Baseball Buckeyes Take Lead in Sixth, Down Vermont 6-5 in DH Sweep – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/24/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 24, 2006
Box Score
BRADENTON, Fla. – Ohio State right fielder Wes Schirtzinger drove in the winning run in the top of the sixth inning to break a 5-all tie and closer Rory Meister came in to pick up his second save as the Buckeyes beat Vermont 6-5 to sweep a doubleheader against the Catamounts Friday at IMG Academy. Ohio State won the first game 14-1.
Back-to-back Vermont home runs by Will Huntington and Jim Chapman in the bottom of the fifth inning tied the game at five. Huntington’s two-run shot that also scored Chad Morris, bounced off the top of the fence in left-center field. Chapman’s solo shot stayed just fair down the left-field line.
J.B. Shuck (Fr., Galion, Ohio/Galion) got on base with a single to left and then went to second on a wild pitch. After a second strikeout in the inning by Vermont starter Bryan Rembisz, Schirtzinger, a junior from Westerville, Ohio (Westerville North), singled to left to drive Shuck in as the winning run.
Meister came into the game in the bottom of the sixth inning and retired the side. Jacob Howell (Jr., Ashland, Ohio/Ashland) beat out a bunt for a single to start the Buckeye seventh, but Rembisz sat down the next three batters. Meister struck out his first batter of the home seventh, but pinch hitter Chris Fagan beat out a bunt. A single by Huntington sent him to third with just one out.
Meister caught Huntington trying to steal second for the second out of the inning before a walk put runners at first and second with two out. He got Rembisz, who was batting for himself in the lineup, to swing at strike three and end the game. He allowed six runs on 10 hits and struck out seven with a pair of walks. The save was Meister’s second of the season. Buckeye starter Dan DeLucia (Jr., Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) picked up his third win of the season (3-1), allowing five runs on nine hits in a less-than-typical day for the Buckeye lefty. He struck out four without a walk. Rembisz got the loss to fall to 1-2.
Ohio State scored first using a pair of extra base hits to start the inning. Howell led off the inning with a triple to the right-field corner and was hit in when Matt Angle (So., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) doubled to the gap in left-center for a 1-0 advantage.
The lead was short-lived however, as Vermont right-fielder Kyle Brault launched a two-run home over the fence in left-center field in the bottom of the inning to give the Catamounts their first lead of the day.
The Buckeyes got that run back and added another in the fourth. Angle drew a walk to lead off the inning and then with one out, Ronnie Bourquin (Jr., Canton, Ohio/Canton South) singled up the middle and sent Angle to third base. Bouruqin was able to advance to second on the throw. Jedidiah Stephen (Sr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) moved Bouruqin to third with a base hit to center and then a sacrifice fly by Shuck scored Bourquin to give the Buckeyes a 3-2 lead.
Two more Ohio State runs scored in the fifth. Tony Kennedy (So., Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) doubled to right-center and then Angle drew his second walk of the game to put two runners on for Eric Fryer (So., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg). Fryer singled to right to score Kennedy and then Vermont caught Fryer in a run down between first and second. Angle put pressure on the defense and slid under a tag at the plate for the second run of the inning that gave Ohio State a 5-2 lead.
Howell and Schirtzinger each had two of Ohio State’s 10 hits. Huntington was 3-for-4 with two RBI while Brault was 2-for-3 with a pair of RBI. Vermont had 11 hits in the game and neither team committed an error.
The Buckeyes (11-5), which finished 5-1 on its spring break trip to Bradenton, return to Columbus Friday and will have two days off and then two days of practice before opening the 10th season of Bill Davis Stadium vs. Toledo Wednesday at 2 p.m.
