Ohio State Comes Back vs. Illinois-Chicago for 4-2 Victory – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 21, 2005
Box Score
BRADENTON, Fla. – Trailing 2-1, Ohio State scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning to beat Illinois-Chicago 4-2 Monday afternoon at IMG Academy. A sacrifice fly by Ronnie Bourquin tied the game before a two-run double by Cody Caughenbaugh drove in the final two runs of the game.
With the win, Ohio State ran its win streak to five, including 4-0 on the first half of the spring break trip. The Buckeyes are 8-4 on the season and will return to action Wednesday vs. Vermont at 3 p.m. before meeting Cornell on Thursday and Saturday. Ohio State will play Dartmouth on Friday.
Illinois-Chicago took the lead in the seventh inning, as Mark Hallberg flew out to center to score Bryan Nolte on the sacrifice. Nolte had led off the inning with a single to shallow center and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Larry Gempp. Mike Bruszer singled to put runners at the corner before Hallberg’s sacrifice fly.
Mike Rabin (Sr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) got things started the Buckeye comeback in the eighth with a single through the left side and Wes Schirtzinger (So., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) reached on an infield single. Jason Zoeller (So., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy) was able to load the bases when UIC starter Zach Peterson threw over the head of Hallberg, the Flames’ first baseman. Bourquin, a sophomore from Canton, Ohio (Canton South), scored Rabin on a sacrifice before Caughenbaugh, a junior from Newark (Licking Valley) drove in the third and fourth Buckeye runs with his double to the wall in right-center field.
Caughenbaugh finished 2-for-4 with the two RBI. Schirtzinger also was 2-for-4 as the duo accounted for four of the team’s seven hits. Illinois-Chicago out-hit Ohio State 8-7 and committed two errors, opposite one by the Buckeyes. Bruszer was 3-for-4, while Hallberg was 2-for-3 to lead the Flames.
Trey Fausnaugh (So., Circleville, Ohio/Westfall) rescued starter Dan DeLucia (So., Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) to get the win. DeLucia gave up both UIC runs and allowed all eight hits over 6.1 innings. Fausnaugh came into the game in the seventh and did not allow a hit the rest of the way to earn his first win of the season (1-0). Peterson (1-1) took the loss for the Flames.
UIC put together three straight two-out hits to take a 1-0 the lead in the top of the third inning. Mike Bruszer got the inning started with a lead-off bunt and then Hallberg followed with a single to right. Bart Babineaux drove in Bruszer for the early lead.
Ohio State only had two hits the first four innings, but turned a lead-off double by Jedidiah Stephen (Jr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) into the tying run. Jeffrey Carroll (So., Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson laid down a bunt with two strikes to move Stephen to third. After Eric Fryer (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) drew a walk, Stephen crossed the plate on a fielder’s choice by Rabin.
The win by the Buckeyes snapped a five-game win streak by Illinois-Chicago, which fell to 5-9 on the season.
