OSU's Resiliency Too Much For TCI

By BRIAN KEATTS

EAST RIVER (November 9, 2011) - Ohio State concluded the fall season in dramatic fashion, overcoming a late-inning deficit to pull out a 12-10 victory in 9 innings.

The Buckeyes broke out on top in the first inning on a double by Tommy Antoniello, who came around to score on an errant throw by the TCI third baseman on a ground ball. The lead was short lived however, as TCI took a 3-1 lead after one inning. OSU chipped away in the second inning. Carly Klingensmith led off the inning with a single, one of her four hits on the evening. Andrew Vannata and Rebecca (Ms. Nackson if you're nasty) Nackson followed with singles to cut the lead to 3-2. Then things got interesting. Though Vannata was clearly safe at 3rd on a Kevin Ma grounder, the umpire - who was sporting a seven o'clock shadow and coming off an 8 day bender - called Vannata out, despite TCI's acknowledgement that he was safe. The umpire was quoted as saying, "My bad", but the call stood. Instead of having bases loaded with no outs, the Bucks had runners at first and second with one out. A double play then put an end to a once promising inning.

Facing a 5-2 deficit, the Buckeyes struck again in the top of the 4th. Brian Keatts reached second on an error by the third baseman, and scored on a Klingensmith single, making the score 5-3. TCI extended the lead to 7-3, but Ohio State remained undeterred.

With the game nearing its conclusion, the Bucks stood tall in the top half of the 6th. Jonathan Keller tripled to start the frame, and scored when John McClafferty followed with a two run homer. A Keatts walk and (another) single by Klingensmith put runners on first and second. Vannata blooped a shot that confused the TCI fielders, and resulted in runners at the corners with one out. Ma came through with a two out single that scored Keatts and a hustling Vannata, tying the game at 7.

The Buckeyes mowed down TCI in the bottom half of the 6th, due in no small part to the nice game called by the Buckeye catcher, Viviana (Don't-Call-Me-VD) Dinucci. OSU's momentum carried into the top of the 7th inning, when they would score three more times. Juton Horstman and Antoniello set the table with back-to-back singles. With two outs, Keatts doubled down the line to score two runs, and came around to score on (another) Klingensmith single.

Ohio State took a 10-7 advantage into the bottom half of the 7th inning. Unfortunately, TCI managed to put together a 3 run rally. Let's not dwell on that - on to extra innings.

After a scoreless 8th inning, and with the fans on their feet as the longest game of the year now stretched into the 9th inning, more Buckeye drama unfolded. Antoniello singled to start the inning, and remained on first with two outs when Keatts belted a two run home run to centerfield, giving Ohio State a 12-10 lead. This time, the Buckeyes made the lead stand up, closing out TCI in the bottom of the 9th to earn the 12-10 victory - and a fine finish to the season.

Buckeyes Walk Off with Dramatic Victory

By BRIAN KEATTS

East River Park (April 22, 2010) - The season opener could not have produced a more thrilling conclusion than what we saw on the banks of the East River on Thursday evening. Ohio State erased a 9 run deficit - scoring 7 runs in dramatic fashion in the bottom of the 7th inning to come away with a 15-14 victory over WTAS.

After WTAS jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the 1st inning, the Buckeyes responded quickly. Kevin Sheen led off the 1st inning with a walk, and scored on a bloop triple by Brian Keatts. Evan Binder stroked an RBI single shortly thereafter to tie the game at 2.

Ohio State took the lead in the second inning. Kevin Ma led off the inning with a single and advanced to second base on a ground ball from Amy West (who warmed up for the game with a 3+ mile jog to the field with her dog) that proved too hot to handle. With 2 outs, Keatts, John McClaffery and Binder laced consecutive run scoring singles to give OSU a 5-2 lead.

Let's just skip the top of the 3rd inning, when the Bucks experienced a mini meltdown in the field. However, this did allow for the dramatic comeback. After 3 innings, WTAS held a 12-5 advantage. WTAS increased that lead to 14-5 after 4 innings. That's when the magic began to happen.

Over the final 3 innings, the Buckeye defense played lights out, posting a series of bagels. Sheen and Grace Sacro formed an impressive battery, mowing down hitters. Andrew Vanetta held things down in the outfield, routinely shagging fly balls. Ohio State also turned a 1-6-3 double play.

Ohio State chipped away at the lead in the 5th inning. Keatts started the inning with a single and advanced on a McClaffery walk. Binder drove them both home by launching a double to the right center field gap. Binder later scored on a ground ball by Ma, cutting the deficit to 14-8.

Needing 6 runs to force extra innings, Ohio State took their last licks in the bottom of the 7th. Vanetta drew a walk to start things off and moved to second on a single by Mike Green. A fielder's choice by Lisa Imel left runners on first and second with one out. Ma used his keen eye to draw a walk and load the bases. West came though with a clutch RBI single. Down 5 runs with the bases loaded and two outs, Sheen crushed a base clearing triple. Keatts followed with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 14-13. At that point, McClafferty ended things with a walk off two run homer, touching off a Buckeye celebration and leaving their opponents dazed.

It was a great start to the season. The Bucks return to the field on April 29th when they take on Complete Chaos at DeWitt Clinton Park.