Greg Prenger Records Perfect Game in 2-0 Win Over Oakland – Ohio State Buckeyes
4/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
April 9, 2003
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Right-handed pitcher Greg Prenger (Sr., Harpster, Ohio/Upper Sandusky) retired all 21 batters he faced to post a 2-0 perfect game victory over Oakland in the second game of a doubleheader Wednesday night at Bill Davis Stadium.
It was the first no-hitter by an Ohio State pitcher since Eric Thompson no-hit Michigan State on May 10, 1998 and believed to be the first perfect game in Ohio State’s 120-year history. It was the first perfect game coached by Ohio State head coach Bob Todd, who is in his 20th year as a collegiate head coach. There had only been seven no-hit games on record by Buckeye pitchers, the first in 1955.
“I’ve been involved with several pitchers who have thrown no-hitters, but I have never had one of my pitchers throw a perfect game,” Todd said. “I am happy for Greg Prenger. He came back from arm surgery a year ago and has worked extremely hard to come back from that. This is a tribute to his dedication and hard work.”
Prenger, who missed all of last season after undergoing surgery on his right shoulder in the summer of 2001, said he once threw a new hitter on his high school junior varsity team when he was a freshman at Upper Sandusky.
“Nothing compares to this experience,” Prenger said. “I didn’t even realize what was going on until about the fifth inning. This is an incredible experience.”
That is more than can be said for OSU shortstop Drew Anderson (So., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg), who recorded the final out, a pop-up he caught just into the outfield grass. Anderson did not realize what had happened until the Buckeyes mobbed Prenger in celebration as he was walking off the field.
Prenger struck out one batter in the first, two in the third, two in the fifth and one for the seventh out of the seventh and final inning. He had seven fly or pop outs and eight ground or line outs to go with the six strikeouts, which equaled the most in his career.
He moved to 2-0 this year with the victory, which was also the 11th of his career against five losses. Oakland’s Billy Schmieder got the loss in six innings of work after allowing two runs (one earned) on six hits.
The Buckeyes scored once in the first inning as Mike Rabin (Jr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) turned his free opportunity into the first run of the game. Rabin was hit by a pitch to lead off the game, stole second and then scored on a throwing error by Oakland third baseman Ty Herriott, who threw wide of first on a grounder by Cody Caughenbaugh (Fr., Newark, Ohio/Licking Valley).
The second run crossed the plate in the third inning when catcher Kelly Houser (Fr., New Holland, Ohio/Adena) doubled in Caughenbaugh with two outs. Caughenbaugh reached on a fielder’s choice that caught Christian Snavely (Jr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) at second base. Terry Pettorini (Jr., Wooster, Ohio/Wooster) was stranded at second base after an infield single.
Pettorini finished the game with two hits in three at bats. Houser’s RBI was the lone by the Buckeyes, who also scored on the only error of the game.
Ohio State will play Iowa in a four-game Big Ten series this weekend at Bill Davis Stadium. The teams will play a single game Friday at 6:35 p.m. before playing a doubleheader Saturday at 4:05 p.m. The weekend concludes Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m.
