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Minnesota Series

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JCOSU86

JCOSU86

Go Buckeyes!
Staff member
    • The Buckeyes dropped game 1 of a 4 game series vs Minnesota Friday night 9-3. The Gopher's Loberg pitched a complete game for the win.

    The Bucks need to win 1 game vs Minn or have Penn St lose one against dUMb to make the Big 10 Tournament.

    From the Official Site

     Minnesota Hands Buckeyes 9-3 Loss in Series Opener
    Buckeyes fall to 2-6 in the first game of Big Ten series play this year
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    190191.jpeg


    Jason Zoeller hit his
    team-best sixth home run
    of the season to lead off
    the ninth against Minnesota.
    May 20, 2005

    COLUMBUS, Ohio - Minnesota stormed out to a 7-1 lead through 2 ½ innings and then rode the arm of arm of Matt Loberg to a 9-3 complete-game victory in the opening game of a four-game Big Ten series Friday night in front of 3,012 fans at Bill Davis Stadium.

    The Buckeyes need one victory in the final three games against Minnesota or a Penn State loss in its home series against Michigan to earn a berth in next week's Big Ten tournament. The Nittany Lions beat Michigan 4-3 in 11 innings earlier Friday.

    Minnesota and Ohio State each scored one run in the first inning. OSU starting pitcher Dan DeLucia (So., Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Watterson) walked two of the first three batters and then caught David Hrncirik at second on a fielder's choice by Jake Elder. Jason Zoeller (So., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy), the Buckeye second baseman, tried to complete the double play, but threw in the dirt and that enabled Luke MacLean to score, giving the Golden Gophers the early 1-0 lead.

    The Buckeyes (32-17 overall and 14-12 in the Big Ten) answered in the bottom of the inning, turning an error by Hrncirik, the Minnesota second baseman, on a ground ball by Matt Angle (Fr., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling). Angle went to third on a bunt by Mike Rabin (Sr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) that went between the first baseman and the pitcher. He scored on a sacrifice fly by Steve Caravati (Sr., Dover, Ohio/Dover).

    Minnesota (29-24, 16-12) started the second inning with three straight hits to load the bases for Tony Leseman, who reached on a fielder's choice that nabbed Andy Hunter, who was trying to score. The Gophers took the lead on a ground out by Jeremy Chlan and then two more runs score on a two-run single to left-center by MacLean. Minnesota got three more runs in the third. DeLucia walked his third batter of the game to start the inning and then hit Elder before getting Hunter to line out to right. Kevin Carlson delivered both runners with a double off the top of the wall in left field. Carlson went to third on a fielding error on Buckeye first baseman Paul Farinacci (Sr., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) on a ground ball off of Mike Mee. That was the end of DeLucia's day, who left in favor of Dan Barker (Fr., Dayton, Ohio/Northmont). Leseman plated Carlson with a sacrifice fly to build a 7-1 lead.

    DeLucia left after only 2.1 innings, his shortest ever start as a Buckeye. He gave up seven runs (four earned) on five hits to fall to 4-5 on the year.

    After an out to start the Minnesota fifth, Barker walked Hunter, hit Carlson and then walked Mee to load the bases for Leseman, who scored Hunter with his second sac fly of the game to give the Gophers an 8-1 lead. The Buckeyes got that run back in the bottom of the fifth. With two outs, Angle singled up the middle and went to second on a wild pitch. When Fornasiere could not come up with at short off the bat of Rabin, Angle ran home to pull within six runs, 8-2. Chlan, the Gopher second baseman, threw home trying to catch Angle at the plate, but the ball went over the catcher's head and Rabin advanced to second, where he was stranded when Caravati struck out. Barker went 5.2 innings and allowed only one run on one hit. He struck out a pair but walked three.

    Minnesota added a run in the ninth inning capitalizing on more Ohio State micues. Elder led off the inning with a single to left-center field, went to second on a throwing error on closer Trey Fausnaugh (So., Circleville, Ohio/Westfall), who tried to pick off Elder at first. Elder went to third on a wild pitch and then scored on a passed ball to go up 9-2.

    Zoeller hit his team-best sixth home run of the year in the bottom of the ninth inning to make it a six-run game, 9-3. The home run cleared the right-field fence.

    Loberg went the distance for his second complete game of the season to improve to 7-5 on the year. He allowed three runs, only one earned, on six hits. He struck out five and walked two. Minnesota scored more runs than had hits, 9-8, and each team had three errors. Ohio State had six walks in the game, two wild pitches and hit three batters.

    After dropping the opening game of a series, the Buckeyes have come back to win the final three games twice this season, taking the final three games from Purdue and Indiana. Ohio State won only two of eight series openers in Big Ten play this season.

    Ohio State and Minnesota continue the series Saturday with a doubleheader at 4:05 p.m. before concluding the series Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m. All three games will be broadcast by NPR 820 (WOSU-AM) and on the Internet at www.wosu.org.

    Go Diamond Buckeyes!

     
    Buckeyes Sweep Gophers in Doubleheader

    Excellent! Bucks are in the Big 10 Tournament!

    Game 1 linkage

     Farinacci Single Yields 2-1 OSU Victory vs. Minnesota in Bottom of Seventh
    Buckeye first baseman bats in 46th run of season to give Buckeyes walk-off victory
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    175691.jpeg


    Paul Farinacci drove in
    the winning run in the
    bottom of the seventh
    to beat Minnesota.
    May 21, 2005

    COLUMBUS, Ohio -     With the score tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the seventh inning, Paul Farinacci singled to left field to score Wes Schritzinger and give Ohio State a 2-1 victory over Minnesota in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday at Bill Davis Stadium. The victory was the second last-inning win for the Buckeyes this week after they beat Miami (Ohio) 3-2 on Tuesday.

    Ohio State entered the game needing a win against the Golden Gophers or a Penn State loss to qualify for next week's Big Ten tournament. It got both. Michigan swept the doubleheader against the Nittany Lions earlier in the day, so even had the Buckeyes lost, they would have advanced to their 19th Big Ten tournament and the 17th under head coach Bob Todd, who is in his 18th season in Columbus. The Buckeyes are 33-17 overall and 15-12 in the Big Ten.

    Neither team had much success against the opposing pitcher in the first three innings. Both teams went in order in the first two innings. Tony Leseman got the first hit in the game, firing a shot through the left side with one out in the third. He was stranded at second base when the inning ended. In the bottom of the inning, Eric Fryer (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) reached on an infield single and moved to second when Gopher starting pitcher Cole DeVries hit Matt Angle (Fr., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling). Both Buckeyes were stranded.

    Minnesota finally put up a run in the fourth. Matt Fornasiere led off the inning with a single up the middle and then went to third on a single to shallow center by Mike Mee. Andy Hunter doubled to deep right-center to score Fornasiere for the 1-0 lead. Mee was held up at third with no one out. OSU starter Mike Madsen (Sr., Canfield, Ohio/Notre Dame Cathedral Latin) walked Jake Elder to load the bases before striking out John Arlt. He got David Hrncirik to ground into a 6-3 double play to end any further threat.

    The Buckeyes tried to rally in the bottom of the inning, but left a runner at third base. Ronnie Bourquin (So., Canton, Ohio/Canton South) singled through the left side with one out and then went to third on a single by Jason Zoeller (So., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy). Zoeller tried to stretch his laser down the left-field line, but was thrown out at second. A fly out ended the threat.

    Paul Farinacci (Sr., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) drew a one-out walk and then made it all the way to third on a single to left field by Fryer. Farinacci scored on a fielder's choice by Angle that caught Fryer at second and then the inning ended when Angle was caught trying to steal second.

    Hunter led off the sixth inning with a single to right before Elder walked to put runners at first and second. After Arlt popped up a bunt to Madsen, Hrncirik laid down the perfect bunt down the third base line to load the bases with only one out. Leseman lined out to short before MacLean grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning with three Gophers on base.

    Madsen got two fly outs to start the seventh before giving up a single to left by Mee. He followed by walking Hunter and that brought an end to his day. Todd brought in closer Rory Mesiter (Fr., Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Madison), who hit his first batter to load the bases, before striking out Arlt to again leave the bases loaded for Minnesota. Meister got his second win this week to improve to 5-0 on the year. He pitched 1/3 of an inning before the Buckeye won it in the bottom of the inning.

    Bourquin and Fryer each had two hits to lead Ohio State, which was out-hit 9-8 in error-free baseball. Fornasiere, Mee and Hunter each had two hits to pace Minnesota, which fell to 29-25 and 17-13.

    Ohio State and Minnesota will complete the doubleheader later Saturday before concluding the series Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m. Both games will be broadcast on NPR 820 (WOSU-AM) and on the Internet at www.wosu.org.


    Game 2 linkage

    Ohio State Squeezes Minnesota for 3-2 Win to Sweep Doubleheader

    Mike Rabin suicide squeeze in bottom of the seventh lifts Buckeyes
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    Mike Rabin delivered the
    winning run in the nightcap
    vs. Minnesota with a suicide
    squeeze in the bottom of
    the seventh.

    May 21, 2005

    COLUMBUS, Ohio - Paul Farinacci tied the game 2-2 in the bottom of the seventh inning and then Mike Rabin delivered the winning run pushing a suicide squeeze bunt between the pitcher and the first-base line to hand Minnesota a 3-2 loss and give the Buckeyes a doubleheader sweep Saturday in front of a season-high crowd of 5,128 at Bill Davis Stadium.

    The Buckeyes trailed 2-1 entering the bottom of the seventh, but Jason Zoeller (So., Verona, Pa./Shady Side Academy) got the rally started with a single to left. He stole second and went to third on a sacrifice bunt by Jedidiah Stephen (Jr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah). Farinacci, who gave the Buckeyes a 2-1 victory in game one with seventh-inning single, sent a shot through the right side to plate Zoeller and tie the game 2-2. Eric Fryer (Fr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) sent Farinacci to second with a hit to center field and after a wild pitch that moved both runners into scoring position, Minnesota reliever Jon Muller intentionally walked Matt Angle (Fr., Whitehall, Ohio/Whitehall-Yearling) to load the bases.

    Rabin, a senior from West Chester, Ohio (Lakota East), watched the first pitch for a ball and then fouled the second pitch in the bleachers down the right-field line before connected on the bunt he pushed between the pitcher the first-base line to score Jacob Howell (So., Ashland, Ohio/Ashland), who came in to pinch run for Farinacci, and give the Buckeyes their second one-run victory of the day.

    Rabin batted in two of Ohio State's runs in a 2-for-4 game, while Zoeller and Fryer each went 2-for-3 as the Buckeyes slugged out nine hits to five by the Gophers.

    OSU starting pitcher Trent Luyster (Sr., Flushing, Ohio/Harrison Central) pitched into the seventh inning, but left after giving up a pair of hits and a sacrifice bunt. Tony Leseman led off the inning with a single to center and then went to second on the sacrifice. He stayed put on an infield single by Jeremy Chlan that forced Bob Todd to go with Rory Meister (Fr., Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Madison). A wild pitch by Mesiter moved both runners into scoring position, but he ended the threat with a fly out and a ground out.

    Meister ended up winning his second game of the day to improve to 6-0 on the year. He pitched one inning between the two games, throwing just 2/3 of an inning in the nightcap.

    Minnesota and Ohio State each had only three base runners in the first four innings of the game, but the Golden Gophers loaded the bases in the top of the fifth inning and scored twice to take a 2-0 lead. Mike Mee sent a grounder between the legs of Zoeller, the Buckeyes second baseman, to lead off the fifth inning. Leseman followed with bloop single to shallow right-center field and then David Hrncirik drew a walk to load the bases. Luyster walked Chlan to bring home the first run of the game. Matt Fornasiere flew out to left to score Leseman on the sacrifice to build a two-run lead.

    Ohio State used an error to score in the bottom of the fifth. Zoeller led off the inning with a single up the middle and went to second when Stephen was awarded first base on catcher's interference. Farinacci, a senior from Westlake Village, Calif. (Agoura) reached on a fielder's choice that caught Zoeller at third and then after a strikeout by Fryer, Stephen got to third on an infield single by Angle. Rabin drove him with an infield single, but after the run scored Fornasiere, the Minnesota shortstop, threw to third to catch Farinacci, who could not get back to the bag in time.

    Hunter and Leseman each went 2-for-3 for Minnesota, which fell to 29-26 overall and 17-14 in the Big Ten. Starter Brian Bull took the loss to fall to 4-3 on the year. Ohio State is 34-17 overall and 16-12 in the league.

    With the win in game one, the Buckeyes clinched an appearance in next week's Big Ten tournament, which will be held at either Illinois or Purdue. If the Fighting Illini win, the tournament would be played in Champaign, Ill., but if they stumble and the Boilermakers can win Sunday at Indiana, the tournament would go to West Lafayette, Ind. The Buckeyes are currently tied for fourth with Michigan.

    The series concludes Sunday with a single game at 1:05 p.m. The game will be broadcast by NPR 820 (WOSU-AM) and on the Internet at www.wosu.org.
     
    Upvote 0
    Wow! It's not often that you see 3 come-from-behind victories in the last at-bat, but the Buckeyes pulled it off. If they can just not start a series on Friday (2-9 all year) they will be fine :wink2:

    Game 4 from the Official Site

    Another Last At-Bat Win for Ohio State in 6-5 Decision vs. Minnesota

    Buckeyes win series 3-1, earn No. 5 seed in Big Ten Tournament
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    188135.jpeg


    Rory Meister was the
    winning pitcher in all
    four Ohio State victories
    this week, including
    game four vs. Minnesota.

    May 22, 2005

    COLUMBUS, Ohio -     With the score knotted 5-5 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, catcher Eric Fryer fired a long single to right field to score Jason Zoeller and give Ohio State a 6-5 victory over Minnesota Sunday at Bill Davis Stadium to clinch the Big Ten series 3-1 and earn the fifth seed in next week's Big Ten tournament.

    After reliever Jeffrey Carroll (So., Columbus, Ohio/Bishohp Watterson) retired the side in the seventh, he got into a touch of trouble in the eighth. He gave up back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt moved the runners to second and third. Carroll left in favor of Rory Meister (Fr., Mansfield, Ohio/Mansfield Madison), who struck out Arlt and got pinch hitter Taylor VanderAarde to pop up to second to end the inning.

    Zoeller, a sophomore from Verona, Pa. (Shady Side Academy) led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single to right, but Wes Schirtzinger (So., Westerville, Ohio/Westerville North) popped up a bunt to third and Jedidiah Stephen (Jr., Caldwell, Ohio/Shenandoah) struck out. Zoeller stole second before Paul Farinacci (Sr., Westlake Village, Calif./Agoura) was intentionally walked to get to Fryer, who connected with a ball that seemed to want to stay airborne before falling in front of Gopher leftfielder Tony Leseman to score Zoeller and give the Buckeyes their eighth one-run victory of the year.

    Mesiter got a fly out and a pop out to start the ninth, but gave up a double off the wall to Fornasiere. A passed ball moved him to third before Meister walked Mike Mee. Meister responded though to catch Hunter looking at strike three to end the game. Meister earned all three wins against Minnesota and won all four games this week, adding a victory Tuesday vs. Miami (Ohio). He pitched 1.2 innings in the finale and allowed one hit, walked a batter and struck out two to improve to 7-0 on the year to go with four saves. Gary Perinar took the loss for Minnesota to fall to 0-1.

    Ohio State has won 17 of its last 20 games and is surging heading into the conference tournament with a 35-17 overall record. The Buckeyes finished 17-12 in the Big Ten.

    Minnesota starter Josh Oslin walked the first two Ohio State batters he faced in the first inning before Steve Caravati (Sr., Dover, Ohio/Dover) launched his third home run of the season over the fence in left-center field to give the Buckeyes a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Caravati took two balls and bunted the next two foul trying to bunt both runners into scoring position, but he teed off on the next Oslin offering for the 24th home run of his career.

    The Golden Gophers scored twice in the top of the second. Jake Elder led off the inning with a single up the middle and then Buckeye starter Cory Luebke (Fr., Maria Stein, Ohio/Marion Local) walked Andy Hunter. After a foul out, Farinacci scooped up a grounder down the first-base line by David Hrncirik and tried to apply the tag as Hrncirik ran down the line, but he dropped the ball and Elder came home. Sean Kommerstad followed with an infield single to score Hunter and pull Minnesota within a 3-2 score.

    The Buckeyes stranded Farinacci at third after he doubled with one out. He went to second on a single through the left side by Fryer, but after a pitching change that brought Andy Peters in for Oslin, the Gophers turned a double play to prevent Farinacci from scoring. The Buckeyes got the run in the third inning to build a 4-2 lead. Mike Rabin (Sr., West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) walked to lead off the inning and went to second on a single to left center by Caravati.

    Farinacci doubled in Stephen in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 5-2. Stephen led off the inning with a single up the middle before Farinacci doubled for the second time of the game and the 19th time this season, a figure that leads the Big Ten.

    Minnesota tied the game, 5-5, with a three-spot in the sixth inning. Luebke walked Matt Fornasiere to start the inning and that brought in Brett Hatcher (Sr., Bellefontaine, Ohio/Bellefontaine), but he hit Mike Mee and walked Hunter to load the bases. Kevin Carlson singled to right to score the first two runs and after a bunt by Hrncirik, OSU coach Bob Todd lifted Hatcher for Carroll, who gave up a sacrifice fly by John Arlt that scored Hunter.

    Fryer, a true freshman from Reynoldsburg, Ohio (Reynoldsburg), led the Buckeyes in going 3-for-4 at the plate. His winning run was his only RBI in the game. Fryer now leads the team with a .331 batting average in all games and a .400 average in conference games. The Buckeyes overcame one error to out-hit Minnesota 11-8. Carlson led the Gophers in going 3-for-4 with two RBI. Minnesota is 29-27 overall and 17-15 in the Big Ten.

    Ohio State welcomed 10,876 fans to Bill Davis Stadium in three dates this weekend, including 2,736 fans Sunday in the series finale. The attendance Friday was 3,012 and 5,128 fans attended the doubleheader on Saturday. In 18 home dates this season, Ohio State drew 45,666 fans, an average of 2,570 per date, up from 2,128.2 last season.

    The Buckeyes finished the regular season tied for fourth in the Big Ten standings with Michigan, but will be the No. 5 seed in the Big Ten tournament, which gets underway Wednesday in Champaign, Ill. The Buckeyes and Wolverines will open play in the conference tournament at 1:05 p.m., EDT (12:05 p.m., CDT) The game will be broadcast on NPR 820 (WOSU-AM).

    Illinois is the No. 1 seed in the tournament, followed by No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Iowa, Michigan, Ohio State and No. 6 Minnesota. The first two seeds get a first-round bye. The other Wednesday game pits Iowa vs. Minnesota at 4:30 p.m.
     
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