Ohio State runs winning streak to 13 games with 18-5 win over Toledo in home opener – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 28, 2007
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team ran its winning streak to 13 games with an 18-5 win over Toledo Wednesday at Bill Davis Stadium. It was the home opener for the Buckeyes.
The ticket proceeds from Wednesday’s game will go to two funds established for the Bluffton University baseball team and the student-athletes involved in a fatal charter bus accident March 2 in Atlanta. One fund will provide support for the student-athletes and one to create a lasting campus memorial.
The Buckeyes are now 14-3 overall and entered one of the national polls for the first time this week, ranked 29th in the March 26 National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) poll. The 13-game winning streak OSU is currently on is the team’s longest streak since a 17-game run early in the 2001 season.
Ohio State opens Big Ten play this weekend with a four-game series vs. Iowa Friday-Sunday at Bill Davis Stadium. Friday’s nine-inning game starts at 6:35 p.m., followed by two seven-inning games Saturday starting at 1:05 p.m. and a final nine-inning game on Sunday at 1:05 p.m. The Buckeyes took three of four from the Hawkeyes last season.
After falling behind 1-0 in the top of the second, OSU responded with five runs in the bottom of the second, four in the bottom of the third and two in the bottom of the fourth to take a commanding 11-1 lead. With one out in the second, the Buckeyes had seven straight runners reach base on five hits, a hit by pitch and another hit. The big hit of the inning was a two-RBI triple by Tony Kennedy (Jr., Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South). Senior Matt Angle (Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) added a two-RBI single in the inning.
In the third, OSU opened the inning with four consecutive singles with Ryan Dew (Fr., Croton, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne), Kennedy and Cory Kovanda (Fr., Columbus, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) singling in runs.
Toledo scored a run in the second to make it 11-2 but the Buckeyes added five more in the bottom of the sixth to take a 16-2 advantage. Sophomore Justin Miller (Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby) doubled in three runs in the inning and pinch-hitter Chris Macke (Jr., Terra Haute, Ind./Terra Haute North) singled in two.
The Buckeyes tacked on two more runs in the bottom of the eighth on a Miller RBI double and a Brian DeLucia (Fr., Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) RBI single, making it 18-2. Toledo scored three runs in the top of the ninth to make it an 18-5 final.
Freshman Josh Edgin (Three Springs, Pa./Mercersburg Academy) started and pitched three innings to earn his first career win. Edgin (1-1), a lefty, gave up one earned run on four hits and struck out five. Fellow freshman Eric Best (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) threw three innings, J.B. Shuck (So., Galion, Ohio/Galion) two and Jake Hale (So., Albany, Ohio/Alexander) one.
Miller was the star at the plate, going 4-for-6 with four RBI and three runs scored. Two of his four hits were doubles. Senior Jason Zoeller (Verona, Pa., Shady Side Academy) was 2-for-2 on the day with three RBI and two runs scored. Kennedy also had three RBI, going 2-for-3 with two runs scored. The 18 runs scored and the 21 hits were both season highs for OSU. Shuck extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a single in the third.
Mike Ellis was the losing pitcher for the Rockets, giving up five earned runs in 1.1 innings. Toledo used six pitchers on the day. The Rockets had 13 hits in the game.
