Ohio State sophomore catcher Mason Eckelman (16) scores a single to make it 4-3 against St. John’s. The Buckeyes defeated the Red Storm 12-10 Tuesday in the home opener. Credit: Daniel Bush | Lantern Photographer
After six lead changes, Ohio State finally took the lead, and it never looked back.
In the eighth inning, outfielder Trey Lipsey’s RBI single gave the Buckeyes a lead they didn’t relinquish as they downed St. John’s 12-10 Tuesday at Bill Davis Stadium.
“Yeah, it felt good,” Lipsey said. “You know we want to win. You’ve got to score more runs than the other team to win. So I was very happy with it.”
The two teams combined for 24 hits total hits and featured 16 different pitchers, 10 of which Ohio State deployed.
Head coach Justin Haire said the team welcomes the chance to win a game in that fashion.
“We talk about embracing that adversity and embracing those challenges and not running from the fight, and I think our guys relish that,” Haire said.
Ohio State struck first in the first inning, as a wild pitch allowed Lipsey to scamper home and take a 1-0 lead.
The Red Storm took their first lead in the third. St. Johns then used five hits to put three runs on the board and plated one more in the fourth inning to take a 4-1 lead.
But the Buckeyes fought back.
In the bottom of the fourth, Ohio State scored four runs of its own, highlighted by a 2-RBI single from outfielder Nick Giamarusti.
Infielder Lee Ellis clobbered his team-leading fifth home run of the season the next inning to extend the Buckeye lead to 6-4.
But four runs in the seventh gave the Red Storm an 8-7 lead.
When it looked like St. John’s had all the momentum, Ohio State fought back, again.
Graveline muscled a bloop single into center to give the Buckeyes a 9-8 lead. Infielder Marc Stephens followed that up with a double to extend the Ohio State lead.
Graveline said the team’s ability to chip away throughout the game was a catalyst for the win.
“I think our offense just kept staying in the fight, adding on throughout the game,” Graveline said. “Just chipping away at their lead, and toward the end, our pitching staff did a really great job.”
St. John’s loaded the bases and pushed two runs across in the eighth to knot the game at 10.
But in the bottom half, designated hitter Zach Freeman drew a leadoff walk. And after a wild pitch and sacrifice bunt, Lipsey came through as he drilled a single through the right side to give the Buckeyes an 11-10 lead.
Ohio State plated another in the frame on a wild pitch to take a 12-10 lead ahead of the final inning.
The Buckeyes gave the ball to pitcher Drew Erdmann, and despite multiple Red Storm runners, he slammed the door shut to give Ohio State a 12-10 win.
“He was feeling it a little bit tonight,” Haire said. “I was proud of him to close that out and get that first save.”
The Buckeyes (2-8) are back in action Friday at Bill Davis Stadium against Valparaiso (2-6) for the start of a three-game series this weekend. The game is set to stream on Big Ten+.
