Buckeyes Win 2015 Opener in Walk-Off Fashion, 4-3 – Ohio State Buckeyes

Friday, February 13

Port Charlotte, FL (Charlotte Sports Park)

Ohio State

1-0

George Mason

0-1

George Mason

Ohio State

Buckeyes Win 2015 Opener in Walk-Off Fashion, 4-3 – Ohio State Buckeyes

2/13/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 13, 2015

Box Score

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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team started the 2015 season on a strong note with a thrilling 4-3 walk-off win vs. George Mason Friday night at Charlotte Sports Park at Port Charlotte, Fla. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth, the Buckeyes (1-0) tallied back-to-back runs on a hit by pitch and wild pitch, respectively, to claim the come-from-behind victory vs. the Patriots.

“It’s a humbling win and our opponent pitched the ball extremely well against us tonight,” head coach Greg Beals said. “We were able to sneak away with a win. We made some mistakes on the bases, but fortunately we were able to learn those lessons without losing a ball game.”

Junior second baseman Nick Sergakis scored the gamewinning run when George Mason reliever Tyler Tobin threw a wild pitch with the bases loaded. The game was tied in the previous at-bat after junior third baseman Jacob Bosiokovic was hit by pitch vs. Tobin. The Patriots decided to intentionally walk senior catcher Aaron Gretz to set up the scoring play. The ninth-inning rally started on a lead-off walk by senior right fielder Pat Porter and a double down the left field line by Sergakis.

“Pat led off the inning with a great at-bat and got things started for us,” Beals said. “That’s what you want from your seniors. He didn’t try to do too much and started the momentum for us and Nick came up with a big hit.”

Junior pitcher Jake Post earned the victory vs. George Mason, allowing just one hit in the final four innings with five strikeouts. He got out of a jam in the eighth inning when he struck out two batters to strand two GMU runners.
“Post deserved to win the game tonight,” Beals said. “He allowed us to be in a position to come away with a victory. It was great to see and I think you will see that from our team this year. We have depth and talent in our pitching staff.”

Sophomore pitcher Tanner Tully started for the Scarlet and Gray and received a no-decision after tossing five innings, allowing three runs on six hits with five strikeouts.

The Buckeyes did not take long to get on the board and did so by the long ball. With two outs, sophomore left fielder Ronnie Dawson crushed the first pitch he saw over the right field wall vs. right-hander Tyler Zombro to give the Scarlet and Gray a 1-0 early lead. Zombro finished with a no-decision, throwing six innings on four hits, two runs with eight strikeouts.

However, the GMU bats came alive in the top of the third, scoring a pair of runs with two outs to claim their first lead of the day vs. Tully on an RBI triple and RBI double.

Junior third baseman Troy Kuhn tied the contest at 2-2 in the bottom of the third with an RBI double to left center to plate sophomore center fielder Troy Montgomery.

George Mason produced the go-ahead run in the top of the fourth, though, on a sacrifice fly to center field vs. Tully. The next four innings went scoreless, but Ohio State had multiple chances to cross the plate, leaving runners on base in the second, third and sixth innings. The team also had the tying run on third base in the eighth inning, but couldn’t capitalize.

Defensively, the Buckeyes played a clean game at all positions on the field, including Sergakis, who made two athletic plays at second base in the seventh inning to keep it a one-run game.

Ohio State improves to 2-0 all-time vs. the Patriots. It was a chilly night in southwest Florida with temperatures in the mid to low 40’s. The Buckeyes played the contest at Charlotte Sports Park, home to the Tampa Bay Rays spring training facility.

UP NEXT The Buckeyes return to the diamond at 2:30 p.m. ET Saturday against Saint Louis at North Charlotte Regional Park.