Ohio State Comeback Countered as Vermont Wins 7-6 in Ninth – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 22, 2003
Box Score
SARASOTA, Fla. – Vermont countered a two-run Ohio State rally that had given the Buckeyes a 6-4 lead in the top of the ninth by scoring three runs in the bottom of the inning to defeat the Buckeyes 7-6 Saturday afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium.
Ohio State had fought back to tie the game in the top of the eighth inning. After a fly out by Terry Pettorini (Jr., Wooster, Ohio/Wooster), Doug Larason (Jr., Alexandria, Ohio/Johnstown) singled to right and then advanced to third on a base hit by Mike Rabin (So. West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East). A pinch hit sacrifice fly by Paul Farinacci (So., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) tied the game as Larason scored on the shot to deep centerfield.
Buckeye reliever Mike Madsen (So., Chesterland, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) sat down the Catamounts in order in the bottom of the eighth and paved the way for a come-back win by the offense. Derek Kinnear (Jr., Kenton, Ohio/Kenton) and Drew Anderson (So., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) drew lead-off walks and then a fielding error by Vermont second baseman Dean Geoffrey loaded the bases for Ohio State. A sacrifice fly by Christian Snavely (Jr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) gave the Buckeyes a 5-4 lead and then Brett Garrard (Jr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) scored on a wild pitch to put the Buckeyes up by two.
Madsen gave up a pinch-hit base hit to leftfield before getting pinch hitter Nick Roberts to pop up to second for the first out of the inning. UVM centerfielder Jeff Barry doubled to score Raymond Montanez and then advanced to third on the throw. That two-base hit prompted a pitching change as Matt Davis (So., Mason, Ohio/William Mason) came on for Madsen as the Catamounts pulled within one run. Kinnear tried to pick off Barry at third, but threw into leftfield and Barry scored to tie the game.
Davis struck out Bobby Tewksbary, but gave up three consecutive hits, the last to Jason Iannoni that scored Jason Carey to give Vermont a 7-6 upset of No. 30 Ohio State. Davis got his first loss of the year having pitched to only four batters.
Kyle Brown (Sr., Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) went 5.2 innings in his first start since the opening weekend of the 2002 season. He struck out six, allowing four runs (three earned) on four hits. Madsen went 2.2 innings, allowing two runs (both earned) on two hits. The OSU pitching staff had not allowed a single Vermont hit in the fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh or eighth inning.
Vermont took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning courtesy of a throwing error by the first throwing error of the game by Kinnear trying to pick off Barry at third. He singled to lead off the inning and then moved to second after a walk and to third when Jason Carey grounded into a double play.
The Catamounts added a pair of runs in the third inning to take a 3-0 lead before the Buckeyes countered with one run in the top of the fourth inning. Back-to-back doubles by Pettorini and Larason got Ohio State on the board.
Snavely led off the sixth inning with a triple to the gap in left-centerfield and was then hit in by Pettorini, who singled to shallow leftfield, pulling the Buckeyes with a 3-2 score. It was Pettorini’s third hit of the game. He also had led off the second inning with a base hit up the middle, the Buckeyes’ first hit of the day. Vermont extended its lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth as Brown walked the bases before giving way to Madsen, who walked the first batter he faced before getting a strikeout to end the inning.
Drew Thomas (Fr., Mechanicsburg, Ohio/Briggs) drew a walk to lead off the inning and then moved to second on a base knock through the left side by Kinnear, who extended his hit streak to nine games. Thomas was thrown out at third on a fielder’s choice by Anderson. Kinnear and Anderson worked a double steal and then Kinnear scored on a ground out by Garrard to pull within a 4-3 score.
Pettorini finished 3-for-5 with an RBI and one run scored. Larason and Rabin had a pair of hits as the Buckeyes out-hit Vermont 11-9, though five of the Catamount hits came in the ninth-inning comeback. Each team had two errors. Barry and Iannoni each went 2-for-4 for UVM. Jeff Dixon got the win for Vermont (5-3).
Ohio State (8-4) returns to action Sunday at noon in Bradenton, Fla., where it begins a three-game non-conference series with Illinois at IMG Academy.
