Baseball Drops Game One of Doubleheader to Michigan 5-4 – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/4/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 4, 2002%^$
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%^$ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan scored five unearned runs in the fourth inning to hand Ohio State a 5-4 loss in game one of the Saturday doubleheader.%^$
%^$Michigan scored five runs on five hits and was aided by a pair of Ohio State errors in the fourth inning. After a fly out to start the inning, Jake Fox singled to centerfield and then designated hitter Gino Lollio singled through the left side. A fielding error by OSU shortstop Brett Garrard (So., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) on a tailor made double play loaded the bases.%^$
%^$Another fielding error by Drew Anderson (Fr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg, Ind.) on a sharply hit grounder by Nate Wright allowed the first run to score. After three straight singles and%^$
%^$E.J. Laratta (Sr., Englewood, Colo./Cherry Creek) retired the first three batters of the game before walking the next two. He got out of the second inning by sitting down the next three batters. He gave up two hits in the third, but got out of the inning when Blake Rutkowski was thrown out at third after a base hit by Brock Koman. All five runs were unearned for Laratta, who fell to 6-3 with the loss.%^$
%^$Michigan starter Rich Hill pitched masterfully after gaining confidence in the first inning with three strikeouts. He retired the first 10 Buckeyes before walking Garrard in the fourth inning. Hill got out of the inning with a strike out and a ground out.%^$
%^$Ohio State scored two runs in the fifth inning to pull within 5-2. Doug Dendinger (Sr., Greenwich, Ohio/South Central) drew a lead off walk and then was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Joe Wilkins (Sr., Grove City, Ohio/Dublin Scioto). A double by Anderson scored Dendinger from second. After moving to third on a ground out by Doug Larason (So., Alexandria, Ohio/Johnstown), Anderson scored on a Hill wild pitch.%^$
%^$Ohio State added a pair of runs in the seventh inning on Anderson’s first career home run to pull within the 5-4 final.%^$
%^$Nick Swisher (Jr., Parkersburg, W.Va./Parkersburg) did not get a hit in three at bats to end his consecutive hit streak at 19 games. It was the longest by a Buckeye this season and was only four games short of the Ohio State record of Jay Semke, who had a 23-game hit streak in 1987.%^$
%^$Hill improved to 3-5 on the season with the 11-strikeout complete game victory. He gave up only three hits and all four runs, but had six walks.%^$
%^$Ohio State and Michigan will play the second game of the doubleheader 20 minutes following the conclusion of the first game and then close the series Sunday at 1 p.m.%^$
