Ohio State Beats Toledo 12-4 in Home Opener to Win 10th Straight Game – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/30/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 30, 2005
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Adam Schneider’s three-run double was part of a five-run fourth inning that broke a 3-3 tie and helped propel Ohio State to a 12-4 victory over Toledo in the home opener Wednesday in front of 1,428 fans at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes later added four runs in the eighth to extend its win streak to 10 games.
Mike Rabin (Sr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a single up the middle and then moved up two bases on a one-out single by Jason Zoeller (So., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy). Steve Caravati (Sr., Dover, Ohio/Dover) came through with his third hit of the game to plate Rabin and break the tie. Toledo reliever Joe Roberts walked Ronnie Bourquin (So., Canton, Ohio/Canton South) to load the bases and the Schneider, a sophomore from Agoura Hills, Calif./Agoura) drove a double down the right-field line to score all three runners and give the Buckeyes a 7-3 lead. Jedidiah Stephen (Jr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) poke down the third-base line with two outs plated Schneider to cap the inning and put the Buckeyes up by five runs.
Toledo shortstop Jason Watson hit his fourth home run of the season and the first at Bill Davis Stadium this year, clearing the left-field wall in the fifth inning to pull within four runs, but the Buckeyes added four runs on four hits in the bottom of the eighth for the 12-4 victory that ran the team’s record to 13-4 heading into Big Ten action this weekend. Zoeller led off the eighth with a single to left before Matt Angle (Fr., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling), who replaced Caravati defensively in the top of the eighth, was hit by a pitch to put runners at first and second. With one out, Cody Caughenbaugh (Jr. Newark, Ohio/Licking Valley) singled through the right side, scoring Zoeller for the first run of the inning. Kelly Houser (Jr., New Holland, Ohio/Adena), also a defensive switch at catcher in the sixth, beat out an infield single, which allowed Angle to score. Paul Farinacci (Sr., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) hit his seventh double of the season to plate the final two Ohio State runs of the day, scoring both Caughenbaugh and Houser, his 18th and 19th RBI of the season.
Caravati led the Buckeyes in going 3-for-4 with one RBI, but it was Schneider’s three RBI in the fourth that took the headline. Schneider finished 2-for-3 and scored once. Stephen was 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI and Farinacci was 1-for-5 and plated two.
Toledo scored one run in the top of the first inning thanks to a pair of hits. With one out, Jake Swint singled to right to get things started. After a passed ball that moved him to second, Swint scored on a base hit up the middle by Watson to give the Rockets a 1-0 lead.
The Buckeyes took a 3-1 lead on four hits and a pair of errors by Toledo. Zoeller reached on a throwing error by the Toledo shortstop and then went to third on a single up the middle by Caravati. Bourquin scored Zoeller with a single through the right side that sent Caravati to second. Schneider loaded the bases with a single to right. Eric Fryer (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) plated Caravati with an infield single down the third-base line and Bourquin scored the third run of the inning on a fielding error on the Toledo second baseman.
Scott Boley gave Toledo its second run in the second inning with his two-out single up the middle that scored Pat Rohrbaugh and then in the third inning, Travis Pilewski tied the game with his single to right to score Swint, who boarded on a lead-off single up the middle.
Both Ohio State and Toledo had designated short starts for their starting pitchers, but it did not matter. Toledo’s Joe Welsh last only one inning, giving up three runs (one earned) on four hits, while Mike Madsen (Sr., Canfield, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) went three innings, allowing three runs on six hits. Rory Meister (Fr., Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Madison), who replaced Madsen in the fourth, got the win for the Buckeyes to improve to 2-0. Meister went only two innings and allowed one run on a pair of hits. Joe Roberts, who replaced Welsh in the second, got the loss, allowing five runs on seven hits in 2.2 innings. Ohio State tossed four more pitchers in the game and allowed only one hit the final four innings of the contest.
Ohio State opens Big Ten play this weekend at Illinois. The teams will play at 5:05 p.m., EST, Friday before playing a doubleheader at 1:05 p.m. Saturday. The series concludes Sunday at 2:05 p.m. The first three games of the series will be broadcast only on the Internet (www.wosu.org), while the series finale will be broadcast on NPR 820 (WOSU-AM) and on the Internet. The game times of the first three games were moved up to allow Illinois fans to watch their men’s basketball team in the NCAA Final Four.
