He hit one for Ezekiel…Isaac Cadena’s eight inning home run gave them a chance in the ninth. But the Buckeyes came up a run short, losing to Iowa, 4-3. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
Game two of the weekend series with Iowa came down runners in scoring position with Henry Kaczmar at the plate with two out. It just didn’t work out.
Columbus, OH – This one hurt. Notwithstanding that it’s baseball…and baseball both giveth and taketh away. There are certain games that you really just want.
But it didn’t happen for the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday, dropping game two of the weekend series with Iowa, 3-2, before the best crowd of the season, thanks to remnants of the spring football game attendance.
Hoping for a strong effort by junior starter Gavin Bruni, who’s struggled of late, Bruni delighted himself and Bill Mosiello by going five strong innings, allowing two runs on just 3 hits, striking out 6 and walking 2.
Just missed it…Henry Kaczmar just missed a pitch with the tying and winning runs on base in the bottom of the ninth.
But a pair of runs in the third inning by Iowa, following a leadoff hit, and a walk, proved to be a winning margin that the Buckeyes could never quite overcome.
Trailing by those two runs in the third, Henry Kaczmar ignited with a bomb to center field to cut the margin to 2-1. It was Kaczmar’s third home run of the season.
Bruni did yeoman duty to keep the one-run deficit right there, pitching through the fifth before being replaced by Chase Herrell.
“Yeah, Lipsey competed his tail off…he gave us a chance to win,” said Mosiello afterwards. “He still walked some guys, but he was outstanding. He did everything he could. But you can’t defend a line out, or [us] hitting the ball hard and at someone. It’s part of baseball. And that’s what happened today. We had chances.
“Their starter was good, and we knew [that]. He was supposed to be a top two-round guy. He had three pitches and he threw them all for strikes today. He had a good day, unfortunately, and I didn’t want that. I was hoping that we could get to him early.”
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That starter, Marcus Morgan, would pitch the first six innings, allowing just that one run, just three hits, while striking out six.
Iowa helped his cause by tacking on an insurance run in the top of the seventh, touching relievers Chase Herrell and Zach Brown for a run on three hits.”
Gavin Bruni had his best command in a month, pitching the first five innings, giving up 2 runs on 3 hits.
But to Mosiello’s point, the Buckeyes had their chances…in the fourth when they had a runner in scoring position with two outs.
And in the seventh, when Ike Cadena actually led off the inning with a solo home run to right…a mammoth arching shot that his little brother Ezekiel, visiting from California, had actually prayed for prior to his coming to the plate.
“I was just trying to have a good at bat, said Cadena. “I was looking for a changeup, and got a low inside fastball and just put the bat head on it. I had Ezekiel going for me, and I told him that if he gets me one I’ll shout him out.”
That closed the gap to 3-2, and with Jacob Morin slamming the door on Iowa in the top of the ninth, the Buckeyes came to the plate with a chance to send that big crowd home happy.
Cadena walked to start the inning. Then Nick Giamarusti put down a perfect sac bunt that he beat out at first base. Then Hunter Rosson put down another perfect bunt to move the runners to second and third with one out…and Trey Lipsey and Kaczmar coming to the plate.
Lipsey hit a vicious sinking line drive right at the second baseman, caught for the second out.
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And with great anticipation, Kaczmar came to the plate, 1 for 4 on the day, and the game at stake.
Iowa reliever Ben DeTaeye was the slowest pitcher he had seen all day, and fighting to stay back on the breaking ball, Kaczmar lifted the second pitch high over the infield that third baseman Raider Tello caught for the final out.
Iowa won it with 3 runs on 8 hits and had 1 error.
The Buckeyes lost it with 2 runs on 5 hits and had 1 error. Gavin Bruni took the loss.
“Today was the best my command’s been in a long time,” said Gavin Bruni, disappointed with the outcome, but hopeful for more better things to come over the next month. “I was able to spin the breaking ball at any point in the count and freeze them with the fastball. That was the main goal.”
As great a competitor as there is at any level of baseball, Bill Mosiello could only acknowledge that there are days when baseball is not a kind and gentler game. He values sustainability, speaks of it often, and chafed at the question of whether their four-game winning streak, now broken, could sustain them on Sunday to take the series.
“We just won four games in a row,” he said. “You think losing a heart-breaker like today is going to ruin our confidence? We didn’t lose 20-1, we lost a great baseball game. Absolutely.”
Which sets up Sunday’s rubber game, again a bullpen game with all available arms ready for duty.
“Devooght will go tomorrow and we have to come out ready to play some great baseball,” said Mo.
The Buckeyes drop to 16-15, overall, and 4-4 in conference. But on a day where in the Big Ten a lot of the big dogs had their own issues – (Michigan lost to Minnesota…Maryland lost to Northwestern…and Indiana narrowly survived Penn State, 10-9) – anything is possible, and what you might least expect is probable.
Remember, it’s how they beat Nebraska, just one week ago tomorrow…with the bullpen and Gavin DeVooght as the starting pitcher.
And it’s supposed to be warm, a high of 76. The Buckeyes are hoping for something much, MUCH hotter!
Press Pros hosted coach Andy Johnson and the Covington High School baseball team at Saturday’s game. Except for the outcome…they had a great time.
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