes – Ohio State
Head Coach Bob Todd
“Fullerton played a very good game, they deserve a lot of credit. The stage was set in the first inning. We couldnt get a guy home from third while they have a first run inning.”
“It is tough to win when your hitters cant execute and your pitcher only has one pitch.”
Jason Trott
“Smith did a good job throwing strikes. We didnt hit the ball like we can.”
“We are going to keep a good attitude going tomorrow. We have to forget about tonight. Everything will be positive. We arent going to change the way we approach the tomorrows game.”
E.J. Laratta
“I made too many mistakes tonight. I wasnt getting ahead of their batters. Against a team like Fullerton you have to strike them out.”
Notes – Cal-State Fullerton
Jon Smith pitched 7.1 innings, allowed six hits, three runs andstruck out seven. The start was his first since April 25, when hestarted and pitched only two innings. Tonights game was Smithslongest outing since March 27, when he pitched eight inningsagainst Nevada.
Ryan Owens went 3-5, scored twice, had six RBI and hit two homeruns. It was the eighth time this season he has hit two homers inone game. He has now hit three home runs in the super regional andfive in the NCAA Tournament. In the super regional, Owens is 6-9and has three runs scored and 11 RBI.
Owens 23 home runs this season tie him with former major league TimWallach for second place on Fullertons all-time home runlist.
The Titans first three runs were scored with two outs. Counting thefirst game of the series, 10 of its first 13 runs were scored withtwo outs.
CSF has scored at least one run in the first inning in 36 of its 60(60%) games this year for a total of 87. They have scored in thefirst inning of both super regional games. Quotes – Cal StateFullerton
Head Coach George Horton
“What you saw tonight was a better example of how we played all season. Jon Smith was off the charts tonight. He gave us an outstanding effort.”
“We were more disciplined tonight. We told our guys not to be so emotional and focus more on the game.”
Ryan Owens
“I feel real good in the batters box. The guys ahead of me are getting on and that gives me more confidence. I am seeing the ball real well right now.”
Jon Smith
“I have taken some time off to heal the injury. I sat out so I could be back for the postseason.”
“Luckily all three of my pitches were working tonight. I was getting ahead of their hitters and that kept them off balance.”
Reed Johnson
“We came out loose tonight, that was key. We were able to take it to Ohio State tonight.”
1999 NCAA Baseball Tournament, Super Regional
