Ohio State baseball has a team huddle before its 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 looked to continue to ride their momentum against Dayton Tuesday, but sharp pitching and a pair of home runs helped the Flyers down the Buckeyes by a score of 6-0.
The Buckeyes (11-18, 2-5 Big Ten) were stifled by brilliant pitching from the Flyers (13-15, 2-4 Atlantic-10) all night in Day-Air Ballpark. Although the early innings were dictated by a pitchers’ duel, Dayton capitalized on the limited opportunities to defeat Ohio State, making the Buckeyes 2-4 against in-state opponents this season.
Each starting pitcher had a standout performance. Graduate right-handed pitcher Kenny Serwa cut through the Buckeyes’ lineup with seven innings pitched, one walk, 11 strikeouts and no earned runs given up. Freshman right-hander Jacob Gehrig matched him with five innings pitched, one hit given up, three strikeouts and one earned run allowed.
Neither team had a base runner until senior infielder Drew Reckart’s walk in the third inning. Graduate outfielder Henry Strmecki was the first batter to reach for Dayton after reaching on a strikeout and wild pitch in the fourth frame.
In the fifth inning, the Flyers struck on a solo home run by junior infielder Keagan Calero to put his team up 1-0.
After Serwa pitched a 1-2-3 inning in the sixth, the Flyers took advantage of his outing by chasing freshman right-hander Tim Baird out of the game before he could record an out in the bottom half of the frame. Junior-right hander Nate Karaffa came in with two inherited runners, and senior infielder Jay Curtis hit a two-run single to make it 3-0 Dayton after six innings.
The Buckeyes had their best opportunity to score on Serwa in the seventh inning after senior designated hitter Brent Todys doubled and freshman infielder Tyler Pettorini singled to put runners on the corners. But a strikeout by senior catcher Archer Brookman and a groundout by junior outfielder Mitchell Okuley ended the threat for Ohio State.
The Flyers added insurance runs in the eighth inning off of graduate right-handed pitcher Aaron Funk. After Curtis walked, junior outfielder Jose Martinez hit a two-run home run to increase the lead to 5-0. Freshman catcher Matt Maloney drove in another with an RBI double to make the lead 6-0 after eight innings.
The Buckeyes had one last chance facing graduate right-handed pitcher Andrew Zapka. The inning began strong after freshman outfielder Trey Lipsey was hit by a pitch and sophomore outfielder Kade Kern singled to put two on with nobody out.
But the game ended with graduate right-handed pitcher Nick Meyer shutting things down for the Flyers. He recorded three-straight outs, as the Buckeyes fell 6-0 to their in-state rivals.
The Buckeyes continue their conference play when they travel to College Park, Maryland, Friday to begin a three-game series with the Terrapins. First pitch Friday will be at 6:30 p.m.
