Junior left fielder Ronnie Dawson (4) takes a swing during a game against Bethune-Cookman.
Credit: Giustino Bovenzi | Lantern reporter
Ohio State senior pitcher John Havird couldn’t have pitched much better than he did Friday in the second game of the day against Maryland, but a costly late error tied the game, and the Buckeyes would eventually fall 2-1 in the bottom of the 10th inning.
Havird threw a career-high eight innings, allowing no hits and striking out seven, but after hitting his second batter during the first at-bat in the bottom of the ninth, the senior was pulled. Senior left-handed reliever Michael Horejsei retired his only batter on a pop fly, but the struggles immediately began after redshirt sophomore closer Yianni Pavlopoulos took to the mound.
After a groundout to short, Pavlopoulos struck out Maryland junior designated hitter Nick Cieri, but Cieri reached first on the wild pitch. Sophomore first baseman Kevin Biondic then hit a hard groundball to third baseman Nick Sergakis. The senior could not come up with the ball cleanly and airmailed the throw to first into the stands, scoring the runner from third.
With one out in the bottom of the 10th inning, sophomore center fielder Zach Jancarski singled up the middle for the first Maryland hit of the game. He would later steal second base and score off another single up the middle by junior right fielder Madison Nickens to give the Terrapins the 2-1 win.
The game was scoreless until the bottom of the seventh inning when OSU freshman designated hitter Brady Cherry lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Sergakis. With the way Havird was pitching, the 1-0 lead seemed like it might have been enough to come out victorious, but the rally erased the lefty’s third win of the year.
Game 1
The first game of the doubleheader on Friday saw Maryland take an early two-run lead and keep OSU off the board to win by a final score of 3-0.
After the Buckeyes went down in order to lead off the first inning, Nickens led off the bottom of the first with a walk. Freshman second baseman Nick Dunn singled to follow the free pass, and both runners would advance a base after an error by OSU senior shortstop Craig Nennig. After a strikeout, Cieri singled to left, scoring Nickens. A passed ball by OSU junior catcher Jalen Washington would score the Terrapins’ second run of the inning.
The following four innings saw the score remain at 2-0 until Maryland freshman left fielder Marty Costes hit a solo home run to center field.
Both starters pitched complete games in the matinee. OSU junior starting pitcher Tanner Tully went eight innings, surrendering three runs (two earned) on three hits, two walks and eight strikeouts. His counterpart, Maryland sophomore Taylor Bloom, tossed nine innings of shutout baseball, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out five.
With rain and snow looming, the Buckeyes and Terrapins will take a day off Saturday, with plans to finish out the series Sunday. The finale is scheduled to take place at 1 p.m. with junior right-hander Mike Shawaryn set to take the bump for Maryland and redshirt sophomore Adam Niemeyer starting for OSU.
