Ohio State Falls 9-6 in South Bend Regional Championship – Ohio State Buckeyes
6/2/2002 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
June 2, 2002
Box Score
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Notre Dame second baseman Steve Sollmann went 4-for-5 from the plate in helping guide the Irish to a 9-6 victory over Ohio State to win the South Bend Regional Sunday in front of 1,798 at Frank Eck Stadium.
Ohio State fell behind 2-0 after Notre Dame scored a pair of runs in the top of the first inning. Three base hits, including a leadoff double netted a run for the Irish and then a sacrifice fly by Andrew Bushey scored Steve Sollman for the early lead.
Notre Dame added three runs in the fourth inning. Matt Bok homered to right-centerfield to lead off the inning. After a ground out by Kris Billmaier, Javier Sanchez hit a ground ball to third baseman Drew Anderson (Fr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg), who threw high to first base for the first Buckeye error of the game. A base hit by Joe Thaman up the middle sent Sanchez to third and then Steve Stanley knocked him in with a base hit through the right side. Thaman scored to give the Fighting Irish a 5-0 lead on a ground out to second base by Brian Stavisky.
Ohio State finally got onto the scoreboard when Doug Deeds (So., Bexley, Ohio/Bexley) scored on a Joe Wilkins (Sr., Grove City, Ohio/Dublin Scioto) ground out to second base in the fourth inning. Deeds doubled to lead off the inning and then advanced to third on a wild pitch to set up the score.
Notre Dame added another two runs in the sixth inning. OSU starter Nate Smith (Jr., Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) walked Stanley, but then picked him off before hitting Steve Sollmann with a pitch. Stavisky singled to rightfield to put runners at first and second and that was enough for Buckeye coach Bob Todd, who brought in Chris Hanners (Fr., Groveport, Ohio/Desales) in place of Smith.
Smith got his first loss of the season and finished the year with a 6-1 record. He gave up seven runs, five earned, on 10 hits. He walked two and struck out one. Hanners finished the game against the Irish allowing two runs on four hits with a pair of strikeout and walks.
Andrew Bushey singled to no-man’s land in shallow left-centerfield and scored Sollman on the play as the relay through from Brett Garrard (So., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) sailed high of Wilkins. Bushey tried to advance to third, but it was occupied by Stavisky, so Wilkins threw to first, but Bushey made it back safely though Stavisky advanced to third on the throw and later scored on a sacrifice fly by Paul O’Toole.
Anderson gave the Buckeyes their second run of the game with a double down the leftfield line that scored Mike Rabin (Fr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East), who singled up the middle to get things started in the sixth. Notre Dame got that run back in the seventh on a sacrifice bunt by Thaman and gave the Irish an 8-2 lead.
Ohio State scored four runs in the eighth inning. Rabin led off with a base hit to right field and then Deeds singled to right centerfield to put runners at first and second. A single by Wilkins scored Rabin and then a sac fly by Lance Rolston (Jr., Athens, Ohio/Alexander). A two-run double by Terry Pettorini (So., Wooster, Ohio/Wooster), that missed clearing the fence in left-centerfield by about 12 inches, scored Wilkins and Anderson to pull the Buckeyes within two, 8-6.
The Irish added a run of insurance in the top of the ninth inning on a sac fly by Stanley that scored Billmaier to give Notre Dame a three-run lead.
“We had opportunities to score and didn’t do it,” said OSU head coach Bob Todd. I will give (Notre Dame starting pitcher Chris) Niesel credit. In both instances in the fourth and sixth innings, he did what he had to do. He needed strikeouts and he got them.”
Ohio State concludes its season with a 38-20-1 overall record after going 2-2 in South Bend, while Notre Dame, at 47-15, advances to face Florida State in Super Regional play, likely at Tallahassee, Fla., since the Seminoles are the No. 1 national seed.
“I’m sure Notre Dame will represent this region well at the Super Regional,” said Todd. “It was a great experience for us in 1999 and I’m sure they will enjoy it.
Ohio State had three representatives on the South Bend All-Regional Team. Pitcher Scott Lewis, shortstop Brett Garrard and outfielder Doug Deeds all were named to the team.
