Ohio State Loses, 7-3, To Western Carolina Tuesday at Bill Davis Stadium – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/8/2007 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 8, 2007
Box Score
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State lost, 7-3, to Western Carolina Tuesday in the first game of a two-game non-conference series at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes and Catamounts will wrap up the series at 1:05 p.m. Wednesday at Bill Davis Stadium.
The Buckeyes are 28-16 on the year and 12-10 in the Big Ten. Western Carolina is 33-15 and 15-6 in the Southern Conference. After the WCU series, the Buckeyes head to Minnesota Friday-Sunday for a crucial four-game Big Ten series.
Jason Zoeller (Sr., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy) put the Buckeyes on top, 1-0, with a home run to left center to lead off the home half of the third inning.
Western Carolina evened the score at 1-all with a run in the top of the fifth and took a 4-1 lead with three more runs in the top of the sixth. The three runs WCU scored in the sixth were all unearned as the Buckeyes committed two errors in the inning.
Ohio State chopped two runs off the WCU lead with a pair in the bottom of the sixth to make it 4-3. Matt Angle (Jr., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) led off the inning with a double to right center. After a ground out, J.B. Shuck (So., Galion, Ohio/Galion) hit a grounder up the middle that took a bad bounce and off the second baseman’s glove for a single that scored Angle. Shuck then stole second and scored on a two-out RBI single by Ryan Dew (Fr., Croton, Ohio/Worthington Kilbourne).
The Catamounts extended their lead to 5-3 with a leadoff home run to start the eighth and added back to back home runs in the top of the ninth to make the final margin 7-3.
Redshirt freshman Eric Best (Lewis Center, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty) started on the mound for the Buckeyes and went a solid five innings, giving up just one earned run on five hits. He walked none and struck out seven, a career-high, besting the five in 2.2 innings he had vs. Northwestern March 22 in Florida. Theron Minium (Fr., New Cumberland, Pa./Cedar Cliff) entered the game for OSU in the sixth and pitched three innings. He surrendered four runs, just one earned, walking two and striking out three. Rory Meister (Jr., Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Madison) took the mound in the ninth for the Buckeyes but lasted just four batters before being ejected. After getting the first batter to foul out, he gave up the back to back home runs and was tossed after hitting the next batter. Trey Fausnaugh (Sr., Circleville, Ohio/Westfall) faced two batters in the ninth, getting two fly outs. Brock Thornburg started the game for WCU and went six innings to earn the win. He gave up three earned runs on five hits, walking one and striking out five. Chris Masters entered the game for Western in the seventh and went 2.2 innings before loading the bases in the bottom of the ninth. Greg Holland relieved Masters and struck out the final batter to pick up his ninth save of the season.
Ohio State had seven hits in the game and Western Carolina 11. Zoeller led OSU at the plate with two hits.
