Tuesday, November 20, 2012

OSU Quiets Chaos to Reach Final Four


By BRIAN KEATTS

HARLEM (November 19, 2012) - The top seeded Ohio State Buckeyes (7-1) played like it this evening in their first trip to Harlem's 128th Street Field, as they displayed solid fielding and timely hitting in dispatching 8th seeded Chaos by a score of 9-3 in the opening round of the playoffs.  With the win, the Buckeyes advance to the Final Four against #5 seed McGladrey.

After a quiet 1st inning, the Buckeyes got on the board in the 2nd.  Brian Keatts led off the inning with a triple to deep right centerfield.  Tom O'Leary followed with a double to give OSU a lead they would never relinquish.  With two outs, Jessica Brown singled and OSU held a 2-0 lead heading into the 3rd inning.

Kevin Ma started off the bottom of the 3rd with a single.  The Bucks then scored three more times.  Carly Klingensmith hit a one out single to put runners at first and second. Jon Graham reached on a fielder's choice, leaving the Bucks with 2 on and 2 out.  Jimmy Klingensmith came through with a clutch, 2-RBI double, followed by an RBI single by Tom Antoniello to give Ohio State a 5-0 advantage.

The Buckeyes continued to keep Chaos in check with an excellent fielding performance.  Andrew Vannata patrolled the outfield as part of the 13 player rotation the Buckeyes successfully employed on the diamond.  Meanwhile, the OSU offense continued to tack on runs.  O'Leary led off the 4th with a single, and scored when Viviana Dinucci laced a two-out hit that landed her at third base.  Ohio State scored again in the 5th when Juton Horstman's triple (a shot to left field) was backed up by a sacrifice from Carly Klingensmith.

In the top of the 6th, Chaos finally broke through for 2 runs to close within 7-2.  However, the Buckeyes quickly regained the momentum by re-assuming their lead and scoring twice more in the bottom half of the frame (OSU scored in all but the 1st inning).  Jimmy K started things with a double and held his ground when Antoniello singled.  Keatts followed with a single to load the bases.  O'Leary followed with a sacrifice to score a run.  Pam Swidler completed the scoring with a single, giving Ohio State a 9-2 lead.

Chaos scored a meaningless run in the top of the 7th before OSU slammed the door shut on an impressive 9-3 victory.  The Buckeyes advance to the Final Four, to be held on November 26th at Harlem’s 128th Street Field.  A Final Four appearance is nice, but these Buckeyes have their sights set on the big prize.


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