BAKERSFIELD, Calif. – A one-hour and 46-minute lightning delay was not enough to deter the Buckeyes (6-6) as they improved to .500 on the season with a 17-5 victory over Cal State Bakersfield (7-6) on Saturday.
Game Recap
- Ohio State got off to a quick start, with runners on the corners early in the top of the first after Henry Kaczmar was walked, and then advanced to third after a single from Marcus Ernst. A double from Hank Thomas plated two runs and put the Buckeyes on the board. An RBI single from Cole Andrews scored Thomas to give Ohio State a 3-0 lead.
- In the middle of the first, lightning struck near Hardt Field, putting the game into an almost two-hour delay.
- After resuming play in the bottom of the first, the Roadrunners scored one run, but OSU led by two, 3-1, going into the second inning.
- Mitchell Okuley was walked to lead-off the second, followed by a single to left field from Josh McAlister. Kaczmar reached base on a fielder’s choice and the base runners advanced on a CSUB error to load the bases. Ernst walked to send Okuley home and put OSU up by three, 4-1. An RBI groundout from Kade Kern, a sac fly from Thomas and an RBI double from Cole Andrews gave OSU a six-run advantage, 7-1, after one and a half innings of play.
- The Roadrunners chipped away at the Buckeye lead in the bottom of the second, scoring four runs to get within two of the lead, 7-5.
- Back-to-back walks in the top of the third inning put both Okuley and McAlister on base. Ernst blasted a homerun over the fence in right field, sending three runs across the plate to put the Buckeyes up by five, 10-5.
- Nick Erwin walked to lead-off the fifth, followed by a single from Okuley. McAlister then stepped up to the plate and came up big, hitting his first career homerun, a three-run shot, to extend the Ohio State lead over the Roadrunners, 13-5.
- There was nothing doing for either team in the next few innings, but the Buckeyes added on a couple more runs in the ninth. McAlister was walked and Ernst singled to put runners on first and second. Kern singled to left field and McAlister turned on the jets, scoring from second base to give the Buckeyes a nine-run lead, 14-5. Andrews tripled, batting in three runs to help the Buckeyes reach their season-high 17 runs scored.
- Cole Pauley made his Buckeye debut in the bottom of the ninth. The Roadrunners went down in order and Ohio State earned the dominant 17-5 victory.
Buckeyes by the Numbers
- The Buckeyes’ 17 runs scored is a season-high and their 15 hits are just one short of their season-high. It is the third game so far this season that Ohio State has scored double-digit runs.
- Ernst’s homerun was his fourth of the season, which is a team-high.
- Andrews, Ernst and Kern led the team in hits with three each. Thomas and McAlister each added two hits.
- Andrews had a team-high five RBIs. Ernst batted in four runs and Thomas batted in three.
- Ernst and McAlister scored a team-high four runs each.
- Jameson Campbell (1-0) earned his first win as a Buckeye. He tossed 3.0 scoreless innings, striking out three and giving up just two hits.
- Jacob Gehring fanned two in one scoreless inning of work.
Up Next
- After rain and lightning impacted the first two days of play, the Buckeyes and Roadrunners will wrap up their three-game series with a doubleheader starting at 3:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, March 12.
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