By BRIAN KEATTS
DeWITT CLINTON PARK (October 28, 2010) - The Ohio State Buckeyes squared off against Amalgamated Bank in their regular season finale on this unusually warm fall evening. The stakes: the winner advances to the playoffs, the loser goes home.
The Buckeyes struck first in the top half of the 2nd inning when Jim Sullivan hit a solo home run. However, the lead was short lived, as the Bank plated two runs in the bottom half of the frame to take a 2-1 lead. The Ohio State defense held the fort until the bats woke up, with Tyrone Scott and Kevin Ma chasing down fly balls in the outfield and Kerry Remulla spreading her talents between catcher, second base and the outfield.
Katherine O'Connell reached base to lead off the 4th inning, which was followed by an Andrew Vanatta fielder's choice. With one out, Brian Keatts launched a bomb to left field - good for a two run home run and a 3-2 Buckeye lead. Sam Rosner followed with a double and came home on a single by Dave Busick to complete the scoring in the inning.
Though the Buckeye defense remained solid throughout the game, with Blake Bennett on the hill, Juton Horstman manning short and Ethan Linen at first base, the Bank managed to tie the game at 4 after five innings. That's where the score remained heading into the final inning - with the playoffs on the line. This Buckeye team responded.
Rosner lead off the inning with a single and advanced to third on a single by Busick. Bennett lofted a sacrifice fly to score Rosner and give OSU the lead. Sullivan and Horstman followed with back to back singles to load the bases with one out and bring Laura Supersub, who was making her first appearance this season, to the plate. She delivered with a bases clearing double to the gap to give Ohio State an 8-4 lead.
The Bank couldn't recover. They scored a meaningless run in the bottom half of the 7th inning before the Bucks shut the door to secure an 8-5 victory, and a playoff birth. The regular season is now complete, and the Buckeyes - who look to be a #3 seed - await the playoff pairings and look to carry their momentum into the postseason.
