If a successful pickoff play at second is a photographic highlight…it might tell you something. The Buckeyes came up short in their opener with Boston College, 9-2. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
The ‘new’ Buckeyes anticipated debut went badly for some old familiar issues – pitching, defense, and lack of situational hitting. In fact, it looked a bit like 2023.
Scottsdale, AZ – The put it mildly, they didn’t play well.
To put it in realistic terms, they played poorly, ‘nervous’ if you will, and that would be understandable if it were two years ago, or even last year.
But this isn’t high school now, and it’s not those early weeks of 2023.
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These are the remodeled, supplemented, and complemented Buckeyes with an optimistic infusion of talent, and frankly, everyone expected more…something better than a less-than-competitive 9-2 loss in the season opener Friday to Boston College.
The good news, as Bill Mosiello addressed the team afterwards, “flush it.”
They’ve got 55 more games.
Irony? It started wonderfully. Sophomore starter Landon Beidelschies mowed through Boston College in the top of the first, retiring the side in order on 13 pitches, and struck out two.
And in the bottom of the first Trey Lipsey led off with a triple off the top of the wall in left field. Henry Kaczmar followed with a walk. BCU starter John West uncorked a wild pitch that scored Lipsey from third.
Matt Graveline then walked, putting men on first and third. But Tyler Pettorini scalded a ball that first baseman Kyle Wolff knocked down in self defense, retiring Pettorini, while putting runners at second and third. Then Mitchell Okuley struck out on a ball in the dirt; and Joe Mershon struck out behind him to end the inning. If Pettorini’s drive gets through the infield…….?
Tyler Pettorini made a successful debut at third base, and had one of the Buckeyes three hits in the opener.
But they let West off the hook, and paid for it.
As good as Beidelschies was in the first, in the span of the twenty minutes it took for the Buckeyes to score that lone run he came out a different pitcher in the second. He walked the leadoff hitter, then gave up a hard-hit single and double to score two runs and Boston College was up 2-1.
After a silent second by the Buckeyes Boston College tacked on another run in the third with a laser home run by third baseman Nick Wang.
Ohio State mounted a mild threat in the bottom of the third on a walk to Graveline and a single by Pettorini. Joe Mershon then followed with an RBI single that scored Graveline to cut the deficit to 3-2. But who knew? That would be the last hit of the day, the last run, and from that point it was all Boston College.
“There’s not much to say, but it wasn’t real pretty,” said Bill Mosiello about the Buckeyes inability to do more early, when they had the chance.
“Early we played with some confidence, but when it started to snowball it’s hard to play comfortably when things aren’t going well. They (Boston College) are a veteran group, they didn’t panic, and we just have to come back tomorrow and play better.”
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Beidelschies fought his way through the fourth, giving up three runs on three hits while striking out 6, and walking 3. In the top of the of the fifth pitching coach Sean Allen decided to test the revamped bullpen.
Zach Brown, who pitched so well in the fall, came on to struggle through three innings – 2 runs (a home run by first baseman John Collins) – on three hits, he walked 3 and struck out none. Nerves? Probably, but Allen would later acknowledge that he showed he belonged. Just without the jitters.
Catcher Matt Graveline tags out a Boston College runner on an attempted double steal in the eighth inning of Friday’s 9-2 loss.
Trailing 6-2 in the top of the eighth, Allen turned to Logan Jones, who finished 2023 in such an optimistic fashion. He was rudely greeted by a home run to left off the bat of Parker Landwehr to make the deficit 7-2. And before Jones was taken down with two outs in the inning (for Tim Baird), he had given up 4 runs on 3 hits. He left trailing 9-2.
Baird, for his part, pitched a third of an inning and looked healthy after a horrific physical journey to rehab from an arm injury, throwing with his customary velocity.
Jake Michalak came on to pitch the ninth, and got through it, surrendering a pair of walks, but he finished unscathed.
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The final pitching line (which sounds all too familiar) – 9 runs on 9 hits, 10 walks and 8 strikeouts. The three home runs they allowed pale in comparison.
“They weren’t themselves (Beidelschies, Brown, Jones, and Michalak),” said Sean Allen. “I’m sure there were some first-time jitters, because I don’t know if Zach Brown’s walked four guys since he’s been on campus. But he’s got the makeup, and he settled in there OK. It was good to get guys out there and get their feet wet.
“Same thing with Michalak, he was great in the fall and we wanted to ease him in because his stuff is plenty good enough.
“It was uncharacteristic from what we know,” he added. “And they (Boston College) have a bunch of fifth year seniors in the lineup, they were a regional finalist last year…but if we pitch like we did today we won’t win a game all season.”
Offensively, after the third inning the Buckeyes would never get another base hit.
And some more, telling stats…they would strike out 11 times for the game, including 7 times in the final six innings after allowing starter John West to wiggle off the hook, early. And like the common cold, it seemed to be catching.
Lipsey (triple), Pettorini (single) and Mershon (single) had the only hits, while Kaczmar, Okuley, Ryan Miller, Josh Stevenson and Hank Thomas would all go, collectively, 0 for 18. Matt Graveline was hitless in his only official at bat, but he did walk three times!
Final line: The Buckeyes lost it with 2 runs on three hits and committed four errors of the too-onerous-to-dwell-on variety.
Boston College won it with 9 runs on 9 hits and committed one error.
It could have been worse. Back in Ohio……!
An aberration?
One would think so. This was not the team, while supplemented, that finished 31 and 25, on a nine-game win streak, and totally flipped the statistical script over the final four weeks of the 2023 season.
And baseball being baseball, they get an immediate and redemptive opportunity on Saturday when the Buckeyes meet Brigham Young at 7 pm here in Phoenix. Texas A&M (Corpus Christi) transfer Colin Purcell goes to the mound to make his case for one of the three weekend starting positions. And he, like Zach Brown, Jake Michalak, and Logan Jones, is coming off a fall testimonial where he gave every indication that he’s the right man at the right time for the job.
Nerves? He’s been there before, and he’s been there a lot. And yes, he’s an important piece to the 2024 puzzle.
Grover Cleveland Alexander, a hall of famer who pitched effectively in the major leagues until he was nearly fifty, once said “that all you gotta’ to do is pitch like you’ve done it before.” Cleveland, of course, had a very controversial and colorful past. Throwing strikes and getting outs was a minor detail in comparison to his other issues.
But, you get the idea.
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