Ohio State Finishes Spring Trip 8-0 with 11-2 Victory vs. Cornell – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/27/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 27, 2005
Box Score
BRADENTON, Fla. – Ohio State began the scoring with seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and Jedidiah Stephen capped the scoring in the eighth with his fourth home run of the season, a two-run shot, to lift the Buckeyes to an 11-2 victory over Cornell at IMG Academy in the final game of the spring break trip. During the trip, Ohio State went 8-0 to improve to 12-4 on the year.
The Buckeyes scored seven runs on seven hits and two Cornell errors to take a commanding 7-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Wes Schirtzinger (So., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville South) led off the inning with a single through the left side and went to third on a throwing error by Big Red starting pitcher Dan Gala on a failed pick-off attempt. The defense threw him out at home though on a fielder’s choice by Jason Zoeller (So., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy). The scoring starting after a pop-out by Steve Caravati (Sr., Dover, Ohio/Dover), who made his first appearance at first base.
Ronnie Bourquin (So., Canton, Ohio/Canton South) doubled to left field to score Zoeller from first. Cody Caughenbaugh (Jr., Newark, Ohio/Licking Valley) followed with a double to score Bourquin and Eric Fryer (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) singled up the middle to score Caughenbaugh and put the Buckeyes up 3-0. Matt Angle (Fr., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) sent a ball to left and off the glove of Cornell left-fielder Garrett Wasson. Fryer was able to score from first on the error and Angle made it to second.
Mike Rabin’s (Sr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) single to center scored Angle to give Ohio State a 5-0 advantage. Rabin stole second and went to third on a wild pitch before scoring on an infield single by Tony Kennedy (Fr., Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South). Schirtzinger, in his second at bat of the inning, plated Kennedy with a single to left-center field and give the Buckeyes a seven-run lead.
Ohio State scored twice more in the third inning. Rabin delivered his second hit of the game with one out before stealing his second base of the game. Rabin scored on a throwing error by Cornell shortstop Matt Miller of a ground ball by Kennedy and then he scored on back-to-back singles by Schritzinger and Zoeller to extend the Buckeye lead to 9-0.
Buckeye starting pitcher Dan DeLucia (So., Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) kept the Big Red off the scoreboard until the fourth, when Cornell was able to post its first run of the game. Miller led off the inning with a single up the middle and went to third on a single down the right-field line before scoring on a sacrifice fly by Wasson. DeLucia allowed only the one run on four hits to go with a nine-strikeout, one-walk effort to improve to 1-1 on the year. His nine strikeouts are a career high, obliterating his previous game high of four.
Dan Barker (Fr., Dayton, Ohio/Northmont) came in to start the sixth, which is when the Big Red turned a lead-off double by Miller into its second run of the game. Miller went to third on a passed ball and then scored on a base hit up the middle by Ry Kagan. Barker pitched three innings, allowing only one run on three hits. He had two walks and two strikeouts, before giving way to Brett Hatcher (Sr., Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine), who pitched the final inning of the game after Ohio State added a pair of runs in the bottom of the eighth.
Jonathan Zizzo (Fr., Youngstown, Ohio/Sarasota [Fla.]) reached on a throwing error by the Cornell second baseman, the sixth Big Red error of the game, an error that allowed him to reach second base. There he waited out two more batters before Stephen launched his fourth home run of the season to left field, netting the Buckeyes two more runs and an 11-2 lead.
Schirtzinger led the Buckeyes in going 3-for-6 with one RBI. Three other Buckeyes added two hits apiece, including Bourquin, Fryer and Rabin, but only Stephen finished with multiple RBI, thanks to his two-run home run. Ohio State out-hit Cornell 14-8, but definitely benefited from six miscues. Miller finished 3-for-5 to lead Cornell, though Brian Kaufman added two hits.
The last time the Buckeyes went undefeated on its spring trip was in 2001, when they went 10-0 in games in Bradenton. Coincidentally, that year was the last time Ohio State won the Big Ten championship. The Scarlet and Gray has finished second each of the last three years, winning the conference tournament championship in 2002 and 2003.
Ohio State, winners of nine straight games, will open its ninth season at Bill Davis Stadium vs. Toledo Wednesday at 2:05 p.m.
