Prenger Fires a Shutout to Lead No. 26 OSU Baseball to a 4-0 Win over Michigan State. – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/14/2001 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 14, 2001
EAST LANSING, Mich. – Heading into the game, Ohio State starting pitcher Greg Prenger (So., Harpster, Ohio) did not factor in the decisions of his first two Big Ten starts. Determined to come away with something in Saturday’s start, he fired a complete game, six-hit shutout to help the No. 26 Buckeyes (26-8 overall, 8-3 in the Big Ten) to a 4-0 win over the Michigan State Spartans (17-17 overall, 4-9 in the Big Ten) at Kobs Field. With the win, the Buckeyes split the doubleheader with the Spartans and take a 2-1 lead in the four-game series.
“I’m just happy we got the win,” Prenger said. “My defense really bailed me out with the double plays and the play at the plate in the sixth inning was huge. This is probably the best I’ve felt on the mound all season long.”
MSU starting pitcher Scott Brandell was perfect through four innings retiring the first 12 Buckeyes he faced. But in the top of the fifth inning, Nick Swisher (So., Parkersburg, W.Va.) and Doug Deeds (Fr., Bexley, Ohio) ended the no-hit bid with back-to-back singles to right field. A sacrifice bunt by John Mayor (Sr., Chesterfield, Mo.) moved the runners into scoring position and an intentional walk to Christian Snavely (Fr., Defiance, Ohio) loaded the bases. Brett Garrard (Fr., Brownsburg, Ind.) followed and plated Swisher on a grounder to MSU third baseman Troy Bergman, who elected to throw out Snavely at second base. With two outs, Joe Wilkins (Jr., Grove City, Ohio) then lined a single to left field to bring home Deeds and move Garrard to third base. Mike Harris (Sr., Hillsborough, N.C.) followed and drove in Garrard with a bloop single to right field to give OSU a 3-0 lead. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Kevin Crews led off with a single to right field. Two batters later, he attempted to score on a double by Brady Burrill. But OSU rightfielder Doug Dendinger (Jr., Greenwich, Ohio) quickly fired the ball to cutoff man Harris who then gunned down Crews with a strike to catcher Wilkins who blocked the plated and slapped the tag to preserve the shutout.
OSU added an insurance run in the top of the seventh inning. With one out, Wilkins lined a single to center field. Two batters later, he scored on a double by Mike Check (Sr., Bay Village, Ohio) down the left field line to give OSU a 4-0 edge.
Prenger improved his record to 3-0 with his efficient 94-pitch performance. He faced three batters over the minimum. The shutout was Prenger’s second of the season. Brandell (1-3) took the loss. He threw a complete game, gave up eight hits and four runs.
Tomorrow, the teams conclude the four-game series with the finale at 1 p.m.
