Ohio State Pounds Out 10 Hits, 3 Home Runs in 10-2 win over No. 16 FAU – Ohio State Buckeyes
5/11/2016 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 11, 2016
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Buckeye bats exploded for 10 runs on 10 hits, while the OSU pitching staff limited the nationally-ranked Owls to two runs in a 10-2 win over No. 16 Florida Atlantic Wednesday night at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeyes (32-16-1) improve to 2-1 against nationally-ranked teams in 2016 and collect the most home wins in a season in 12 years with their Big Ten-best 19th home victory.
“Today was a great team win,” head coach Greg Beals said. “It was a great win against a team of Florida Atlantic’s caliber. We did it in great fashion as a team too. We had runs scored from everybody in the lineup except one guy. Five different pitchers took the mound tonight and we pitched the ball great behind strong defense and also made some great plays. We did a lot of things right as we had back into conference play this weekend.”
It was a big time display of hitting against the nationally-ranked Owls, who came into the game with a 2.90 ERA. The Buckeyes had five extra-base hits in the contest and tied their season high with three home runs. At the dish, senior co-captain Nick Sergakis was 2-for-3 with a grand slam, run scored and four RBI. Junior centerfield Troy Montgomery was 2-for-4 with a run scored and stolen base, while Tre’ Gantt was 2-for-4 with a run scored, RBI, double and stolen base. Troy Kuhn had a home run, two RBI and run scored. Redshirt junior first baseman Jacob Bosiokovic also launched his 11th home run of the season. Craig Nennig also went 2-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored.
On the mound, the pitching continued to do its job. Senior left-hander Daulton Mosbarger limited the FAU hitters to two runs, four hits and one walk with five strikeouts in a no decision outing. Redshirt sophomore right-hander Kyle Michalik improved to 2-1 on the year, tossing two scoreless frames with a hit, walk and strikeout. Sophomore right-hander Seth Kinker threw the next 1.1 innings on two hits with a strikeout. Senior left-hander Michael Horejsei had a strikeout in 0.2 innings of work in the eighth before redshirt sophomore Yianni Pavlopoulos closed it out with a scoreless ninth.
THIRD INNING EXPLOSION
Ohio State chalked up seven runs on six hits in the bottom of the third, including a pair of home runs and doubles.
Gantt doubled off the wall in right center and reached third base on a balk called before Jalen Washington was hit by a pitch to put runners on the corners with no down. L Grant Davis worked back from a 1-2 count to load the bases with a walk against Nowatnick to juice the bases full of Buckeyes for the senior co-captain. Nowatnick fell to 1-1 on the year.
Sergakis, from Columbus, Ohio, unleashed on a 2-1 pitch vs. Nowatnick for his first career grand slam over the wall in left center to jump the Buckeyes ahead, 4-0. Following a double by Nennig, Kuhn launched his first homer of the year for a two-run shot off FAU reliever Nick Swan for the 6-0 advantage. Gantt knocked a RBI single back up the middle to cross the seventh and final run of the third.
OTHER SCORING PLAYS
FAU bounced back with a pair of runs in the top of the fourth on a two-run single by Christian Dicks. But Mosbarger left a runner on base when he struck out his fifth batter of the game. The Buckeyes added an eighth run in the bottom of the sixth on a RBI bunt single by Nennig. In the bottom of the seventh, Bosiokovic when opposite field with a two-run homer over the wall in right to make it 10-2.
PLAY OF THE DAY
Junior left fielder Ronnie Dawson made the play of the day top of the third with no down. On a 3-1 pitch, FAU’s Bonilla line a screamer to warning track in left field, but Dawson tracked and down with a leaping catch and crash into the padded wall and was able to hang on for the first out of the inning. Watch the play here.
UP NEXT
Ohio State takes on conference-rival and No. 19 Michigan in Big Ten series showdown Friday-Sunday at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. First pitch for game one is at 6:35 p.m. ET in Columbus. The middle game vs. the Wolverines begins at 3:05 p.m. ET Saturday. Senior Day Sunday will be at 3 p.m. ET live on Big Ten Network.
WORTHY NOTES
- Ohio State improves to 4-4 all-time vs. the Owls.
- This was the first meeting between Ohio State and FAU in Columbus.
- The Buckeyes are 19-4 on the year, collecting the most home wins since 2003.
- Ohio State is now 2-1 against nationally-ranked teams this season.
- The Scarlet and Gray are 13-1 against non-conference schools.
- Ohio State leads the Big Ten with 47 home runs and 107 doubles in 2016. The team is second in the league in stolen bases with 73.
- The OSU pitching staff has a 3.08 ERA with 381 strikeouts in 442.2 innings of work.
- Sergakis launched his first career grand slam and eighth home run of the year. He has 10 dingers in his career.
- Sergakis was the lead-off hitter for the first time this season, while Montgomery batted in the five hole for coach Beals.
- Sergakis leads the Buckeyes with 18 multi-hit games and 12 multi-RBI contests
- Kuhn posted his first home run of the season and 13th of his career.
- Other multi-hit games: Montgomery (11), Nennig (11) Gantt (6).
- Other multi-RBI performances: Bosiokovic (14) and Kuhn (6)
- Montgomery collected his 16th steal of the season and 56th of his OSU career (fifth-most all-time).
- Dawson extended his reached base streak to five in row, while Bosiokovic improved his to six straight games.
- Nennig doubled for the sixth time this season and 18th of his career, while Gantt knocked his sixth double of the season and seventh of his career.
- Mosbarger made his third start of the year.
- Other pitching appearances: Michalik (14), Kinker (26), Horejsei (24) and Pavlopoulos (22).
