Ohio State’s Lewis Beats Cary, Indiana 9-3 With 16 Strikeouts – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/18/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 18, 2003
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State left-handed pitcher Scott Lewis (So., Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington) out-dueled Indiana righty Jacob Cary to lead the second-place Buckeyes to a 9-3 victory against the third-place Hoosiers in the first game of a Big Ten series Friday night at Bill Davis Stadium.
Lewis, who entered the game with a 5-0 record and 1.59 ERA opposing Cary’s 7-0 record and 2.25 ERA, struck out 16 Indiana batters, giving him 36 strikeouts in his last two starts, both against Big Ten opponents. He equaled a school record last Friday by fanning 20 batters in a 6-1 complete game victory over Iowa. He left the Indiana game in the eighth inning after loading the bases on a hit, a hit batsman and an error after striking out the lead-off batter. His effort was again bolstered by an aggressive Buckeye offense.
Christian Snavely (Jr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) had three hits – a double in the first, a single in the third and a home run in the fifth – and needed a triple to complete the cycle. A triple was not out of the realm of possibility since Snavely is tied for fifth in school history with nine career triples. He struck out in his fourth at bat of the game in the sixth inning after the Buckeyes held a 9-0 lead.
A two-out home run by Paul Farinacci (So., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) put the Buckeyes up 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning. The shot over the left-field fence was his third home run of the season and scored Christian Snavely (Jr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) from second. Snavely knocked in the first run of the game when he doubled in Mike Rabin (So., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East), who had a one-out double to get things started for Ohio State.
Snavely led off the third inning with a base hit through the right side and then Steve Caravati (So., Dover, Ohio/Dover) tripled to the wall in right-center field to bring in Snavely and then he scored on a fielding error by Indiana third baseman Vasili Spanos who was trying to stop the relay throw. The ball skidded into the Buckeye dugout and Caravati was awarded home plate to extend the Ohio State lead to 5-0.
Snavely launched a solo shot off the scoreboard to open the fifth inning and give the Buckeyes a 6-0 advantage. It was his sixth home run of the year and the 24th of his career. Terry Pettorini (Jr., Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) led off the sixth inning with a home run to left-center field. Brett Garrard (Jr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) then doubled.
Cary struck out Derek Kinnear (Jr., Kenton, Ohio/Kenton) and then walked Drew Anderson (So., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg). Kevin O’Brien then came on in relief and moved the two runners on a wild pitch. He was then called for a balk to score Garrard and move Anderson to third. A second wild pitch scored Anderson to extend the Buckeye lead to 9-0. After O’Brien walked Rabin in the sixth, the strikeout by Snavely, the third and final strikeout of the game by Hoosier pitching, began a streak of eight batters retired.
Indiana (23-10 overall, 7-6 in the Big Ten) capitalized in the eighth inning and after Lewis’ 16th strikeout of the game, he gave up a single and hit a batter. A dropped fly ball by Rabin loaded the bases and that brought a visit to the mound by OSU head coach Bob Todd, who opted for Kyle Brown (Sr., Washington Court House, Ohio/Washington). Brown got Ryan Donley to fly out, but the sacrifice scored Spanos for the first Hoosier run of the game. A base hit by Nick Evans scored Kevin Mahar and a strikeout/wild pitch allowed Ryan Parker to score, pulling the Hoosiers within the final six-run margin.
Lewis went 7 1/3 innings, allowing three runs (all unearned) on three hits with 16 strikeouts and five walks in getting to 6-0 on the season. The 2002 Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American and Big Ten Freshman of the Year now has 94 strikeouts, three more than he had in his freshman season a year ago. The Buckeye season record for strikeouts 165 set by Steve Arlin in 1965. Cary was dealt his first loss to fall to 7-1 on the season. He lasted into the sixth inning, allowing all nine runs (all earned) on 11 hits with just two strikeouts and three walks.
To go with his two RBI and three runs scored, Snavely’s three hits went unmatched in the game. However, he was joined by teammates Pettorini and Kinnear, who each posted a pair of hits in the 11-hit attack by the Buckeyes.
Ohio State (21-10, 9-4) failed to pick up any ground in the Big Ten race as Minnesota (11-0) cruised to a 7-0 win at Illinois.
The Buckeyes and Hoosiers go at it again Saturday with a pair of games at 4:05 p.m. before concluding the series Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m. Both games Saturday will be televised by ONN, while the first game Saturday and the only game Sunday will be broadcast by WOSU Radio (820 AM).
