Sophomore infielder Lee Ellis (1) and senior infielder Will Carpenter (19) jump up while the Buckeyes (8-22, 2-11 Big Ten) yelled “boom” in celebration of Carpenter’s home run on Friday. Minnesota (14-17, 3-10 Big Ten) defeated Ohio State 10-5 at Bill Davis Stadium. Credit: Carly Damon | Asst. Photo Editor
The Buckeyes fell short yet again.
Ohio State lost its sixth game in a row, this time a 10-5 beating to Minnesota, Friday afternoon at Bill Davis Stadium in the first of a three-game series against the Golden Gophers.
Buckeyes head coach Justin Haire preached the mindset his team must have of staying together.
“My frustration and their frustration is the same, and it hurts them like it hurts us,” Haire said.
“That’s part of going through hard things together. You gotta fight through the adversity, the game will chew you up and spit you out if you let it.”
After a scoreless first inning, disaster struck for the Buckeyes in the second.
Minnesota designated hitter Charlie Sutherland bombed a grand slam to right field, putting the Golden Gophers up 4-0.
Ohio State first baseman Will Carpenter then responded with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning, cutting the Minnesota lead to three.
A single by Golden Gophers infielder Jake Perry in the top of the fourth increased their advantage to four. Moments later, center fielder Drew Berkland added another run to Minnesota’s lead on a fielder’s choice.
Then, with bases loaded for Ohio State, designated hitter Alonzo Paul Jr. plated a run on an RBI single that brought left fielder Matthew Graveline home.
In the bottom of the fifth, second baseman Tyler Pettorini scored for Ohio State on an RBI double from Graveline to bring the score to 6-3. Then, Carpenter fired an RBI triple to right field that brought Graveline home and put the Buckeyes within two.
A wild pitch and mistake from Minnesota catcher Weber Neels allowed Carpenter to slide home to cut into the Minnesota lead to 6-5.
Ohio State had all the momentum.
But after three scoreless innings, the Golden Gophers got back on the board in the top of eighth thanks to an RBI groundout by Perry.
An error by Buckeyes shortstop Lee Ellis in the same inning allowed Sutherland to reach home as Minnesota increased its lead to three. That was followed by a two RBI single from Berkland, which brought Martin and left fielder Brayden Hellum across the plate, putting the final nail in Ohio State’s coffin as Minnesota claimed a 10-5 victory.
Buckeyes pitcher Ryan Butler said Ohio State’s mindset is to become more consistent on a game-to-game basis.
“We all know each one of us is better than what we’re performing at right now, but I think for an individual it just takes one good performance,” Butler said. “If a guy can have a good performance, hopefully it can propel them to continuously have better performances each and every outing.”
Ohio State (8-22, 2-11 Big Ten) continues its weekend series against Minnesota (14-17, 3-10 Big Ten) Saturday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m.
