The Spartans stay on top of the Big 10 race with their 10-7 victory. The Spartans now lead the second-place Bucks by two games in the standings. Josh Newman came back down to earth after a few superb outings. Newman got raked for 6 earned runs in 5.1 innings.
Jedidiah Stephen leads the team with five home runs after hitting two at Michigan State.
April 16, 2004
Box Score
EAST LANSING, Mich. - First-place Michigan State broke a 7-7 tie in the bottom of the seventh inning to take a two-run lead before adding another in the eighth to defeat second-place Ohio State 10-7 in a seesaw battle Friday afternoon in the opening game of a four-game Big Ten series between the schools. With the win the Spartans held on to first place in the conference.
For Michigan State in the bottom of the seventh, third baseman James Moreno doubled to left-center field with one out and then designated hitter Sean Walker doubled down the left-field line with two outs to score Moreno. Walker scored on a single through the right side by shortstop Troy Krider. The Spartans added an insurance run in the eighth, scoring Oliver Wolcott from second on a single up the middle by Travis Gulick.
What was set up as a battle between starting pitchers
Josh Newman (Jr., Wheelersburg, Ohio/Wheelersburg) of Ohio State and Bryan Gale from Michigan State, was anything but that.
Wolcott gave Michigan State a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning with a home run over the short fence in right field. The solo shot was his fifth home run of the season.
The Spartans extended their lead to 3-0 in the second inning with a two-run triple to the gap in right-center field by centerfielder Alan Cattrysse. He scored Moreno, who led off with a single through the right side, and Sean Walker, who reached with a one-out single to shallow left-center field.
The Buckeyes got back-to-back home runs off Gale with two outs in the top of the third to pull within a 3-2 score.
Steve Caravati (Jr., Dover, Ohio/Dover) hit his team-leading fourth home run of the season, but keeping pace with his fourth home run of the season was
Jedidiah Stephen (So., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah). It was the first back-to-back home runs by Ohio State since May 25, 2003 when the Buckeyes locked up their second straight Big Ten Tournament victory with a 17-10 win against Minnesota.
Mike Rabin (Jr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) led off the fifth inning with a single to right field before
Drew Anderson (Jr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) singled through the left side to send Rabin to third. Anderson stole his eighth base of the season and then the first wild pitch of the year by Gale allowed Rabin to tie the game, 3-3. Stephen gave the Buckeyes a 4-3 lead with a single to left field.
Michigan State tied the game 4-4 taking benefit from a pair of Ohio State errors. Wolcott doubled to right and then reached third on a throwing error on shortstop
Brett Garrard (Sr., Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) after a line out trying to turn the double play by catching Wolcott at second. Wolcott scored on an error on third baseman
Jason Zoeller (Fr., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy) even the score.
A lead off home run in the sixth inning by
Cody Caughenbaugh (So., Newark, Ohio/Licking Valley) put the Buckeyes back on top, 5-4. it was his second home run of the season and the first since the third game of the season, a three-run shot against Texas Tech.
Travis Gulick gave the Spartans a two-run lead with a three-run double off the wall in right-center field. Newman gave up a single up the middle to Ryan Basham before Sean Walker bunted him over with the sacrifice. Troy Krider singled to center to put runners at the corners before Newman's second walk of the game loaded the bases.
That prompted a pitching change as the Buckeyes brought in
Jesse Paciorek (Jr., Lakewood, Ohio/Lakewood) to try and get the Buckeyes out of the inning with a one-run lead intact. He immediately struck out Wolcott, but then gave up the three-run double to Gulick to take a 7-5 lead.
The lead did not last long as Ohio State was able to tie the score, 7-7, with the second home run of the game by Stephen in the top of the seventh. The shot, which left the park, just left of straight-away center field, also scored Caravati, who doubled down the left-field line with two outs.
Paciorek was responsible for the eighth and ninth runs of the game by Michigan State and was tagged with the loss to fall to 1-2 on the season. Gale got the win leaving only after the Spartans took a 9-7 lead. White came on to pick up his second save of the season retiring the Buckeyes in order in the eighth and overcoming two errors in the ninth. Newman came out of the game in the sixth inning. He allowed seven runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and a pair of walks. Ohio State (14-14 overall, 5-4 Big Ten) and Michigan State (18-12, 7-2) continue the series with a doubleheader Saturday at 1:05 p.m. before closing out the series Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m. Both games will be broadcast by NPR 820 (WOSU-AM).
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