Porter’s Home Run Guides Buckeyes past WKU, 6-4 – Ohio State Buckeyes

Monday, March 9

Bowling Green, Ky.

Ohio State

7-4

Western Kentucky

6-7

Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Runs R	Hits H	Errors E
Ohio State	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	2	2	6	11	2
Western Kentucky	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	0	1	4	10	0

Porter’s Home Run Guides Buckeyes past WKU, 6-4 – Ohio State Buckeyes

3/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

March 9, 2015

Box Score

RELATED INFO ? Follow the Buckeyes on Facebook and Twitter ?Box Score ?Season Stats ? VIDEO: Coach Beals Postgame Interview

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – For the second-consecutive week, the Ohio State baseball team came back to win a road game by way of the long ball. Down 3-2 in eighth inning, senior right fielder Pat Porter crushed a two-out, two-run home run to help the Buckeyes defeat Western Kentucky, 6-4, Monday afternoon at Nick Denes Field in Bowling Green, Ky. Ohio State claims its first road series win of 2015 and improves to 7-4 overall.

“I thought we pitched the ball very well again today,” head coach Greg Beals said. “Lakins gave us a quality start and got us deep in the ball game. The bullpen did their job too in the final three innings. Offensively, their starting pitcher held us down for a little bit, but I really liked how our bats stayed together and connected some hits late in the game.”

Porter, a native of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, hit the first pitch he saw vs. WKU reliever Tate Glasscock for his first home run of the year with Ronnie Dawson on third base. Ohio State added two insurance runs in the ninth inning on a RBI bunt single by Troy Montgomery to plate pinch runner Tre’ Gantt, while Connor Sabanosh doubled to left center for the sixth and final run.

“Pat hit that ball very well at a great time in the game,” Beals said. “You need your big time players to come through in big time situations and Pat Porter did that today.”

The Buckeyes will next open the 2015 home schedule at 5:05 p.m. ET Tuesday against IPFW at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The contest will be the first of 11-consecutive home games for the Scarlet and Gray.

“We needed to get this road victory and win a series away from home,” Beals said. “It was important for us to get some wins against a good ball club with the Big Ten schedule just two weeks out. We have the bus ride home today and we are excited to be back at Bill Davis Stadium tomorrow.”

Ohio State starting pitching Travis Lakins had another quality start, but received a no decision. He had a career-high 10 strikeouts, while limiting the WKU bats to two runs with two walks in six innings. Jake Post claimed the victory to improve to 2-1, allowing one run with a strikeout in an inning of work. Senior pitcher Trace Dempsey claimed his second save of the year and is now one save shy of tying the OSU all-time career saves record (currently has 28). He threw two innings and allowed one unearned run on three hits.

The Buckeyes went ahead 1-0 in the top of the third. Junior first baseman Ryan Leffel continued to where he left off yesterday vs. the WKU pitching staff when he scorched a RBI double to left center to plate Craig Nennig, who singled to start the inning.
After sending down the first 11 batters he faced, Lakins allowed a two-out double in the top of the fourth to WKU first baseman Ryan Church for the first hit of the game by the Hilltoppers. However, throwing from the stretch didn’t bother the OSU sophomore. He fired in a fastball at 93 mph to claim his fifth strikeout and leave the WKU runner stranded on second base.
King sent the Buckeyes down in order in the fourth and fifth innings, respectively. In the bottom of the fifth, WKU second baseman Leiff Clarkson and Lakins battled with a runner on and two down. Clarkson continued to foul off pitches vs. Lakins until the 14th pitch when he connected for a single and kept the inning alive. WKU catcher Ty Hogan then tied the contest at 1-1 when he singled to center field. Lakins kept it even with his eighth strikeout of the afternoon. WKU gained its first lead of the contest in the bottom of the sixth when Danny Hudzina had a RBI single with two down vs. Lakins. The native of Franklin, Ohio, Lakins punched out his 10th strikeout to keep it a 2-1 deficit.

In the top of the seventh, Nick Sergakis was the first Buckeye to reach base safely since the third frame when he picked up a lead-off single. But he was thrown out on the following at bat on a close play at second base for a fielder’s choice by Porter. The Hilltoppers then decided to go to their bullpen as King was replaced by right-hander Brennan Pearson. After a walk to pinch hitter Aaron Gretz, Nennig once again was clutch late in the game for the Scarlet and Gray. He connected on a 2-2 pitch for a RBI single to left to plate Porter and tie it at 2-2. The Buckeyes then loaded the bases, but relief pitcher Tate Glasscock ended the OSU chance with a fly out to center.
For the third straight inning, the Hilltoppers scored one run to gain their second lead. Cody Wofford slapped a groundball to the left side with a runner on third base to make it 3-2. The play was set up after an infield single, sac bunt and wild pitch vs. OSU relief pitcher Jake Post.
After Porter’s big hit and the pair of insurance runs, WKU plated an unearned run in the bottom of the ninth on a balk by Dempsey, but the OSU senior bounced right back to induce a groundout to end the game.

Porter was 2-for-4 with two RBI, two runs scored and a home run, while Sabanosh, Dawson and Leffel each doubled.
HOME OPENER The Buckeyes open the 2015 home schedule at 5:05 p.m. ET Tuesday against IPFW at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The contest vs. the Mastodons will begin an 11-game homestand and will be streamed on BTN Plus. Contact Athletic Ticket Sales at (614) 292-0043 or AthleticSales@osu.edu for details on packages and promotions.

GAME NOTES: ?Sabanosh extended his reached-base streak to five-consecutive games. ?Lakins struck out a career-high 10 batters in his fourth start of the year. ?Porter notched his sixth home run of his career and had his second multi-hit game of the season. ?Gantt scored his first career run in the ninth inning. ?Montgomery extended his reached base streak to six straight games.