Ohio State and Iowa split a pair Saturday, Buckeyes winning streak ends at 15 games – Ohio State Buckeyes
3/31/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 31, 2007
Box Score
Game One Box Score .PDF Game Two Box Score .PDF
COLUMBUS, Ohio – After a 2-hour, 29-minute rain delay, Ohio State and Iowa ended the day with a split of a rain-soaked Big Ten double header Saturday at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes won game one, 6-2, but lost game two, 8-0, snapping their 15-game winning streak.
Ohio State is 16-4 overall and 2-1 in Big Ten action, while Iowa is 11-7 overall and 1-2 in the conference. The Buckeyes won the opening game of the series, 12-7, Friday at Bill Davis Stadium. Ohio State and Iowa will play the final game of the four-game series Sunday at 1:05 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes will play a home non-conference game Wednesday vs. Cleveland State at 6:35 p.m. at Bill Davis Stadium before heading to Illinois for their first Big Ten road series April 6-8.
In game one, Iowa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth but the Buckeyes wasted little time in responding by scoring three runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 3-2 lead. Eric Fryer (Jr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) and J.B. Shuck (So., Galion, Ohio/Galion) started off the inning with back-to-back singles and moved to third and second, respectively, after a Justin Miller (So., Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby) sacrifice bunt. Freshman Ryan Dew (Croton, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne) followed with a sacrifice fly to left to put OSU on the board. Tony Kennedy (Jr., Bloomington, Ind./Bloomington South) then singled home Shuck to tie the game at 2-all and moved to second on a stolen base. Jason Zoeller (Sr., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy) gave the Buckeyes their first lead of the game, 3-2, singling home Kennedy. OSU wasn’t done though as it stretched its lead to 6-2 with three runs in the bottom of the fifth. Shuck drove in a run with a sacrifice fly, Miller one with a double and Kennedy one with a single.
Sophomore Josh Barrera (Somerset, Ohio/Sheridan) started his fourth game of the season and improved to 3-0, giving up two earned runs in 4.2 innings of work. The lefty struck out two and walked three. Sophomore Jake Hale (Albany, Ohio/Alexander) entered the game with one out, one ball on the batter and two runners on in the fifth and retired the next two batters to get OSU out of a jam. Hale did not allow a hit in 2.1 innings of work to earn his fifth save of the year. The Buckeye closer struck out three and walked none.
Kennedy led OSU at the plate going 2-for-3 with two RBI.
Scott Brune was the losing pitcher for the Hawkeyes, giving up six earned runs in 4.2 innings of work as the starter. Iowa used two pitchers in the game. The Buckeyes had nine hits in the game and Iowa six.
In game two, the Hawkeyes again jumped out to a lead, scoring two runs in the top of the fifth. This time Iowa held on as it added to its lead with two more runs in the sixth inning and four in the seventh for an 8-0 lead.
The Buckeyes could not get anything going offensively and ended game two with just seven hits, while the Hawkeyes totaled 14 hits in the game.
Freshman Theron Minium (New Cumberland, Pa./Cedar Cliff) started game-two for OSU and took the loss, giving up two earned runs in 4.1 innings. The lefty gave up four hits, walked two and struck out three. He also hit two batters. Freshman Josh Edgin (Three Springs, Pa./Mercersburg Academy) relieved Minium and went 1.2 innings, giving up six earned runs on eight hits. He walked one and struck out two. Darren Sizemore (So., Hamilton, Ohio/Ross/Georgetown University) pitched the final inning and didn’t allow a run, giving up two hits and striking out one.
Shuck and Miller had hits in both games to extend their hitting streaks, Shuck to 17 games and Miller to 10. Shuck is the likely starter for the final game of the series.
