Buckeyes Defeat FAU, 8-2, in Series Opener – Ohio State Buckeyes

Friday, February 20

Boca Raton, FL

Ohio State

4-0

Florida Atlantic

4-1

Ohio State

Florida Atlantic

Buckeyes Defeat FAU, 8-2, in Series Opener – Ohio State Buckeyes

2/20/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

Feb. 20, 2015

Box Score

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BOCA RATON, Fla. – The Ohio State baseball team improved to 4-0 in 2015 after defeating Florida Atlantic, 8-2, in the series opener Friday night FAU Baseball Stadium at Boca Raton, Fla. The Buckeye bats scattered eight runs on 10 hits, while the Ohio State defense limited the Owls to two runs, while turning four double plays.
“The story of the ball game tonight was how cleaned we played,” head coach Greg Beals said. “We committed no errors, walked nobody and turned four double plays. We ran the bases really well too. We did the little things right against a talented team. If we can continue to do that, we are going to be a tough team to beat like we were tonight. That’s the part of the game that I am really excited about.”
Ohio State crossed the plate two times in the third to take a 2-0 lead over the Owls. Connor Sabanosh led off with a single to left and Troy Kuhn was then hit by a pitch to put two runners on base with one out. Dawson worked a seven pitch at-bat vs. Miller and sent a RBI double off the left center field wall to plate Sabanosh for the first run. Pat Porter pushed the second run across home plate with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Kuhn.
The Buckeyes added a third run in the fourth, capitalizing on two FAU errors. Zach Ratcliff reached second base after an infield single and throwing error deep in the hole at shortstop. A perfectly-placed sac bunt down the third base line by Craig Nennig forced a second throwing error to allow Ratcliff to score to make it 3-0 Ohio State.
The Owls got on the board in the bottom of the frame when Roman Collins posted an RBI single through the right side to make it 3-1. However, Tully bounced back to get Kevin Abraham to ground into a double play to end the inning.
The Buckeye defense continued its strong night behind Tully in the fifth. After a lead-off hit, Nennig made a diving stop on a groundball up the middle and flipped it from his knees over to Sergakis, who finished off the 6-4-3 double play. The web gem play marked the third double play of the evening by Ohio State.
The Scarlet and Gray regained its three-run lead in the top of the sixth when Sergakis scored on a sac fly by Nennig. Sergakis reached base safely after his second walk of the night.
Florida Atlantic scored its second run in the bottom half and threatened to plate additional runs vs. the Buckeyes. After an RBI single and hit by pitch to load the bases, junior right-hander Jake Post relieved Tully on the mound. The native of Chesterton, Ind., Post induced a groundball to Nennig who got the force out at second to strand the bases loaded. In his second start of 2015, Tully threw 5.2 innings, allowing nine hits, two runs, two earned runs with no walks and one strikeout.
Ohio State opened up the game in the top of the eighth with four runs vs. FAU reliever Sean Labsan. After a lead-off double by Porter, Sergakis blasted a two-run home run over the left field wall on the first pitch he saw to make it 6-2. Lead-off hitter Troy Montgomery then cracked a two-run double to right center to score Zach Ratcliff and Sabanosh, respectively.
Meanwhile, Post cruised on the mound the rest of the way, throwing 3.1 scoreless innings with no walks and two strikeouts for the three-inning save.
Montgomery, Dawson and Sabanosh each had multi-hit games, while Sergakis collected first home run of the year. Seven different Buckeyes had a hit vs. the Owls in the opener, while Tully picked up his first win of the year to improve to 1-0 in two starts. GAME 2 The Buckeyes and Owls return to the diamond Saturday afternoon for Game 2 of the three-game series. First pitch set for 4 p.m. ET at FAU Baseball Stadium. Ohio State sophomore right-handed pitcher Travis Lakins (0-0, 7.40 ERA) squares off vs. senior right-hander Drew Jackson (0-0, 0.00 ERA).