10/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Team Scarlet, coached by Josh Newman, scratched out a run in its last at-bat to earn a hard-fought and well-played 3-2 victory over the Gray in the deciding game of the 2010 Scarlet and Gray World Series at Bill Davis Stadium.
Freshman infielder Derrick Hannahs stroked a two-out single to right field to score Joe Ciamacco from second for the winning run. Freshman Josh Dezse pitched a perfect sixth and seventh inning to earn the victory in relief.
“Nobody lost this game today,” Ohio State head coach Greg Beals said. “Scarlet earned this win with a bunt single, sacrifice and two-out hit.”
The game featured a solid pitching matchup from a couple of young Buckeye starters: Scarlet sophomore Brett McKinney and Gray freshman Greg Greve. Each player went 4.0 innings with McKinney retiring eight of the final nine batters he faced. He allowed just one hit and two runs with five strikeouts and two walks.
Greve allowed four hits and both runs against him were unearned. He walked just one and struck out seven Scarlet batters, including four in the Scarlet second.
The relievers were equally effective. So much so, that the Scarlet staff combined to limit the Gray to just one hit all game, and that was to the first batter. Brian Bobinski, David Fathalikhani and Dezse combined for 3.0 scoreless, hitless, walkless innings. Gray’s Brad Goldberg was also solid, with just two hits allowed and the one earned run in his 2.0 innings of work.
“Pitching was the story of this game,” Beals said. “We got two quality starts and Goldberg was solid. And it was excellent to see Dezse pitch again, and pitch as well as he did in as challenging of a situation as we could have put him in.”
Gray scored its runs in the first and third innings. Freshman Tim Wetzel singled off the first pitch of the game from McKinney, stole second and third and scored on Matt Streng’s grounder to first.
Scarlet responded with two runs in the second in rather unfortunate – for Greve – fashion. Greve struck out the side but his ball got away from the catcher on his third strikeout, allowing Dezse to reach first. Two errors and a hit later and the Scarlet led, 2-1.
Wetzel, who Beals said has been much more offensive the last week or so and has probably “gotten through the freshman curve fastest of anyone…at least offensively,” got things going for the Gray again in the third inning. He walked, stole second, advanced to third on a balk and scored on another Streng groundout to first.
From that point on, though, the Scarlet pitching took over. Just one more Gray batter reached base after Wetzel’s walk with 14 of the final 15 batters successfully being retired.
Ciamacco reached on a bunt single to open the inning sixth inning, his second hit of the game. Dezse then successfully sacrificed him to second and, with two down, Hannahs sent his game-winner to right.
“I was just thinking ‘get a hit,'” Hannahs said. “I got a fastball outside corner and I hit it where it was pitched.”
Dezse finished up the seventh with a strikeout, infield pop fly and a grounder to end the game.
Some Final Thoughts from the Press Box
- Scarlet bubbled over with joy after the game, celebrating on the field with a few bottles of grape sparkling juice.
- October is beautiful in Ohio. All five games of this World Series were played under pristine skies and simply lovely autumn weather.
- Those speakers from the football practice field that were cranking for a while: they peak at 132 decibels, according to the electronics staff. A 747 takes off at 133 decibels.
- How about these earned run averages for the five game series: Gray sported a 3.38 team ERA and Scarlet was at 3.82.
- On the flip side, Scarlet hit .298 as a team and Gray hit .246.
- In two appearances, Greg Greve was 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA. He had 10 strikeouts and just two walks in 9.0 innings pitched.
- Duke transfer (who must sit out the 2011 season) Michael Carroll led the Scarlet with a .571 average at the plate (8 for 14) while a couple returning veterans – Brad Hallberg and Joe Ciamacco – each hit .400.
- Ryan Cypret (.333 with a team-leading three RBI) and Steel Russell (.308) also topped the .300 batting average for the series.
- Tim Wetzel led the Gray with a .400 average (6 for 15), four runs scored, three RBI and three stolen bases in the five games.
- Scarlet’s Brian Bobinski (4.0 IP) and Jared Strayer (3.0) each posted a 0.00 ERA in multiple appearances. Dezse had a 2.25 ERA in three appearances.
- Drew Rucinski (3.38 ERA) and McKinney (4.50) led Scarlet with nine and 10 strikeouts, respectively.
- Alex Wimmers, the only two-time All-American in Ohio State history and the national pitcher of the year in 2010, was at the game, sporting the ball cap for his new team, those classy Minnesota Twins.
- Wimmers said he won’t pitch again until January and is looking forward to some well-deserved time off.
- We will see everyone in March. The home opener is March 29 at 6:35 p.m. vs. Xavier.
###OhioStateBuckeyes.com###
