By BRIAN KEATTS
East River Park (April 22, 2010) - The season opener could not have produced a more thrilling conclusion than what we saw on the banks of the East River on Thursday evening. Ohio State erased a 9 run deficit - scoring 7 runs in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the 7th inning to come away with a 15-14 victory over WTAS.
After WTAS jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning, the Buckeyes responded quickly. Kevin Sheen led off the 1st inning with a walk, and scored on a bloop triple by Brian Keatts. Evan Binder stroked an RBI single shortly thereafter to tie the game at 2.
Ohio State took the lead in the second inning. Kevin Ma led off the inning with a single and advanced to second base on a ground ball from Amy West (who warmed up for the game with a 3+ mile jog to the field with her dog) that proved too hot to handle. With 2 outs, Keatts, John McClaffery and Binder laced consecutive run scoring singles to give OSU a 5-2 lead.
Let's just skip the top of the 3rd inning, when the Bucks experienced a mini meltdown in the field. However, this did allow for the dramatic comeback. After 3 innings, WTAS held a 12-5 advantage. WTAS increased that lead to 14-5 after 4 innings. That's when the magic began to happen.
Over the final 3 innings, the Buckeye defense played lights out, posting a series of bagels. Sheen and Grace Sacro formed an impressive battery, mowing down hitters. Andrew Vanetta held things down in the outfield, routinely shagging fly balls. Ohio State also turned a 1-6-3 double play.
Ohio State chipped away at the lead in the 5th inning. Keatts started the inning with a single and advanced on a McClaffery walk. Binder drove them both home by launching a double to the right center field gap. Binder later scored on a ground ball by Ma, cutting the deficit to 14-8.
Needing 6 runs to force extra innings, Ohio State took their last licks in the bottom of the 7th. Vanetta drew a walk to start things off and moved to second on a single by Mike Green. A fielder's choice by Lisa Imel left runners on first and second with one out. Ma used his keen eye to draw a walk and load the bases. West came though with a clutch RBI single. Down 5 runs with the bases loaded and two outs, Sheen crushed a base clearing triple. Keatts followed with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 14-13. At that point, McClafferty ended things with a walk off two run homer, touching off a Buckeye celebration and leaving their opponents dazed.
It was a great start to the season. The Bucks return to the field on April 29th when they take on Complete Chaos at DeWitt Clinton Park.
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