Buckeyes Start Season in Style with Thrilling 10-7 Victory

By BRIAN KEATTS

RIVERBANK PARK (April 4, 2013) -  Wow.  Coming off of a division championship in the Fall, Ohio State picked up right where they left off as they took to the banks of the Hudson for a chilly season opener against ASCAP.  Demonstrating, yet again, a flare for the dramatic and refusing to wilt under pressure, OSU overcame a 6 run deficit and came without one out of losing before charging back to win 10-7.

Much like the weather, OSU started off cold, allowing ASCAP to take a 6-0 lead after the 1st inning.  Such a start would demoralize a lesser team, but not these Buckeyes.  OSU began chipping away in the 2nd inning.  Tom Antoniello led off with a double and came around to score on a scorching double by Evan Binder.  After Jessica Brown smartly moved Binder to third with a sacrifice, David Loss came through in his first ever at-bat for Ohio State with an RBI single, cutting the deficit to 6-2.

The Buckeye defense settled in from that point forward.  Jen Harbour made her long awaited return to the diamond and played a stellar second base, including sparking a 4-6-3 double play that shifted momentum in favor of the Scarlet & Gray.     

With the score unchanged, OSU struck again in the top of the 5th inning.  Loss led off with a single and advanced to second one out later on a single by Kevin Ma.  Denise Sluterbeck, who singled in her first ever at-bat for the Bucks a few innings earlier and played flawlessly at the catching position, reached on an error, allowing Loss to score.  Rally Baby's Daddy, Jeff Kreisler, then singled in another run.  With ASCAP's nerves clearly fraying, JT Ferrera reached on an error, allowing another run to score.  Brian Keatts followed with an RBI single.  The Bucks had come all the way back, knotting the game a 6.

ASCAP regained the lead in the bottom of the 6th inning, scoring once to take a 7-6 advantage.  The damage was limited by superb lunging snares of line drives by Antoniello at third and Keatts at shortstop.  Time for the drama. 

The first two Buckeye hitters went down quietly in the top of the 7th.  Undaunted, Ferrera came through with a clutch single to keep OSU alive.  Keatts then blasted a triple to right center field, tying the game.  Curiously, ASCAP intentionally walked Jimmy Klingensmith (his second walk of the evening) - showing little respect for NYC's favorite DJ, Tom Antoniello.  He made them pay by lacing an RBI single to give Ohio State its first lead at 8-7.  Binder and Brown then hit sharp grounders that ASCAP couldn't handle, allowing two more runs to score.  By the end of the inning, OSU had charged out to a 10-7 lead.

The Buckeyes continued to flash the good leather in the bottom of the 7th, slamming the door on their opponent.  It was truly an outstanding effort all around - no better way to start a title defense.  OSU looks to keep the momentum going next week when they return to Riverbank Park to take on NY & Company. 

Baby Rally Sparks Dramatic Ohio State Victory

By BRIAN KEATTS

RIVERSIDE PARK (April 17, 2012) - Ohio State softball returned to the banks of the Hudson River this evening to kick off their 12th season...and did so in style. Facing a 2 run deficit heading into the bottom of the 6th inning, and with the umpire threatening to call the game after 6 innings due to darkness, the Buckeyes pulled off one of the signature comebacks that they have became known for over all these years and came away with an 8-7 victory over Dublin House.

The House jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning, which was quickly erased in the bottom half of the frame. With one out, Brian Keatts doubled and took third on a single by Tom Antoniello. Evan Binder lofted a sacrifice fly to score Keatts, and J.T. Ferrara completed the scoring with an RBI single.

The scored remained unchanged over the next few innings, during which the Bucks demonstrated some early season proficiency in the field. This included Andrew Vanatta scooping up grounders at shortstop, Ethan Linen tracking down fly balls and Viviana Dinucci ("VD") holding it down behind the plate.

Dublin House took a 4-2 lead in the top of the 4th inning, but once again, the lead was short-lived. Ohio State's two out rally in the bottom half of the game tied things up. Antoniello, Binder and Ferrara hit back-to-back-to-back singles to bring the Bucks within a run. Anne Teutschel followed with a solid single to load the bases. After Dublin House couldn't handle a Linen blooper, Binder scored and the game was knotted at 4.

Ohio State took a 5-4 lead after 5 innings when newcomer Jonathan Graham led off the inning with a single and scored on a one out line drive single by Kevin Ma. The House rebounded for 3 runs in the top of the 6th to grab a 7-5 lead. With darkness approaching, the umpire ruled that the game might not reach the 7th. So, the Buckeyes struck quickly. Binder doubled and showed his wheels by coming around to score on a double by Ferrara, closing the gap to 7-6. The scoring ended there, and the game moved to the 7th, where OSU shut down the House to get to their last licks. That's when the Buckeyes brought out their new weapon, the "Baby Rally" - spearheaded by 4 month-old Scott Kriesler, spawn of Anne and Jeff (each of whom picked up a hit between diaper changes). The Baby Rally proved to be unstoppable. Jessica Brown clubbed a double to lead off the inning, and scored when Graham followed with a sharp single. However, the Baby Rally had clearly flustered the Dublin squad, and they failed to cleanly field the single, threw the ball away, allowing an alert Graham to round the bases and score the winning run. Dramatic, indeed.

Ohio State looks to keep the momentum going when they return to the field on April 26th to take on Thirteam.