NO Mercy! Buckeyes Burn Wedding Crashers

By KEVIN MA

EAST RIVER (July 2, 2012) – Without team captain Brian Keatts, who was still on loan with the Phillies, the Ohio State Buckeyes won a seesaw battle and beat the Wedding Crashers 10-9 in one of the slowest game ever on this hot summer evening at East River. It was so slow the team from a latter game had to open their 24-pack and enjoyed this show from the sideline.

 

A few lucky hits from the Wedding Crashers saw the Buckeyes down 5-0 in the bottom half of the 1^st inning. Though, the Scarlet and Gray struck back quickly. Jon Graham led off the 1^st inning with a triple, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Tom Antoniello. After back-to-back singles from Evan Binder and JT Ferrara, Andrew Vanatta laced a line drive to the left field and the ball skipped past Crashers’ leftfielder for an inside-the-park home run, scoring Binder and Ferrara.

 

The Buckeyes took the lead in the 2^nd inning after back-to-back walks from Carly Klingensmith and Kevin Ma, followed by a homer from Graham to make it a 7-5. However, the Crashers scored 3 runs in the top of the 3^rd inning to take the lead again, but that was not going to last long.

 

Jessica Brown got on base after a fielder’s choice, and the Bucks loaded the bases after a single by Ethan Linen and a walk from [Brother] Jimmy Klingensmith. [Sister] Carly hit a single and scored Brown to tie the game, and with the bases remained loaded, Ma took a walk as Linen scored to make it 9-8.

The Crashers re-tied the game with a run in the top of the 4^th inning, but the Bucks quickly answered with a run to re-take the lead. Graham led off the inning with a single, and moved to second after a single by Pam Swidler. Graham and Swidler moved to second and third after a fly out by Antoniello, and a Binder walk which loaded the bases again. Ferrara hit a sacrifice fly to right center field as Graham scored and the Buckeyes took the lead for good.

 

With a strong defensive effort from Jeanne Domurat behind the plate, the Buckeyes held the Wedding Crashers scoreless the last two innings and they took the nail bitter 10-9.

The Buckeyes will enjoy a two-week break and they will return to the field on July 16^th at 7:15pm as they take on Mamiye in Central Park’s North Meadow.

Buckeyes Lay Down the Lawsox

By BRIAN KEATTS

EAST RIVER (May 14, 2012) - The Buckeyes overcame a 3 run deficit to earn a 6-5 victory over the previously unbeaten Lawsox on the banks of the East River this evening.  After yet another impressive victory (made even more so by the absence of the Rally Baby), Ohio State's record stands at 3-1.

With the Lawsox holding a 3-0 advantage, the Bucks got on the board in the top of the 3rd inning.  Andrew Vanatta led off the inning with a single, advancing on a sharp grounder by Ethan Linen that proved too hot to handle.  Eileen Howe, who made her Buckeye debut via Alabama, advanced the runners with a key sacrifice.  Kevin Ma followed with a clutch RBI single.  Linen then scored on a Lawsox fielding error, bringing the Buckeyes to within 3-2 after the frame.

After the Lawsox extended their lead to 4-2, the Buckeyes returned to the plate during a steady rain.  Brian Keatts doubled with one out and came home when Evan Binder belted a two-run homer.  With the score knotted at 4 after 3 ½ innings, the Buckeyes turned up the heat on defense.  Viviana Dinucci moved from behind the plate to second base for this game (in part due to a failed public relations campaign entitled “Catch VD”), and made a bid to hold down the spot with her fine fielding.  Tom Antoniello kept runners at bay with his strong arm in left field, while JT Ferrara shuttled between the outfield and infield, excelling at both.

With the lights on and the rain having subsided, OSU made their move in the top of the 6th inning.  Jon Graham started the inning with a single and scored when Jessica Brown scorched a double down the left field line.  With one down, Keatts lined a single up the middle to advance Brown to third base.  Binder then lofted a sacrifice fly, scoring Brown and giving Ohio State its first lead at 6-4. 

That's the way things stood going into the bottom of the 7th, when Ohio State conceded a run before closing the case on the Lawsox with continued solid defense.  It was another big win for OSU over a strong opponent - a theme the Buckeyes will look to continue when they return to the field on May 24th.