Buckeyes Even Series with Wild 13-12 Win vs. Maryland – Ohio State Buckeyes

Saturday, May 9

Columbus, Ohio

Ohio State

34-14, 13-7

Maryland

34-17, 12-8

Maryland

Ohio State

Buckeyes Even Series with Wild 13-12 Win vs. Maryland – Ohio State Buckeyes

5/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

May 9, 2015

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — In a wild game at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium, the Ohio State baseball team evened the B1G series with a 13-12 win vs. Maryland on a hot Saturday afternoon in Columbus, Ohio. With the win, Ohio State improves to 34-14 overall and 13-7 in the Big Ten, while Maryland falls to 34-17 overall and 12-8 in the Big Ten. The series finale between the Buckeyes and the Terrapins is slated to start at 1:05 p.m. ET Sunday on Senior Day.

“It was a draining game and it took a lot of the guys, but it was a win we needed to get,” head coach Greg Beals said. “We got to a point where we were playing afraid to lose instead of playing to win, but it’s a win and a win against a good ball team. We did a lot of things offensively to help our confidence. Our biggest thing for tomorrow is for us to get a win for our seniors and not look at the big picture. These seniors have spilled a lot of blood, sweat and tears over the past four years and that’s what we are going to be ready to play for tomorrow.”

Ohio State jumped out to a 13-4 lead after five innings and held off the Terrapins, who scored eight unanswered runs to cut the lead to 13-12 heading into the ninth. The Buckeyes went scoreless in the final four innings, but the team held on defensively. Senior closer Trace Dempsey left two runners on base in the final frame to seal the conference win for the Scarlet and Gray. Dempsey threw two innings and allowed three runs on three hits with a walk and strikeout.

The Terps got a taste of their own medicine following last night’s game as the Buckeyes boasted 11 two-out RBIs. In all, nine different Buckeyes had a hit, while five different members crossed the plate twice. Connor Sabanosh had a career day at the plate, going 3-for-5 with a grand slam and a career-high five RBI and two runs scored, while Ronnie Dawson was 3-for-5 with two doubles, two RBI and a run scored.

“We were fortunate to get a handful of pitches early and jump on their starter,” Sabanosh said. “We’ve been able to put up runs early, but today we were able to continue to score runs as the game went on. Today was a good learning lesson for us. They are good hitting team and credit to them, they didn’t back down. We were fortunate to put up one more run on the scoreboard at the end of the day.”

The Buckeyes struck first in the bottom of the first when Dawson pulled a 1-1 pitch that one-hopped off the right field wall for a two-out, two-run double. Sabanosh and Pat Porter both singled before scoring on the hit by Dawson.

“Maryland is a good team and we knew we had to jump on them early,” Dawson said. “I knew we had the ability to get the win. They were hitting, but we just settled down and played our game. I think we gained some confidence today after dropping our last few league games.”

After the Terps answered on a two-run single in the top of the second, the Buckeyes regained the lead when Troy Montgomery crushed a two-out triple off the wall to dead center vs. Galligan to plate two runs. Maryland centerfielder Kengo Kawahara tried to make a great catch on the play, but could not hold on after making contact with the wall.

Ohio State starter Travis Lakins left two on base in the third when Porter made a nice grab in right field in front of the warning track. Again in the third with two down, the Buckeyes came through with a two-out RBI hit. Zach Ratcliff punched a single up the middle to score Troy Kuhn for the 5-2 lead.

Maryland cut the deficit to 5-3 in the top of the fourth on a RBI single by Wade. The run was unearned as Wade reached third base after a throwing error on a failed pickoff attempt by Lakins.

The Terps went to their bullpen in the bottom half with right-hander Ryan Selmer relieving Galligan. Sabanosh claimed the team’s sixth two-out RBI with a single up the middle to push Montgomery around. Maryland cut the lead to 6-4 on a two-out solo shot by Cuas vs. Lakins.

The fifth inning was a big one for the Buckeyes, plating seven runs vs. the Maryland bullpen. Dawson scored the first run after a throwing error by the UMD second baseman. With the bases loaded, a wild pitch by Jake Drossner scored Ratcliff. Montgomery then walked to set up Sabanosh . On a 0-2 pitch against Taylor Bloom, the OSU co-captain pulled a changeup over the left field wall for his first career grand slam and the open the game, 12-4. Kuhn then doubled to center to score Porter for a 13-4 advantage.

“He fooled me with a changeup in the previous pitch,” Sabanosh said. “I just stepped out of the box and took a second and told myself to see the ball and get my foot down. I was able to capitalize and it’s nice to get a big hit like that. That was fun.”

However, the Terps tallied eight unanswered runs in the final four innings. The Wade brothers posted solo home runs in the top of the sixth vs. Lakins, while the Terps added three runs in the seventh and eighth innings, respectively, to make it a 13-12 game heading into the ninth.

Dempsey, who entered the game in the eighth frame to replace Michael Horejsei, remained on the mound in the ninth inning, striking out the first batter swinging. A single from Lewis and a hit-by-pitch put two Maryland runners on base with one out. Wade flied out to centerfield before Kuhn pulled in the winning pop-up catch on first base to capture the Buckeye victory.

Lakins received the win to improve to 4-3, throwing six innings on 10 hits, six runs, five earned, two walks and six strikeouts. Kyle Michalik threw 0.2 innings and allowed three runs on three hits, while Horejsei pitched 0.1 innings and allowed one hit and no runs.

GAME NOTES

Pat Porter extended his reached base streak to 28 games with a single to right field (career-high).
Ronnie Dawson registered his ninth multi-RBI game, which is tied for the team lead. He went 3-for-5 with two RBI and two runs scored. Ohio State has a team-best 18 multi-hit performances.
Troy Montgomery extended his reached base streak to 25-consecutive games following a two-out, two-run triple in the third. He is second in the Big Ten with six triples. Montgomery picked up his B1G-best 30th steal.
Connor Sabanosh had a career-high five RBI with his first career grand slam.
Trace Dempsey pitched in his 98th career appearance and is the Ohio State all-time leader.