Rabin Lifts Baseball in Bottom of Ninth for 4-3 Win vs. UConn – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 6, 2004
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Centerfielder Mike Rabin sent a shot up the middle to score Cody Caughenbaugh in the bottom of the ninth inning to give Ohio State a 4-3 victory in the Kennel Club Classic Saturday at Harmon Stadium.
Steve Caravati (Jr., Dover, Ohio/Dover) scored the tying run in the bottom of the eighth when he went from second to third on a fielder’s choice by Paul Farinacci (Jr., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) and then scored when the throw from second baseman Dave Tokarz got past first baseman Jeff Hourigan. That throw took Hourigan away from the bag and he collided with Farinacci, a play the forced the Buckeye first baseman to leave the game with an injury.
The Buckeyes gave up a one-out hit in the top of the ninth, but got two ground outs to end the inning. Brett Garrard (Sr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) stuck out to start the Buckeye ninth and then Caughenbaugh, a sophomore from Newark (Licking Valley), pinch hit for an injured Derek Kinnear (Sr., Kenton, Ohio/Kenton). Caughenbaugh delivered in huge fashion with a double to the wall in right-center field. Jacob Howell (Fr., Ashland, Ohio/Ashland) the lined out to left field for the second out of the inning.
That brought Rabin, a junior from West Chester, Ohio (Lakota East), to the plate. He had not had a hit since the first inning when he singled to left-center field, following it with a walk, a ground out and a strike out. He delivered for the Buckeyes sending a shot up the middle past a diving Tokarz to win the game. Rabin finished 2-for-4 in the game, knocking in the game winner and scoring the team’s first run with his leadoff walk in the fourth inning. Howell and Caravati also went 2-for-4 with an RBI in the game. Garrard was 2-for-3 as the Buckeyes had at least 10 hits for only the third game this season. Marc Peluso, the UConn third baseman led all players with three hits as he went 3-for-4.
UConn scored a pair of runs in the first inning, though only one run would stand. Russ D’Argento and Tony Mallozzi both singled to left field to start the game. Mallozi was caught at second on a fielder’s choice by Hourigan that advanced D’Argento to third. D’Argento later scored on a base hit to shallow center field by Mike Leonard. Following an at bat by Bryan Maler that put another run on the score board, it was determined that three batters had batted out of turn, though only the actions of the last batter could be negated, taking away the second run.
The Huskies had posted a lineup of D’Argento, Mallozzi, Hourigan, Leonard and Maler, in the dugout, but had switched the third, fourth and fifth batters on the lineup card given to the home plate umpire and OSU head coach Bob Todd during the pre-game meeting between the coaches and umpires. The official lineup on record with the umpire was D’Argento, Mallozzi, Maler, Hourigan and Leonard.
D’Argento scored again in the third inning to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead for the second time of the game. He led off the inning with a single up the middle and then was bunted over to second by Mallozzi. Maler bunted over the pair into scoring position and then a third straight bunt by Hourigan brought in the second run of the game.
Ohio State put up its first run in the fourth inning, capitalizing on a pair of walks to start the inning by Rabin and Drew Anderson (Jr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg). Caravati singled to center field to score the speedy Rabin from second and put Anderson at third. Caravati had advanced to second on the throw from D’Argento, the UConn centerfielder, to advance both runners into scoring position. But that is where the runners would stay as Husky starter Mike James sandwiched a pop out between to strikeouts to get out of the inning with a 2-1 lead.
UConn turned a leadoff walk into its third run of the game in the top of the sixth. Leonard drew a leadoff walk off of Buckeye starting pitcher Trent Luyster (Jr., Flushing, Ohio/Harrison Central) and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Luyster responded to strike out the next two batters before Tokarz singled through the right side to score Leonard from second.
Howell pulled the Buckeyes within one run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Ronnie Bourquin led off the inning with a single to right-center field and then was bunted over by Brett Garrard. After a strikeout, James gave up the shot up the middle by Rabin to make the score 3-2. That was his last pitch as UConn went with Tim Norton. He got Rabin to strike out to end the inning with a one-run lead intact.
Despite going 8 1/3 innings, Luyster did not pick up the decision for Ohio State. He allowed three runs (two earned) on nine hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Trey Fausnaugh (Fr., Circleville/Westfall) picked up his first win as a Buckeye recording the final two outs of the inning after Luyster gave up a one-out infield single. UConn reliever Joe Smeraglino was tagged with the loss. The Huskies fell to 0-4.
Ohio State, which improved to 3-5 on the season, will close the weekend against Western Michigan at 11 a.m. Sunday.
