DOA….Buckeye catcher Matt Graveline puts the tag on MSU’s Christian Williams attempting to score on a double in the fourth inning. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Julie Wright and Sonny Fulks)
They didn’t pitch well, plain and simple, and Michigan State made them pay – 11 runs on 17 hits – in an 11-4 shellacking in game one of the weekend series.
Columbus, OH – No one said it specifically, but then again…no one had to. Some things are just understood.
In a lousy opener to the weekend series with Michigan State, Friday starter Lanson Beidelschies had an uncharacteristic start, gave up 6 runs on 9 hits over the first five innings…and then the bullpen poured gas on the fire. The trio of Chase Herrell (2 innings), Colin Purcell (1 inning), and Noah Williamson (1 inning) allowed 5 runs on 8 hits over four innings to pretty much eliminate any chance for a comeback in an 11-4 final.
In a game of few highlights for the Buckeyes, Henry Kaczmar skies to rob the Spartans of a base hit in the sixth.
Give credit, too, to Michigan State lefthander Joseph Dzierwa (Zer-wah), who lasted 7.1 innings, allowing 4 runs on 6 hits while striking out 4 and didn’t allow a walk. Dzierwa improved to 5-1 on the season, so it wasn’t a fluke.
But mostly…give credit to a Michigan State batting order that hammered Ohio State pitching all night, scoring 2 runs in the second inning on a single and a home run by Greg Ziegler, then adding 2 in the fourth, 2 in the fifth, 2 in the seventh, 2 in the eighth, and one in the ninth inning. They hit with aggression, and they were consistent about it – 17 hits for the game.
“It’s super simple,” said Bill Mosiello. “Their lefthander outpitched our lefthander, and by far. We hit some balls hard…he didn’t dominate us…but we didn’t make pitches.
“A couple of times Landon got ahead and left an 0-2 pitch right in the middle of the plate, and it got hit. And we weren’t going to use up our bullpen on opening night. So we got outpitched, and obviously we got outhit.”
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To his point, Buckeyes pitchers repeatedly made mistakes in the strike zone – getting ahead and then grooving a fastball right in harm’s way. Michigan State, a team hitting .294 entering the game, featured six hitters with multi-hit nights, led by right fielder Jack Frank, who went 4-4. Ohio State pitching didn’t seem to notice.
“There’s an old saying…if you can’t throw strikes when you want to throw strikes you sure can’t throw balls when you want to throw balls,” added Mosiello. “So if you can’t command the baseball it doesn’t matter. We were just trying to survive pitch to pitch, and there’s nothing worse. Landon didn’t make pitches consistently, but maybe he was due. Maybe fatigue was a factor. This is his first year as a college starting pitcher.
The bullpen (Colin Purcell, above, with Chase Herrell, and Noah Williamson) quashed any chance for a comeback with four innings of 5-run, 6-hit baseball.
“Herrell had one good inning, and then an inning where he gave up two. Our pitchers have a hard time sustaining two good innings back to back.”
The importance of Friday’s loss is simply this. Michigan State was a team coming in with a losing record, as well as being 5-7 in conference play. And the Buckeyes desperately need to not only win a series like this one, but sweep one when they can to stay on track for a Big Ten Tournament bid.
The fact of Friday’s loss would seem to add pressure to the remaining task.
“I’m not talking in terms of pressure,” said Mosiello. “Tomorrow is just another day, another baseball game, and we’ve got to play better. Pressure is not even in the vocabulary of how we should be thinking.”
That may be, but Friday’s loss drops the Buckeyes to 19-19, overall, and ties them with Michigan State in conference play at 6-7.
Henry Kaczmar circles the bases with his fourth home run of the year in the seventh inning.
Tomorrow being another day, and another game, Gavin Bruni will get the start hoping to quiet those Spartan bats enough to give the offense a chance.
And a series win is more important than you might think, with a trip to league-leading Illinois next week. Reality, regardless of what you say about pressure, is beginning to hover.
Game Notes:
In news of the good nature Friday, Henry Kaczmar hit his fourth home run and went 2-4. He was the only Buckeye to have a multi-hit game. Kacz now leads the Buckeyes with a mark of .333.
Game time temperature was balmy 72 degrees. And lest you don’t appreciate that, just think back to that weekend in Lincoln, or the home series with Purdue. There wasn’t a winter coat to be found.
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