Huge Comeback Falls Just Short, Buckeyes Lose 16-13
4/23/2022 7:05:32 PM | Baseball
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – There is no clock in baseball, and with a lopsided score and chances waning, Saturday’s game proved that even then, there is always enough time for a comeback. Despite trailing 14-2 in the seventh and 16-4 in the eighth, Ohio State scored 11 runs in the final three innings and had the tying run on-deck, ultimately falling short 16-13 to give the series to Michigan.
The Buckeyes are now 12-23 on the season and 2-10 in Big Ten play
Notes
- The Buckeyes outhit the Wolverines 15 to 11, and scored two, five, and four runs in the last three innings after trailing by 12 runs twice.
- Zach Dezenzo hit a home run for the second consecutive day, a grand slam for his team-high eleventh of the season. He went 3-4 with two doubles and six RBI.
- Kade Kern’s seventh inning RBI double now gives him a hit in 16 out of his last 17 games. Kern finished with four RBI.
- Trey Lipsey and Dezenzo had three hits, while Blayne Robinson and Archer Brookman each had two hits with a home run.
How it Happened
After a scoreless first inning, Ohio State got on the board first with two runs in the second. Colton Bauer led off with a single, and after walks to Archer Brookman and Marcus Ernst, Zach Dezenzo’s first double of the day drove in Bauer and Brookman.
Michigan tagged starter Isaiah Coupet for nine earned runs, six of which came in the second inning. A walk and a hit by pitch to lead off the inning followed by a wild pitch set up an RBI groundout. A single by the next batter tied the score at two apiece. Two more walks loaded the bases for Joe Stewart, who hit his first of his three home runs, a grand slam to make it 6-2.
In the third, three walks loaded the bases again, which prompted the Buckeyes to replace Coupet with Trent Jones on the mound. A fourth walk in a row scored the runner from third. A single by Clark Elliott drove in one run and kept the bases loaded for Joe Stewart, who hit his second grand slam of the day to make it 12-2.
Jacob Gehring entered and pitched a scoreless fourth, but Michigan kept adding in the fifth. An Elliott walk and Stewart’s third homer made it 14-2.
The Buckeyes put together a valiant comeback effort with three huge innings offensively to close out the game. In the seventh, Zach Dezenzo was hit by a pitch and Trey Lipsey singled, setting the table for Kade Kern’s two-RBI double. Stewart’s RBI single and another later in the home half gave the Wolverines their 15th and 16th runs, but Ohio State saved their biggest innings for last. Singles by Brookman and Ernst sandwiched a Mitchell Okuley walk, and Zach Dezenzo cleared the bases with a grand slam. Two batters later, Blayne Robinson hit a towering solo home run to make it 16-9. After Will Pfennig’s scoreless eighth, Tyler Pettorini led off the ninth with a double and was plated by Archer Brookman’s opposite field home run. After a single by Okuley followed by a double play, Dezenzo walked and Lipsey singled. Kade Kern skied what appeared to be the game-ending out into shallow left, but it was dropped by the Michigan left fielder, allowing both runners to score. The wild affair came to an end with a groundout and the scoreboard reading 16-13.
Up Next
Game three of the series is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch on Saturday afternoon. The starters for both teams are TBD.
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