Buckeyes Score Eight Runs in Eighth in 15-9 Win over Rider – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 12, 2005
Box Score
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – After giving up the lead in the top of the eighth inning, Ohio State battled back to score eight runs in the bottom of the inning on its way to a 15-9 victory over Rider in the Kennel Club Classic Saturday at Jacksonville University’s Alexander Brest Stadium.
The Buckeyes had Rider in a 7-0 hole, but over the course of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, gave up eight runs to the Broncs and saw the lead vanish.
Back-to-back doubles by Jason Zoeller (So., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy) and Ronnie Bourquin (So., Canton, Ohio/Canton South) tied the game at eight. Bourquin went to third on a single by Adam Schneider (So., Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura) and scored on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Paul Farinacci (Sr., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) to give the Buckeyes a 9-8 lead, one it would not lose. Ohio State added six more runs in the inning on a total of six hits and three errors. Rider added a run in the top of the ninth to close within the 15-9 final score.
Zoeller finished 5-for-6 in the game with two singles, two doubles and a triple, while knocking in three runs and scoring three times. Wes Schritzinger (So., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) added four hits with one run and one RBI and Bourquin added three hits with two runs and two RBI.
The Buckeyes edged Rider 19-18 in hits while playing error-free defense opposed to five errors on the Broncs. Mike Poalise, Tom Letizia and Jeff Reynolds each had four hits for Rider. Ohio State scored three runs on four straight hits in the bottom of the third. Mike Rabin (Sr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) got things started with a single through the right side and then moved to second on a wild pitch. Matt Angle (Fr., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) followed with a single through the right side and then Zoeller sent his first career triple over the centerfielder’s head to the wall to score the first two runs. Bourquin doubled to right-center field to plate Zoeller from second for a 3-0 Buckeye lead.
Another four runs crossed the plate in the fifth thanks to four hits, a walk and one Rider error. Zoeller led off the inning with a single to left-center and moved to second when Bourquin drew a walk. Cody Caughenbaugh (Jr., Newark, Ohio/Licking Valley) delivered both runners with a double down the right-field line. Farinacci reached on a dropped popup, before Eric Fryer (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Jedidiah Stephen (Jr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) hit his second home run in as many days, a solo shot to left field to cap the scoring in the inning and give Ohio State a 7-0 lead.
Rider scored a run in the sixth, capitalizing on a one-out double by Jon Rehm. Rehm moved to third on a groundout by Gene Crimoli before scoring on a single up the middle by Jon Leise. The Broncs scored three runs in the top of the seventh on four hits to pull within a 7-4 score.
Rider took the lead in the top of the eighth, scoring four runs on five hits. With one out, Brad States launched a home run over the left-field fence of Buckeye reliever Trey Fausnaugh (So., Circleville, Ohio/Westfall). Fausnaugh walked Jeff Reynolds and gave up a single through the left side to put runners at the corners. OSU skipper Bob Todd brought in Brett Hatcher (Sr., Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine), but Hatcher gave up three straight singles, including the third single to Scott Knazek, who knocked in two runs to give the Broncs an 8-7 lead.
Despite allowing the go-ahead run in the top of the eighth, Hatcher got the benefit of his teammates offensive outburst in the bottom half of the inning to pick up his first win of the season. He improved to 1-1 on the season allowing two runs on five hits in 1.2 innings. Will O’Connor got the loss for Rider, which fell to 0-5 on the season.
Ohio State, 4-4, returns to action Friday when it plays Northern Iowa in its first game of an eight-game spring break trip. The first game will be played at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota, Fla., while the remaining seven games will be played at IMG Academy in Bradenton.
