Ohio State Edges Penn State 4-3 in Series Opener – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/19/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 19, 2006
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State starting pitcher Dan DeLucia earned his 10th win of the season and closer Rory Meister picked up his sixth save as the Buckeyes got by Penn State 4-3 in the Big Ten series opener in front of 2,144 fans Friday at Bill Davis Stadium.
DeLucia, a junior co-captain from Columbus, Ohio (Bishop Watterson), pitched 7.2 innings and allowed the three runs on 10 hits, finishing the outing with five strikeouts, three walks and threw 131 pitches. He is the first 10-game winner since 1999, when Justin Fry won 11 games and E.J. Laratta won 10.
The other two co-captains, Jedidiah Stephen (Sr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) and Jacob Howell (Jr., Ashland, Ohio/Ashland), each had two of the Buckeyes’ eight hits in the game. Howell had a pair of singles, including an RBI in the second inning, while Stephen had his first multi-hit game since May 6, getting a solo home run in the fourth and a one-out single in the sixth which led to the decisive run. The two hits gave Stephen 200 career hits, which is tied for 19th in school history. His next game will be the 200th of his career.
With the win, Ohio State will finish no worse than fourth in the Big Ten. With three games to play, the Buckeyes still have an outside shot to win the conference, needing to complete the sweep of Penn State and hope both Northwestern and Michigan lose at least three of their four games this weekend. The Wildcats lost its series opener at Purdue 11-0, but Michigan escaped with a 2-1 victory in its first game vs. Iowa in Ann Arbor. Ohio State scored a pair of runs with two out in the bottom of the second. Penn State starting pitcher Alan Stidfole started the inning with back-to-back strikeouts, but hit Jason Zoeller (Jr., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy). Justin Miller (Fr., Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby) followed with a single to left-center to move Zoeller over to third. Michael Arp (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) put the Buckeyes on the board when sent a base hit up the middle. Miller scored on a base hit to left by Howell.
Scott Gummo drove in Travis Laird to put Penn State on the board in the top of the third. Laird drew a lead-off walk and went to second on a single up the middle by Rick Marlin who had come in for starting right fielder Brian Ernst. Ernst ran into the wall after catching a fly out by Eric Fryer (So., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) in the first inning. After a strikeout, the Buckeyes stopped Marlin at second on a fielder’s choice before Gummo singled to shallow center to plate the Nittany Lions’ first run.
Stephen led off the fourth inning with a home run to left field. It was his team-best eighth home run this season, which ranks second in the Big Ten. He now has 26 career home runs and moved into a 15th-place tie on the school’s career list with Steve Caravati (2001-05), Doug Deeds (2001-02) and Matt Middleton (1996-99).
Jim Leitgeb singled to right center with one out in the sixth and scored when Cory Wine followed with a double over the head of centerfielder Matt Angle (So., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling). Angle caught a fly ball off the bat of Scott Gaffney and fired into Zoeller, the Buckeye second baseman. Zoeller threw over to Stephen, who doubled off Wine at second base to end the inning, but the Lions pulled within one run, 3-2.
The Buckeyes got the run back in the bottom the inning, getting an RBI double by Zoeller. Stephen singled through the left side with one out and stole second to set up the score. Zoeller doubled off the wall in right-center field to plate Stephen and give the Buckeyes a 4-2 lead.
Penn State again made it a one-run game with an RBI single by Wine over a diving Stephen in shallow center field that scored Lance Thompson. Thompson singled to right to lead off the inning and went to second when Gummo walked. DeLucia responded to get a pair of fly outs before Wine pulled his team within a 4-3 score. OSU coach Bob Todd went to his bullpen for Meister, a sophomore from Mansfield, Ohio (Mansfield Madison), who came in and caught Gaffney looking at strike three to end the inning.
Meister walked Laird, the lead-off batter to start the ninth, but responded to strike out his next two batters. After Laird stole second, it left a base open for Thompson, who entered the series batting .374, the fifth best average in the Big Ten. Meister pitched around him, eventually putting him at first in order to face Gummo, a right-handed batter. Gummo flew out to center on an 0-1 pitch to end the game to earn his sixth save. Despite two walks, he did not allow a run or a hit and struck out three in his 1.1 innings.
Stidfole took the loss for Penn State to fall to 3-5 on the year. He allowed the four runs on eight hits and struck out five with one walk in his 7.0 innings. He threw 139 pitches. His offense had 10 hits to eight by Ohio State.
Ohio State (33-18 overall, 17-11 Big Ten) and Penn State (19-34, 12-17) continue the series Saturday with a doubleheader beginning at 1:35 p.m. Archie Griffin will throw out the first pitch before the first game as part of OSU Alumni Association Day. Between games, Ohio State will recognize the 40th anniversary of the 1966 national championship. The series concludes Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m.
