Buckeyes Fall in Doubleheader at Indiana – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 15, 2015
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — The Ohio State baseball team fell in a doubleheader at Indiana to conclude the 2015 regular season Friday at Bart Kaufman Field. The Buckeyes (35-18, 13-11 Big Ten) lost, 9-1, in game one and dropped game two, 6-4, against the Hoosiers (32-20, 12-10 Big Ten) in the final series of the year.
The Scarlet and Gray will now wait for the final Big Ten regular season games to conclude tomorrow as the 2015 Big Ten Tournament bracket will be released Saturday evening. The tournament will be played at Target Field in Minneapolis, Minn., May 20-24. Click here to view the 2015 Big Ten Baseball Tournament Central Page for information on the tournament bracket, game times, tickets and Target Field.
GAME ONE: OSU 1, IU 9
Ohio State starting pitcher Travis Lakins dealt with some tough luck in the bottom of the second as the Hoosiers scored twice to take a 2-0 lead. The bases were loaded following a walk, throwing error and infield bunt single that stayed fair down the third base line. A sac fly to right made it 1-0 while a seeing-eye single pushed it two runs for the home squad.
Troy Montgomery got the Buckeyes on the board in the top of the third when he stole third base and scored on a throwing error by the IU catcher. The steal was Montgomery’s 35th of the year, which ties Mike Harris’ single-season record set back in 2001.
But the Hoosiers responded with a run when Logan Sowers singled to center for the 3-1 advantage. After Ohio State went 1-2-3 vs. lefty Kyle Hart in the fourth, Brian Wilhite wrapped a high fly-ball around the left field foul pole for a two-run home run and extend the Hoosier lead to 5-1.
Ohio State left a runner on second base in the sixth before Indiana plated two unearned runs vs. Lakins in the bottom half. A seeing-eye single and triple made it 7-1.
Indiana made a change on the mound in the seventh, but went in order vs. reliever Jake Kelzer. Shea Murray relieved Lakins in the bottom of the frame. A two-out, two-run home run extended the lead to 9-1.
Lakins registered the loss to fall to 4-4, allowing seven runs, four earned, nine hits with one walk and three strikeouts. Murray allowed two runs on two hits with three strikeouts in two innings of work.
GAME ONE NOTES
- Troy Montgomery extended his reached base streak to 28-consecutive games following an infield single in the top of the first.
- Montgomery stole third in the top of the third for his 35th stolen base of the year and tying Mike Harris’ single-season record set back in 2001.
- Montgomery had his 17th multi-hit game, going 3-for-4 with a double, while Connor Sabanosh claimed his 13th of the year. It was Montgomery’s fifth three-hit game of 2015.
- Pat Porter’s 31-game reached base streak was snapped in game one.
GAME TWO: OSU 4, IU 6
Despite battling to tie the game in the seventh, Ohio State fell, 6-4 against Indiana in the series finale at a packed house at Bart Kaufman Filed. Tied at 4-all, the Hoosiers plated two runs in the bottom of the eighth vs. OSU reliever Trace Dempsey to claim the series sweep.
Down 4-1, Ohio State rallied with three runs in the top of the seventh to tie at 4-all vs. the IU bullpen. With the bases loaded, a single by Aaron Gretz plated Porter followed by a sacrifice fly by Zach Ratcliff to make it a 4-3 deficit. A bunt single by Craig Nennig pushed Nick Sergakis around as the IU reliever Ryan Halstead touched the ball in fair territory down the first base line.
After a second scoreless inning by reliever Seth Kinker, Ohio State left two runners in scoring position in the top of the eighth. Troy Kuhn singled and Ronnie Dawson doubled vs. Halstead, but he struck out the next two batters to keep it a tied ball game to set up the IU rally in the bottom half.
The Buckeyes got Ohio State starter Ryan Riga a lead early on vs. the Hoosiers in game two. With the bases loaded, IU starter Christian Morris walked in his fourth batter of the game as Troy Montgomery received his 27th RBI of the year for the 1-0 lead. A 5-3 double play denied additional runs for the team in the second.
But Indiana came right back in the bottom of the fourth to take 4-1 advantage when Logan Sowers knocked a two-out grand slam over the wall in left vs. Riga.
Ohio State left two on base in the fourth when Montgomery put a charged into a pitch vs. Morris, but flew out at the wall in right center. In the following OSU at-bat, Ohio State loaded the bases after Morris walked his sixth batter of the game and was relieved by left-hander Caleb Baragar, who got pinch-hitter Zach Ratcliff to ground into a fielder’s choice to keep it a 4-1 deficit.
Kinker relieved Riga in the bottom of the sixth and threw a 1-2-3 inning. In a no decision, Riga allowed four runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts in five innings. Kinker allowed no runs or hits in two innings, while Dempsey fell to 9-2, allowing two runs on two hits with a walk in one inning.
GAME TWO NOTES
- Troy Montgomery extended his reached base streak to 29-consecutive games after a walk in the second inning.
- L Grant Davis notched his sixth multi-hit game.
- Aaron Gretz had his seventh multi-hit contest and extended his hit streak to nine straight games.
- Ronnie Dawson had two doubles and tallied his team-best 20th multi-hit game.
