Wildcats Salvage Split With 13-4 Victory Over Buckeyes – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/29/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 29, 2003
Box Score
BRADENTON, Fla. – Northwestern had 13 hits and benefited from six Ohio State miscues in handing the Buckeyes a 13-4 defeat in the series finale Saturday at IMG Academy. The loss gave the teams a split in the opening Big Ten series of the year. Ohio State is 11-8 overall and 2-2 in the conference, while the Wildcats improved to 9-9 and 2-2.
The day did not begin well for the Buckeyes as they left the bases load in the first inning after a one-out base hit up the middle by designated hitter Steve Caravati (So., Dover, Ohio/Dover). Walks to third baseman Christian Snavely (Jr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) and leftfielder Terry Pettorini (Jr., Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) loaded the bases, but first baseman Paul Farinacci (So., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) struck out and second baseman Drew Anderson (So., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) grounded out.
The Wildcats and Buckeyes went in order in the bottom of the first and the top of the second, respectively, and then the wheels came off for Ohio State as Northwestern capitalized on five hits, including two home runs, three errors and a walk to take a 7-0 lead in the bottom of the second.
A lead-off throwing error on Snavely boarded Ken Padgett. He scored on a double to left-center field by shortstop Jon Mikrut. Mark Ori then singled to score Mikrut from second. Ohio State starter Nate Smith (Sr., Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) struck out Brandon Ackley for the first out of the inning before walking Travis Tharp. Mike Phelps then hit a liner back to the mound, but the ball hit off Smith’s throwing arm and the throw to first sailed past the base moving Tharp to third and allowing Phelps to advance to second. Eric Roeder then sent a deep ball over the fence in left field to score three and then a throwing error on shortstop Jedidiah Stephen (Fr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) allowed David Gresky to reach base, only to be hit in on a home run by Dan Pohlman to left field. Those runs were the sixth and seventh Wildcat runs of the game. Only one of the six runs was earned.
Ohio State cut the lead to four by scoring three times in the top of the third. Mike Rabin (So., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) drew a lead off walk and then Caravati singled to put runners at first and second beore a fly out by Snavely. Pettorini walked and then Farinacci singled to third base. The fielder’s choice caught Snavely out at third, but scored Rabin. Anderson’s two-out hit through the left side knocked in Pettorini and Farinacci to make the score 7-3.
But the Wildcats bought those three runs back and added another as they scored four in the bottom of the inning to extend their lead to 11-3. A walk and a base hit to start the inning prompted a pitching change by Ohio State skipper Bob Todd. Greg Prenger (Sr., Harpster, Ohio/Upper Sandusky) came on in relief for Smith. Smith got the loss to fall to 1-3 on the year allowing nine runs (three earned) on six hits. He walked two and struck out two.
Northwestern added another pair of runs in the fifth inning off back-to-back doubles from Roeder and Gresky to go up 13-3. The Wildcats were also aided in the inning by the Buckeyes’ fourth error of the game. Ohio State committed six errors in the game as Stephen had three erros, Snavely two and Smith one.
The Buckeyes added a run in the seventh inning, capitalizing on a lead-off double by Caravati. It was his first extra-base hit of the season in a 3-for-5 effort. Anderson also had two hits in five at bats in a 10-hit effort by Ohio State. Northwestern finished with 13 hits, but the six Buckeye errors were a big differnce.
Four Wildcats finished the day with 2-for-5 outings. Roeder, Gresky, Pohlman and Mikrut led the way with a hits, but Roeder paved the way with four RBI. Pohlman had three RBI. Dan Brauer got the win for Northwestern and improved his overall record to 2-0. He allowed three runs (all earned) on five hits. He walked four, but struck out six.
Ohio State returns to action next weekend with a four-game Big Ten series at Penn State. The teams will play a single game Friday at 3:05 p.m., followed by a doubleheader Saturday at 1:05 p.m. The series will conclude Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m.
