Buckeyes Give Wedding Crashers the Boot, 18-0

By BRIAN KEATTS

HARLEM (October 16, 2012) - Making their lone appearance in Harlem for the season, the Buckeyes gave the locals something to remember.  OSU put forth their most dominating performance of the season, eliminating the Wedding Crashers 18-0 in a game ended by the mercy rule after 5 innings.  In that span, the Buckeyes amassed 16 hits, with 9 of their 11 batters scoring at least once.

Juton Horstman started the game with a home run, providing the only run OSU would need.  Jimmy Klingensmith doubled with one out and scored on a single by Jon Graham.  Brian Keatts and Tom O'Leary followed with a single and double, respectively.  Andy Singer then stroked a single to drive in two more and complete the scoring for the inning at 5-0. 

Kevin Ma led off the 2nd inning with a single and scored when Horstman hit his second home run.  Pam Swidler followed with a walk.  Klingensmith and Keatts then peppered the third baseman with grounders that he could not handle.  A sacrifice by O'Leary drove home the 4th and final run of the inning, giving Ohio State a 9-0 advantage.

The Buckeyes put another five spot on the board in the 3rd inning.  Linda Vannata, making a rare substitute appearance, reached on an error.  She advanced to third on a fielder's choice by Horstman.  Swidler reached on an error, scoring Linda.  Klingensmith then tripled to clear the bases, which was followed by a run scoring triple by Graham and a run scoring double by Keatts, staking Ohio State to a 14-0 lead.

OSU took it easy on their hapless opponent and only scored once in the 4th inning.  That occurred when Viviana Dinnuci reached on a fielder's choice, advanced to 3rd on a double by Andrew Vannata, and scored on a fielder's choice by Linda.

By this point, the umpire had seen enough and tried to end the game after 4 innings.  However, law and order prevailed, and the umpire relented and allowed the game to move forward to the 5th inning, per rule.  The Buckeyes took the opportunity to score three more times. After a Klingensmith fielder's choice and a double by Graham put runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs, Keatts hit a home run[1] down the left field line.  The Buckeye defense made the 18-0 lead stand up in the bottom half of the frame, securing the shutout performance by O'Leary on the mound.

The win keeps Ohio State in first place at 6-0 with one game to go.  The Buckeyes return to the field on October 26^th in their continued quest for a perfect season.

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[1] Yes, that was a home run.

Buckeyes Cruise to 5-0 with a 14-5 Thumping of HNTB

By BRIAN KEATTS

QUEENSBRIDGE PARK (October 12, 2012) - On a blustery and chilly evening on the banks of the East River the Ohio State Buckeyes jumped all over HNTB early en route to a 14-5 victory.  The win keeps OSU perfect on the season, with two games to go.

With 1 out in the top of the 1st inning Pam Swidler used her keen eye to draw a walk.  Brian Keatts followed with a single and Jimmy Klingensmith drove in the game's first run with a single of his own.  After HNTB failed to successfully field a ground ball off the bat of Andrew Singer, Tom O'Leary drove home two runs with a triple in the gap.  Jessica Brown, who sprayed the ball all over the field, only to find HNTB gloves at the waiting, reached on an error.  After Kevin Ma singled to load the bases, Viviana Dinucci hit a bases loaded single to drive in the inning's final run and give OSU a 6-0 lead.

Ohio State continued the assault in the 2nd inning.  A single by Juton Horstman and a well placed grounder by Swidler put 2 ducks on the pond.  Horstman came home on an RBI single by Keatts.  With 2 outs, DJ Tommy Antoniello singled to load the bases.  Singer then unloaded them with a triple, giving the Bucks a 10- advantage after an inning and a half.

The Buckeyes tacked on another run in the 4th when Andrew Vannata led off the inning with a single and came around to score on a 2 out single by Klingensmith.  HNTB broke through for a run in the 4th inning, but OSU got the run back in the 5th.  Singer singled to start the inning and scored on a 2 out single by Kevin Ma, which HNTB promptly threw all over the field after tracking it down.  The score stood at 12-1 when, apparently, the cold weather began icing the Buckeye gloves, leading to a series of errors that allowed HNTB to close to 12-5 after 5 innings.  It should be noted that Jonathan Keller, who played on 1 leg while collecting a hit, was not among the culprits.

Ohio State completed the scoring at 14-5 after scoring twice more in the 7th behind singles by Klingensmith, Antoniello, Singer and Dinnuci.  Ohio State looks to remain unbeaten when they travel to Harlem for the first time this year to take on the Wedding Crashers on October 16^th. 

OSU Dominant in 10-0 Shutout Over ViTech

By BRIAN KEATTS

QUEENSBRIDGE PARK (October 1, 2012) - Ohio State had its most complete performance of the season this evening, combining double digit hits and runs while allowing only 2 singles to the opposition in a 10-0 victory.  The win moves the Buckeyes to 3-0 on the season.

The Buckeyes left no doubt who would emerge as the victor after exploding for 7 runs in the first inning.  Jon Graham led off the inning with a double and scored on a one out triple by Brian Keatts (who tossed 6 innings of 2 hit ball backed by stellar defense).  Jimmy Klingensmith followed with an RBI single and advanced to third on a single by JT Ferrara (who fell a double short of hitting for the cycle).  A Juton Horstman double plated two more.  Back-to-back walks by Jonathan Keller and Viviana Dinnuci loaded the bases.  Andrew Vannata came through with a run-scoring single.  Kevin Ma drove in the final run of the inning with a ground ball. 

After making quick work of the Tech team in the top of the 2nd inning, OSU went back to work.  Keatts reached second base when a Techie lost a fly ball in the Queens sky, and scored when Ferrara connected for a two-run home run, extending the OSU lead to 9-0.  The Buckeye defense continued to shine, with Andy Singer making his Buckeye debut and flashing the good leather at third base and shortstop.  Pam "The Law" Swidler made several put outs at second base while also going 1-3 at the plate.  Last minute sub Linda Vannata held down right field while also drawing a walk.  ViTech didn't record their first hit until the 5th inning.

Ohio State completed the scoring in the 5th inning when Ferrara laced a triple and came home to score when the throw from the outfield to third narrowly missed his head and sailed into the stands, allowing him to advance home.  All in all it was another great effort from the Scarlet and Gray, who return to the field on October 5th to take on STV.