Ohio State Drops Game One of Doubleheader to Gophers 5-2 – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/17/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 17, 2003
Box Score
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – A three-run home run by Minnesota shortstop Scott Welch in the bottom of the first inning was enough to get past Ohio State 5-2 Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader at Minnesota’s Siebert Field.
The Buckeyes jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Drew Anderson (So., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) led off the game with an infield single to short. He stole his 15th base of the year to get to second and then moved to third on a ground out by Mike Rabin (So., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East). He scored on a grounder back to the pitcher by Christian Snavely (Jr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance).
The OSU lead was brief as Welch’s three-run home run with two outs gave the Gophers a 3-1 lead. Josh Newman (Jr., Wheelersburg, Ohio/Wheelersburg) walked two of the first three batters and then got Jake Elder to pop out to short.
Minnesota got its leadoff batter on base for the second time of the game as Tony Leseman started the second inning with a double to left field. Sam Steidle bunted Leseman over to third and then a double by Ben Pattee to the right-field corner gave the Gophers a three-run lead.
A lead-off triple in the third by Jon Becker led to another Minnesota run. He scored on a ground out by David Hrncirik to give the Gophers a 5-1 lead.
The Buckeyes picked up a run in the fourth inning thanks to a lead-off home run by Snavely that made the score 5-2. The shot cleared the fence in right-center field was his 10th of the season and the 28th of his career. He is now tied for 12th with Jason Turner (1997-00).
Ohio State stranded three runners combined in the fourth and fifth innings. Following Snavely’s home run, Paul Farinacci (So., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) doubled to left-center field and then moved over on a ground out by Derek Kinnear (Jr., Kenton, Ohio/Kenton). Wes Schirtzinger (Fr., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North) flew out to left to end the inning.
In the fifth, Jedidiah Stephen (Fr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) had a one out single to center and then Anderson followed with a base hit up the middle. Rabin then ran in to his own bunted ball for the second out and Snavely flew out to right. The Buckeyes went out in order on three strikeouts in the sixth and then were retired in order to end the game in the seventh,
C.J. Woodrow picked up the win for Minnesota in going the distance to move to 7-3 on the year. The two Buckeye runs came on six hits and Woodrow struck out seven batters without a walk. Newman got the loss for Ohio State. He pitched six inning, allowing five runs (all earned) on six hits. He walked four and struck out two.
Anderson and Farinacci each went 2-for-3 in the game, but it was Snavely who batted in both Buckeye runs in a 1-for-3 effort as the team gathered six hits in the game. Six different Gophers had their six hits. Neither team had an error.
Purdue was responsible for a little bit of good news for Ohio State despite dropping the first two games against the Gophers. The Boilermakers handed Michigan 8-6 and 7-4 losses. The Buckeyes had entered the day with a magic number of two, needing either two wins or two Michigan losses or any combination thereof in the remaining three games of the weekend to clinch the second seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament.
By virtue of the Purdue sweep, Ohio State locked down the No. 2 seed, meaning the Buckeyes will open play in the Big Ten Tournament Thursday at 4:35 p.m. (EDT). The opponent is still in the air, though Ohio State will play the higher seed of the winners of Game One (No. 4 seed vs. No. 5 seed) and Game Two (No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed) from the opening round Wednesday. The tournament is May 21-24 at Siebert Field in Minneapolis.
Minnesota and Ohio State conclude the doubleheader immediately following the first game. The final game of the series will be Sunday at 2:05 p.m. (EDT).
