COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State baseball team (25-25) earned its third straight victory on Wednesday night, dominating the Central Michigan Chippewas (31-16), 13-5.
Game Recap
- The Buckeyes got off to an early lead and never looked back. In the bottom of the second, Henry Kaczmar led off with a single to right field. Cole Andrews was next at the plate and he went yard, blasting one over the fence in left center to give Ohio State a 2-0 lead. Mitchell Okuley then stepped up to the plate and he also hit a homerun, putting the Buckeyes ahead of the Chippewas, 3-0.
- Central Michigan got on the board in the top of the third, scoring twice to cut the Ohio State lead to one, 3-2.
- In the bottom of the third, Marcus Ernst singled to shortstop to lead off the inning and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Matthew Graveline hit a bunt single to advance Ernst to third and put runners on the corners. Kaczmar came up next and tripled down the right field line, putting the ball right in the corner and driving in two runs to extend the Buckeye lead, 5-2. An RBI-groundout from Andrews put Ohio State ahead by four, 6-2, going into the fourth inning.
- Graveline drove in a run on a single up the middle in the bottom of the fifth to give the Buckeyes a five-run lead.
- Central Michigan added one run in the sixth, but the Buckeyes remained in the lead, 7-3.
- The Buckeyes blew the game wide open in the bottom of the sixth. With two runners on base, Caden Kaiser hit a bomb to right field, the first homerun of his career, to extend the Ohio State lead to seven runs, 10-3.
- Central Michigan scored again in the top of the seventh, but the Buckeyes answered in the bottom of the inning. Okuley reached base on a wild pitch and Nick Erwin reached after singling center field. They then executed a double steal to both get into scoring position. Trey Lipsey doubled down the right field line, sending Okuley and Erwin both home. An RBI single from Ernst scored Lipsey and gave the Buckeyes a commanding nine-run lead, 13-4.
- The Chippewas added one run in the ninth, but the Buckeyes held them off after that to secure the 13-5 win.
Buckeyes by the Numbers
- Erwin led the Buckeyes with three hits. Ernst, Graveline and Kaczmar each has two hits.
- Andrews and Kaiser had a team-best three RBIs each. Lipsey and Kaczmar each batted in two runs.
- Lipsey led the Buckeyes in stolen bases with two.
- Jacob Gehring (1-2) earned the win on the mound. He struck out two and allowed two runs on two hits in 2.0 innings pitched.
Up Next
The Buckeyes host UNC Greensboro for a three-game series May 12-14.
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