COLUMBUS, Ohio – In front of an electric crowd of 4,841 fans at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium, the Ohio State baseball team claimed a series win over No. 24 Michigan Saturday with a doubleheader split vs. the Wolverines. The Buckeyes (20-17, 4-5 B1G) won game one, 10-4, while the Wolverines (24-11, 5-3 B1G) took game two of the twinbill, 6-2. The crowd on hand today at Bill Davis Stadium was one of the largest in 15 years.
QUOTE FROM COACH
“We’re disappointed we didn’t win game three,” head coach Greg Beals said. “I thought we played really clean and really tough those first two games and we weren’t clean there in game three. We had some unearned runs and if we can eliminate those unearned runs, it would keep the game tighter and give us some more offensive options, but that wasn’t the case. At the end of the day, we won the series and we won the rivalry. The thing for me and the thing for our ball club to take away is how we went about it and the energy and focus we had. Our guys were locked in. They’re exhausted right now. Starting with the come from behind victory on the road and into this weekend, hopefully we learned a lot about ourselves and there’s a lot to build on.”
Friday Game:
COLUMBUS, Ohio – In front of a season-high 1,815 fans, the Ohio State baseball team upset No. 24 Michigan, 10-5, Friday night at Nick Swisher Field at Bill Davis Stadium. The Buckeye bats sprayed 13 hits against the top pitching staff in the Big Ten while freshman right-handed starting pitcher Garrett Burhenn was fantastic on the bump, tossing a season-high seven strikeouts in 6.2 innings to improve to 5-1 on the year. Junior left fielder Dominic Canzone went 4-for-5 with three runs scored, a triple and a home run while senior second baseman Kobie Foppe was 2-for-r with a double and a pair of RBI. Junior first baseman Conner Pohl drove in two on a two-hit game and freshman shortstop Zach Dezenzo also had a two-hit game. Brent Todys had the big hit in the rivalry game with a three-run homer in the fifth. With the win, the Buckeyes improve to 19-16 overall and 3-4 in Big Ten play, while the Maize and Blue drop to 23-10 overall and 4-2 in conference action.
DOUBLEHEADER GAME 1: NO. 24 MICHIGAN 4, OHIO STATE 10
For the second straight game, the Buckeye batters recorded double-digit hits, while the Scarlet and Gray pitchers combined to strike out 10 UM hitters in the game in a 10-4 win in game one of the doubleheader at Bill Davis Stadium. Junior right fielder Dominic Canzone continued to give the Wolverines problems as the captain went 3-for-5 at the dish with a double, home run and two RBI, while fellow captain and fifth-year senior Ridge Winand was 2-for-3 with a two runs scored, home run, three RBI and a walk. Freshman shortstop Zach Dezenzo also homered and senior left fielder Brady Cherry and junior first baseman Conner Pohl each recorded multi-hit games and drove in a run. On the bump, redshirt freshman left-handed pitcher Seth Lonsway improved to 5-3 on the year, working 5.2 innings, while freshman right-handed pitcher Will Pfennig struck out six in 3.1 innings of relief to claim the save.
DOUBLEHEADER GAME 2: NO. 24 MICHIGAN 6, OHIO STATE 2
The Wolverines won, 6-2, in the series finale as right-handed starter Jeff Criswell worked 6.2 innings and limited the OSU bats to two runs, no earned, on six hits with four strikeouts and two walks to improve to 3-1. Canzone led the Buckeyes at the dish with a 2-for-4 game, while Winand also went 2-for-4.
