Indiana Wins Finale 6-3 to Salvage Series Split with Buckeyes – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 20, 2003
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Indiana used home runs by Ryan Donley and Vasili Spanos to salvage a series split with a 6-3 victory over Ohio State Sunday at Bill Davis Stadium. The win improved the Hoosiers to 25-11 on the year and 9-7 in the Big Ten, while dropping the Buckeyes to 22-12, 10-6 with the loss.
Indiana scored two runs in the first inning without the aid of a hit. OSU starter Nate Smith (Sr., Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) hit lead-off batter Kenny Marrs and then a ground out by Seth Bynum moved him to second. Smith then walked Corby Heckman. Spanos hit the ball to third base, where Terry Pettorini (Jr., Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) could not come up with the ball and that loaded the bases. Kevin Mahar then hit it Pettorini’s way again and the third baseman threw it over the head of Paul Farinacci (So., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura), allowing Mahar to reach second and scoring Marrs and Bynum.
Ohio State got one run back in the bottom of the inning thanks to a double to left-center field by Steve Caravati (So., Dover, Ohio/Dover) that scored Mike Rabin (So., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East), who boarded with a one-out walk.
Another run scored in the third to tie the game 2-2. Farinacci doubled to left-center and scored on a fly to right by Brett Garrard (Jr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) when Marrs, the right fielder dropped the ball. Garrard was thrown out at second, but Farinacci had already crossed the plate to even the score.
Donley led off the fourth inning with a shot to left-center to put Indiana back on top 3-2. It was his third home run of the season. A two-run home run to left-center by Spanos extended the Hoosier lead to three. Heckman singled to left to lead off the inning and then Spanos launched his eighth home run of the year and the his fifth in Big Ten play. Cody Wargo began the sixth inning with a double to the center-field wall. He moved to third on a ground out by Brad DeStefano and scored on a sacrifice bunt by Marrs to give the Hoosiers a 6-2 lead.
Ohio State pitching retired the final 12 batters to give the Buckeye offense a chance, but nothing was going for the Scarlet and Gray, which had just two base runners in the last four innings of the game. The team did manage to score a final run in the ninth when Pettorini singled up the middle to score Caravati, who reached on a fielding error by Spanos. A Farinacci walk allowed Caravati to move to second before Pettorini’s base hit. The Buckeyes left two runners in the inning and five in the game.
Indiana pitcher Chris Behrens got the win for Indiana to improve to 3-2 on the year. He went the distance, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits with four walks and five strikeouts. Smith got the loss for the Buckeyes to fall to 1-5 on the year. He last seven innings giving up all six runs (four earned) on five hits with three walks and six strikeouts. He was replaced by Chris Hanners, who threw the final two innings without allowing a hit.
Derek Kinnear had two hits in three at bats to pace the OSU offense, while the five hits by Indiana came from five different players.
Ohio State will close out the current 12-game homestand Wednesday night when it plays host to Shawnee State at 6:35 p.m.
