Baseball Forces Championship Game Two With 10-8 Victory – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 25, 2003
Box Score
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Ohio State scored three times in the bottom of the eighth inning to break a 7-7 tie and hung on for a 10-8 victory over Minnesota Sunday at Siebert Field to force a second game for the Big Ten Tournament Championship. The Buckeyes and Gophers will play one game for all the marbles and the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Division I Championship.
With the score tied 7-7 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, Brett Garrard (Jr., Brownsburg, Ind./Browsburg) drew a lead off walk and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jedidiah Stephen (Fr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah). Drew Anderson (So., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) doubled to centerfield to bring Garrard home and break the tie.
Mike Rabin (So., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) walked before a shot up the middle by Christian Snavely (Jr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance) brought in Anderson for the two-run lead. Rabin scored on a fielder’s choice for the Buckeyes’ 10th run of the game. Minnesota added a run in the top of the ninth.
Four Buckeyes had two hits in the team’s 11-hit attack. Snavely finished 2-for-3 with a sacrifice fly for three RBI. Steve Caravati (So., Dover, Ohio/Dover) finished 1-for-4, but had four RBI thanks to a three-run double and another RBI on the fielder’s choice in the eighth.
The teams were full of offense early, but each team crossed the plate just once after the third inning.
Minnesota put the first three batters on base with hits to start the game and turned them into three runs to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the first. Scott Welch grounded out to second to score the first run and then a two-out single lined to centerfield brought in Ben Pattee and Luke Appert. Ohio State, playing as the home team, took advantage of a fielding error on Welch, the Minnesota shortstop, in the bottom of the inning on a lead-off grounder by Anderson. He moved to third on a single to right by Rabin and scored on a sacrifice fly to shallow center field by Snavely to make the score 3-1.
The Gophers got that run back and added another to extend their lead to 5-1 in the top of the second inning. Pattee launched a shot over the fence in right field and then Welch singled to score Appert, who doubled following the Pattee home run.
Ohio State took a 6-5 lead with a five-run second inning, the biggest hit, a bases clearing double to right-center field by Caravati. Garrard doubled to right-center with two outs to get the inning started for the Buckeyes. Stephen batted him in with a single up the middle and then moved to second on a base hit down the left line by Anderson. Back-to-back walks loaded the bases for Caravati.
Sam Steidl tied the game 6-6 in the top of the third inning with a base hit that scored Gary Dick, who singled to center with one out. He had moved to third on a fielder’s choice by Tony Leseman as the Buckeyes went 3-5-2-6 to catch David Hrncirik between third and home.
The Buckeyes took the lead in the bottom of the fourth as Rabin scored on a feilder’s choice of a Paul Farinacci (So., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) grounder to third. The toss to second caught Caravati at second, but with the bases loaded, Rabin was able to score and put Ohio State on top 7-6.
Welch tied the game in the top of the sixth inning with a home run to right-center field. The blast could have given the Gophers the lead, but the Buckeyes caught Appert trying to steal second after a leadoff hit through the right side. Minnesota out-hit the Buckeyes 18-11 as three different Gophers had three hits.
Neither starting pitcher had much going Sunday. Nate Smith (Sr., Bryan, Ohio/Bryan) started his first game since May 4 against Michigan and went 3 1/3 innings, allowing six runs (all earned) on 11 hits with two walks and two strikeouts. Matt Loberg started for Minnesota and also went 3 1/3 innings, allowing seven runs (six earned) on six hits with three walks and a strikeout.
Matt Davis (So., Mason, Ohio/William Mason) came in to relieve Trent Luyster (So., Flushing, Ohio/Harrison Central) and picked up the win, pitching the final two innings. He is now 3-1 on the season with a conference best 11 saves. Craig Molldrem got the loss to fall to 1-5 on the year.
The win for the Buckeyes was the 40th win of the season, which typically has been the magic number an at-large bid in the NCAA Championship should Ohio State not win the Big Ten Tournament.
