Ohio State sophomore outfielder Kade Kern (7) swings at a pitch during the Buckeyes’ game against Michigan State Saturday at Bill Davis Stadium. Ohio State won 13-5. Credit: Casey Smith | Assistant Lantern TV Sports Producer
Ohio State baseball found itself on both ends of the comeback spectrum Sunday, splitting a doubleheader with Michigan State in dramatic fashion.
The Buckeyes (11-17, 2-5 Big Ten) were unable to hold off a furious eighth-inning comeback from the Spartans (13-15, 2-4 in Big Ten) in the first game Sunday, but battled back to steal a win from the clutches of Michigan State in game two.
Game 1
Michigan State’s offense came alive in the eighth inning, capitalizing on the Buckeyes’ unstable defense and scoring seven runs for a comeback 10-8 victory in game one of the doubleheader Sunday.
A two-run double from redshirt junior infielder Peter Ahn with one out gave the Spartans the go-ahead run in the eighth.
Junior right-hander Wyatt Loncar started for Ohio State and recorded a career-high nine strikeouts through five innings of work.
Ohio State’s offense scored four runs on a pair of two-run home runs from senior infielder Zach Dezenzo, his eighth of the season, and sophomore outfielder Kade Kern, his fourth of the season.
Kern put the bat on the ball again in the bottom of the second inning with a two-run double, giving the Buckeyes a 4-0 lead.
In the top of the fourth frame, Michigan State loaded the bases with no outs but Loncar picked up a pair of strikeouts and forced a flyout to keep the Spartans scoreless.
Michigan State got on the board for the first time in the top of the fifth inning with an infield single from sophomore shortstop Mitch Jebb. A wild pitch and throwing error allowed sophomore infielder Dillon Kark to cross the plate and record a second run.
Ohio State’s aggressive baserunning in the bottom of the fifth set up senior infielder Drew Reckart to bring in a two-run single with a shot to left field, expanding the lead 8-2.
In the top of the seventh inning, junior right fielder Zaid Walker reached on a walk, then crossed the plate on a passed ball by redshirt senior catcher Brent Todys, pulling the score to 8-3.
Ohio State failed to use the five-run lead to its advantage, giving up seven runs in the top of the inning and not delivering any further offense. The Spartans used five hits, including a two-run double by Ahn and RBI singles from Kark and sophomore outfielder Jack Frank to command the lead 10-8.
Freshman outfielder Trey Lipsey began the bottom of the ninth inning with a leadoff single and Todys drew a two-out walk, but Michigan State graduate right-hander Kyle Bischoff finished off his two-inning save with his fourth strikeout, getting freshman infielder Tyler Pettorini to go down swinging.
Game Two
After falling in Game 1 of the doubleheader Sunday, Ohio State looked to take the series against Michigan State with a Game 2 win. The Buckeyes used a combination of a shutdown relief appearance from senior left-hander Griffan Smith and a big eighth inning to take the win and series by a score of 8-7.
The Buckeyes trailed the Spartans for most of the game. But they never quit, chipping away at the lead and picking up their third win of the season after trailing through seven innings. The Buckeyes have now won three of their past four games and head coach Greg Beals said they feel the momentum shifting into their favor.
“Losing the first game you wear it a little bit,” Beals said. “We didn’t have that winning energy to begin the second game with. Griffan Smith flipped the switch for us. Our guys got back in the moment. To put up seven runs in our last three at-bats speaks to the character that our guys have.”
Michigan State struck in the first inning when Frank cranked a two-run home run to left-center field off of freshman left-hander Gavin Bruni to make it 2-0. Those would be the only runs Bruni gave up in three innings of work, walking two and striking out two.
But Ohio State responded right back in the second inning. After sophomore designated hitter Blayne Robinson hit a leadoff double, Pettorini drove him in on a sacrifice fly to make the game 2-1 after two innings of play.
In the fourth inning, the Spartans widened the lead when they chased sophomore right-hander Trent Jones after just 2/3 of an inning. First Michigan State scored on an error, and then added two more on another two-run home run, this time by Kark to make it 5-1.
Smith came in relief and finished the inning with no further damage done. He continued his outing for the rest of the game, while simultaneously giving his team the opportunity to come back from the four-run deficit.
“We’re kind of light on arms right now with so many guys pitching,” Smith said. “But I was feeling good and my arm wasn’t feeling tired. I told coach, ‘Just give me the ball, I’m good to go.’”
Smith finished his outing with 5 1/3 innings pitched, one walk, four strikeouts and no earned runs given up all the while giving his team a chance to mount a comeback.
In the sixth inning, after Dezenzo reached on an error, Kern advanced Dezenzo on a single to spell trouble for junior right-hander Conner Tomasic. Robinson scored Dezenzo on a sacrifice fly, and senior catcher Archer Brookman drove in Kern on an RBI single to make the game 5-3 after six innings.
“Our offensive approach is always to pass the baton,” Dezenzo said. “Each individual guy puts together a good at-bat and we just keep doing that over and over again, which is going to lead to good results.”
After Smith retired the side in order in the seventh, the Buckeyes added on another run after an RBI double by Lipsey – continuing his scorching hot weekend – to make it 5-4 after seven innings.
Smith said his mindset was to attack early and often. Out of the 79 pitches thrown in his relief outing, 48 were strikes, showing effective command throughout his appearance.
After the Spartans failed to score in the top of the eighth, the Buckeyes took advantage of Smith’s outing. With runners on the corners, Pettorini scored Robinson on an RBI groundout to tie the game. A batter later, junior outfielder Mitchell Okuley gave Ohio State its first lead of the game with an RBI single.
But the Buckeyes were not finished yet. After senior infielder Marcus Ernst walked, Dezenzo hit a two-RBI triple to give Ohio State some insurance runs and an 8-5 lead after eight innings.
“We did some of the little things offensively today,” Beals said. “We had a couple of things very critical to an offense: we moved runners over and got two-out hits.”
With one last chance, the Spartans came up just short in the ninth inning. After Pettorini committed an error and Frank advanced to third, freshman catcher Bryan Broecker ripped a two-run single into the outfield to make the game 8-7.
But on the last play of the game, junior outfielder Casey Mayes singled up the middle, and Michigan State’s bold move to send Broecker home did not pay off, as Pettorini threw him out trying to tie the game. Smith earned the win, and Ohio State took the series by a final score of 8-7.
Ohio State next plays the Dayton Flyers Tuesday at Day-Air Ballpark in Dayton, Ohio.
