By KEVIN MA
ROOSEVELT ISLAND (July 20, 2011) – The Ohio State Buckeyes took a much needed victory this evening as they beat McGladrey 17-13 at Pony Field in Roosevelt Island. With this win, the Buckeyes are back at .500 and move closer to clinch a playoff spot with three games remaining this season.
John McClafferty led off the game with a triple, and scored as Carly Klingensmith reached base. Tom Antoniello followed with a double, putting two ducks on the pond in scoring position. Carly’s brother James “Brother Jimmy” Klingensmith then smoked a triple to drive in two runs. After a walk to Claire McClafferty, Jeff Kriesler hit a fielder’s choice to bring in James.
Led by ex-Bucks Alicia Korney, McGladrey came back and scored three runs at the bottom of the frame. Though, the Bucks answered with one run in the next inning. John McClafferty singled, and moved to second on Carly Klingensmith’s grounder. Antoniello then lined a single off the opposing pitcher (a Tyler Clippard lookalike), sending in John to make it 5-3.
The narrow field at Pony Field did not help the Buckeyes at the bottom of the second inning, as McGladrey scored seven runs with some lucky hits and miscues from the defense.
The theme for the Bucks this year is comeback, and the comeback trail started at the top of the third inning. Kreisler singled, and moved to second on Jessica Brown’s pop fly. Kevin Ma then hit a single up the middle to bring in Kreisler. After Anne Teutschel singled, super-sub Kit from Boston College hit a double to bring in Ma and cut McGladrey’s lead down to three.
It took the Bucks one inning to remove a 3-run deficit and put 3 additional runs on the board. Carly Klingensmith walked, and moved to third base on James Klingensmith’s double. Claire McClafferty bought in Carly with a fielder’s choice, followed by Kreisler’s single bringing in James. The hit parade continued as Brown singled, and another single by Ma scored another run. Teutschel then singled, followed by Kit’s second double of the game as Brown and Ma scored. John McClafferty hit another single to bring in Teutschel, and when all said and done the Bucks batted around and scored six runs to put them back on the top.
McGladrey scored a run at the bottom of the 4th, but the hitting onslaught from the Bucks resumed. James Klingensmith belted a solo homer in the fifth inning, followed by singles from Claire McClafferty, Kreisler and Brown to load the bases. Ma drew a bases loaded walk to bring in Claire for another run. McGladrey scored two runs at the bottom of 5th, but the Bucks answered with their own two runs. John McClafferty led off the 6th inning with a walk, and Antoniello hit a long homer to the left, cashing in another two runs to make it 17-13.
The Buckeyes were able to hold McGladrey’s heart of the order in check at the bottom of the frame, and the umpire called the game due to darkness. Three games remaining on Buckeyes’ schedule and all three games will be played in the first week of August. Stay tuned.
