They are undefeated going into the finale of the Dodgertown Classic and they are sturdy. That much is certain. Nearly nine hours of baseball tells the tale.
VERO BEACH, Fla.—In the days and weeks leading up to the 2016 season, Ohio State coach Greg Beals characterized his team in many ways, but certain words continued to persistently find their way into his conversation. Words like: maturity, resourcefulness, resiliency, versatility and focus.
If his judgment is ever questioned, he now has a prime example to offer those who might doubt his position.
He can point to Feb. 20th and a doubleheader that ended up with two wins—10-7 over Niagara and 11-8 over Pitt. But that just skims the story.
The win over Niagara was decided by a three-run walk-off home run by Jacob Bosiokovic. The win over Pitt required 13 innings, a three-run 13th and nearly five hours of baseball. Official time of game: 4:54, and this came after the opener that was 3:23 minutes.
In the late game, Ohio State tied it up, 8-8, with three runs in the top of the ninth. The bullpen supplied four shutout innings and the Buckeyes put it away in the 13th.
OSU used six pitchers: starter John Havird (5.2) followed by Joe Stoll, Kyle Michalik, Michael Horejsei, Yianni Pavlopoulos, the winner in the Niagra game, and Curtis Conner. They combined for 20 strikeouts—OSU posted 10 Ks against Niagra—and walked a total of six.
The Buckeyes used 13 position players, five of whom recorded multi-hit games: Troy Montgomery (3-for-6), Bosiokovic (2-for-5), Nick Sergakis (2-for-5), Craig Nenning (2-for-6) and L Grant Davis (2-for-5).
In the first three games, Bosiokovic is 7-for-15 with seven RBI and three home runs.
OSU closes out the Dodgertown Classic weekend Sunday afternoon versus Toledo. Highly touted freshman Ryan Feltner gets the start.
Jalen Washington tags out a Pitt runner at home plate.
The bullpen supplied four shutout innings and the Buckeyes put it away in the 13th. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Julie McMaken Wright)