The Miami RedHawks’ baseball team will think twice the next time it attempts to pick off an opposing baserunner.
Two costly throwing errors by Miami (34-15, 14-4 Mid-American Conference) led to two Ohio State runs as OSU (32-16, 14-11 Big Ten) beat their in-state foe 3-2 last night at Bill Davis Stadium. Freshman right fielder Matt Angle ended the game with a ninth-inning, bases-loaded sacrifice fly that allowed junior shortstop Jedidiah Stephen to score the game-winner.
“I walked into the dugout and told (hitting) coach (Greg) Cypret ‘We are going to find something out about Matt Angle,'” coach Bob Todd said. “We are going to let the freshman hit away and see if he can’t come through in a clutch situation, and obviously he did the job.”
Stephen got on base with a single, and moved to third base after a wild pickoff throw by freshman pitcher Connor Graham. Graham then walked the bases loaded before being relieved by junior lefty Sam Shorts, who gave up the sacrifice fly to Angle.
The RedHawks took a 1-0 lead in the second inning when Miami’s senior designated hitter Michael Moljewski blooped an RBI single into left-center field, just beyond a diving Stephen.
The Buckeyes tied the game in the bottom half of the same inning when Redhawks senior catcher John Slone attempted to throw out Stephen at second base but threw the ball into center field. Sophomore second baseman Jason Zoeller, who led off with a single to right field, crossed the plate on Slone’s errant throw.
Freshman right-hander Dan Barker, OSU’s starter, retired the next eight Miami batters before being relieved by freshman left-handed pitcher Cory Luebke in the top of the fifth. Barker allowed just one run on two hits, walking one and striking out one.
“My mechanics have all been coming together and I’ve been throwing strikes and that’s what you need to do to become a successful college baseball player,” Barker said.
In the sixth inning Miami hit three consecutive singles off of Luebke, the last a two-out RBI single by senior first baseman Paul Frietch that put Miami up 2-1. Luebke pitched three innings, allowing one run on three hits and collecting two strikeouts.
OSU tied the game at two in the seventh when senior first baseman Paul Farinacci hit a sharply ground ball up the middle and into center field, scoring sophomore left fielder Wes Schirtzinger. Farinacci leads the team with 45 RBIs on the season.
“This is my last mid-week game as a senior so I am just going out there to do the best I can,” Farinacci said.
The Buckeyes had a chance to bust the game open after the next two batters reached base by fielding errors, loading the bases. However, senior center fielder Mike Rabin grounded into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.
“These are the kind of games that, earlier in the year when we were struggling, we could not find a way to win them,” Todd said. “Right now we are starting to do a little bit better job of finding a way to win these types of ballgames.”
Graham fell to 4-5 with the loss, while freshman right-hander Rory Meister improved to 4-0 for OSU after pitching two-thirds of an inning.
The Buckeyes welcome Minnesota (28-24, 16-12 Big Ten) for a four-game series at 6:35 p.m. Friday at Bill Davis Stadium. OSU needs just one victory over the Golden Gophers or a loss by Penn State (27-24, 12-16 Big Ten) to clinch a spot in the six-team Big Ten tournament.
“I think anytime you play Minnesota, it is big,” Farinacci said. “We’ve watched them celebrate three years in a row so we just want to go out there and forget where we are at (in the standings) and beat them every time we play them.”
OSU has won 12 of its last 13 games and currently sit tied for fifth place with Michigan (35-14, 14-11 Big Ten), but is just one-half game behind second-place Purdue (21-26, 14-10 Big Ten).
“I am extremely pumped,” Barker said. “I just want us to go out on top for the seniors.”
