Michigan Ends Ohio State Win Streak with 5-4 Extra Inning Victory – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/3/2003 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 3, 2003
Box Score
Columbus, Ohio – Ohio State came back from a 4-2 deficit to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Michigan took a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth and hung on for the victory in the first game of a Saturday doubleheader at Bill Davis Stadium.
Ohio State tied the game with a pair of hits and a pair of Wolverine errors in the bottom of the seventh. Cody Caughenbaugh (Fr., Newark, Ohio/Licking Valley) led off the inning with a base hit to left-center field. Wes Schirtzinger (Fr., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North) came in to pinch run for Caughenbaugh and moved to second on a walk by Derek Kinnear (Jr., Kenton, Ohio/Kenton).
Jedidiah Stephen (Fr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) had a one-out single to left-center field to bring home Schirtzinger from second. Then Michigan catcher Jake Fox tried to catch Kinnear at third on a double steal, but threw past third and Kinnear was able to cross home plate to tie the game and send it to extra innings.
Michigan re-claimed the lead in the top of the eighth on a single to right by Matt Butler that scored Chris Burhans, who had a one-out single to left-center field. He moved to second on a ground out by Brandon Roberts.
Eight different Wolverines had the eight hits, though Jake Fox was the only one responsible for more than one RBI. He had two in the game thanks to a double in the top of the first inning.
That is when Michigan scored four times on four hits, a walk and an Ohio State error. Gino Lollio led off the inning with an infield hit and then moved to second when OSU starter Josh Newman (Jr., Wheelersburg, Ohio/Wheelersburg) walked Nick Rudden. The pair moved to second and third on a wild pitch. Brock Koman singled deep in the hole to short to score Lollio from third, but then on an errant throw to first, allowed Rudden to advance to third. Fox doubled down the right-field line to score Rudden from third and Koman all the way from third and then moved to third on the throw home by Buckeye right fielder Christian Snavely (Jr., Defiance, Ohio/Defiance). Jordan Cantalamessa singled up the middle to score Fox and give the Wolverines a 4-0 lead before an out could even be recorded. Newman got Mike Sokol to strikeout before getting Burhans to ground into a double play.
The score remained 4-0 until the first home run of the season by Steve Caravati (So., Dover, Ohio/Dover), a towering shot over the fence in right-center field. The shot also score Snavely, who singled down the right-field line with one out.
Ohio State had just five base runners on the afternoon and had stranded three until the bottom of the seventh. The Buckeyes went in order almost all the way through the batting order, not getting their first hit until the third inning, when Stephen singled to right with two outs. The Buckeyes got two runners in the sixth. Snavely walked with two outs and then Caravati had in infield single down the third base line.
Newman got the loss to fall to 4-4 on the year. He pitched 7 2/3 innings allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits. He struck out four and walked four. Ali Husain picked up the win in relief for the Wolverines in 1 1/3 innings, moving to 3-0 on the year.
The Ohio State loss snapped a seven game win streak and was the first loss in four extra-inning games this season. The Buckeyes are now 29-13 overall and 15-7 on the year.
Ohio State and Michigan finish the doubleheader Saturday night before concluding the series Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m.
