Sophomore Matt Graveline hit the first of his two home runs in the 4-run seventh to give the Buckeyes the lead. His homer in the ninth secured it. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Trailing 4-2 entering the seventh inning Saturday, Ohio State exploded to score nine times with four home runs in the final three innings to overtake Arizona State, 13-4.
Tempe, AZ – At least for the first week of the season, you can table your skepticism about Ohio State baseball as you’ve known it previously, or at least in 2023.
These are not your dad’s Buckeyes, and these are not intramural opponents in the desert – Boston College, Brigham Young, Southern California, Grand Canyon, and Arizona State.
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For the second time in three days the Buckeyes (4-3) used double digit runs, and hits, Saturday to knock off Arizona State (4-3), 13-4, after trailing entering the 7th inning, 4-2. Hardly resembling the offense of the opening weeks of the 2023 season, the Buckeyes exploded for four runs in the seventh, highlighted by home runs by Matt Graveline and Tyler Pettorini…and seven runs in the ninth, highlighted by another home run by Graveline and one by Nick Giamarusti…to hand the Sun Devils their second loss in three days, 13-4.
“It’s been frustrating with the inconsistency,” said Bill Mosiello afterwards, seeking to explain the turnaround. “But baseball is a strange game. As a coach you wonder what you’ve got to do to have some good at bats. I don’t mean production, I mean some good at bats – being competitive – and it hasn’t been happening. If you have good at bats the production will take care of itself.”
And, if hitting is contagious, as they say…then Saturday proved it as the Buckeyes had seven hitters in the batting order with multi-hit games.
Trey Lipsey went 2 for 6.
Henry Kaczmar went 2 for 6.
Matt Graveline went 2 for 5 with a pair of home runs.
Tyler Pettorini went 2 for 5 with a home run.
Seven different Buckeyes had multi-hit games. Mitchell Okuley had a three-hit game with a double and two runs scored.
Mitchell Okuley went 3 for 4 with a double.
Josh Stevenson went 2 for 3.
And Nick Giamarusti went 2 for 4 with a home run.
According to script, actually, as we wrote prior to opening day that offense would not be the issue for this team. They WOULD score runs. But could they prevent them?
Gavin Bruni went to the mound for his second start and promptly gave up a pair of first inning runs on three hits…and three walks…this after the Buckeyes had taken a lead in the top of the inning on a Lipsey single and an RBI base hit by Pettorini.
The Buckeyes would score again in the fourth on a home run by Mershon, the first of five by OSU on the day; but ASU answered immediately in their half on a home run by the #9 hitter, Steven Ondina.
Bruni was taken out with one out in the fifth as his pitch count rose over 90, replaced by freshman Zach Brown, who proceeded to give up a run on 4 hits in 2.1 innings. He left trailing 4-2, replaced by transfer sophomore Blaine Wynk
Wynk was outstanding, holding ASU scoreless for 1.1 innings until the Buckeyes could come to bat in the 7th.
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And in the 7th…a double by Okuley, singles by Giamarusti and Kaczmar, followed by home runs, back to back, by Graveline and Pettorini to take a 6-4 lead.
With Wynk throwing bullseyes, ASU failed to score, and Ohio State came to the ninth seeking to add to their lead. They did just that with a pair of walks, a pair of singles by Stevenson and Kaczmar, and home runs by Graveline and Giamarusti, and in the span of nine hitters the Bucks had added 7 runs on 5 hits and owned a 13-4 lead.
Junior Gavin Bruni pitched the Buckeyes into the fifth…and gave them a chance to win.
Senior closer Justin Eckhardt came on in the bottom of the ninth to retire the side on a double play and a game-ending strikeout.
The Buckeyes won it with 13 runs on 16 hits and committed 1 error. Zach Brown was credited with his first collegiate win.
Arizona State lost it with 4 runs on 11 hits and committed 2 errors.
“You have to patient,” said Mosiello. “Or I have to be patient, because we’re still learning how to win. Bruni wasn’t as sharp as he was in his first start, but he gave us a chance by pitching into the fifth with a reasonable score. You appreciate his maturity because he’s doing a great job of competing. And he’s competing without his best stuff and only 50% of the time do you actually have your ‘A’ game. That’s a great offensive club and they make you work for every out.
“And Brown and Wynk were able to sink the baseball and get us some ground balls. I didn’t know prior to today that Arizona State could hit ground balls. That’s a scary lineup.”
They play the finale on Sunday at 2 pm (ET), hoping to take 3 of 4, and finish with a 5-3 trip against the best non-conference competition they’ve played in years.
“We just have to keep growing and becoming more consistent,” added ‘Mo’. “We’ve got a chance to win 3 of 4, it should be a fun day, and at this stage it’s going to show us where we’re at. And that’s why we’re out here.”
Freshman Chase Herrell will make his second start of the season, seeking his first win.
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