While his 21st birthday was kept low key yesterday, Ohio State right fielder Christian Snavely celebrated it in a big way on the diamond with Cincinnati.
Snavely belted a three-run homer that sailed 400 feet and dented the top of the scoreboard in the third inning. On the night, he finished 3-for-5 and helped the Buckeyes (31-15, 15-9 Big Ten) shell the Bearcat pitching staff. The Buckeyes got 19 hits en route to the biggest margin of victory this season with a 17-0 drubbing at Davis Stadium.
“The bats woke up from the past weekend,” said Snavely, referring to last weekend’s lack of an offensive performance versus Michigan, which churned out 11 runs.
With the shutout, OSU pushed its scoreless mid-week inning streak to 45 as right-handed starter Mike Madsen (5-1) pitched effectively. He went five innings, giving up one hit and striking out five. Relief performances by left-hander Trent Luyster and righty Justin Myers, who each pitched two innings with little problems. A Cincinnati base runner didn’t reach third base until the eighth inning.
“I thought Mike Madsen and Trent Luyster pitched very well,” said OSU manager Bob Todd. “We are trying to get them more innings because the more work they get, the better off they’ll be.”
Madsen, who is regarded as a relief pitcher, got the nod yesterday to start and said he enjoys pitching the mid-week games.
“I’m not very happy with the way I’ve been pitching in the Big Ten, but I like these weekday starts; it allows me more innings of work,” Madsen said.
As for the offensive slugfest, it seemed all too easy as the Buckeyes spaced out their scoring nicely, getting four in the first inning, six in the third and five in the fifth. Two home runs by second baseman Drew Anderson and one by first baseman Paul Farinacci paced OSU’s offensive outburst.
“It was one of those nights,” Todd said. “We hit the ball fairly well tonight, and it was in the place (Cincinnati) wasn’t. I like how our players relaxed at the plate.”
Anderson awoke from a 3-for-17 slump when he hit his sixth and seventh home runs of the season in the second and eighth innings.
“Lately I haven’t been hitting the ball too well,” Anderson said. “I’ve been trying to flatten out my swing a little bit, my head’s been dipping a little bit, and so I’m trying to straighten that out.”
The 1,056 Buckeye fans in attendance knew it was going to be an easy win when Bearcat starting pitcher Justin Minges (1-1) couldn’t survive the first inning. Finding the plate was a major problem for Minges, who walked two straight batters and got knocked around for four runs.
Cincinnati manager Brian Cleary sent out five more pitchers to the mound. Brad Hunt ran into the most trouble, allowing seven runs on seven hits.
Todd said OSU’s 4-1 victory over Cleveland State on Tuesday and yesterday’s win will help keep the momentum going for the Buckeyes as the regular season is starting to wind down.
The Buckeyes, who are in second place in the Big Ten, are out of contention for the first seed in the tournament because Minnesota has it wrapped up. OSU is now focused on a more realistic goal of becoming the second seed in the Big Ten tournament.
“This win is going to help us at the end of the season and into the postseason,” Todd said.
