Shortstop Henry Kaczmar started the Buckeyes’ 13-hit assault with his 7th home run of the season in the first inning. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
On a hitter’s day at Bill Davis, the Buckeyes took full advantage, scoring 14 runs on 13 hits in a laugher of a win over the Wildcats.
Columbus, OH – Lord knows, they haven’t all come this easy.
And He also knew, I’m sure, that a wide-open win couldn’t have come at a better time to counter the stress.
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Perhaps, just perhaps. they have a little Divine providence working for them.
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Whatever, the Buckeyes took advantage of a brisk wind, suspect Northwestern pitching, 13 hits overall, and home runs by Henry Kaczmar, Ike Cadena, and two by Ryan Miller to romp past the Wildcats in the game two of the weekend series Saturday, 14-6.
And with a sturdy performance by Colin Purcell on the mound, for the second time in 24 hours they were economic with the bullpen – Purcell going the first six before handing off to Zach Brown and Jake Michalak.
And can you imagine Bill Mosiello wearing a post-game smile for a second day in a row? Well go ahead, because it hasn’t happened that often in 2024.
“We needed one like this today,” he opened. “But the biggest thing today was Purcell getting the first six innings. That was a huge deal. So we’ve gotten 13 innings from the starters in the last two days after week after week after week of getting 10 or 11 innings. I know Purcell gave up five runs, but it was a hitter’s day [with the wind]. And yeah, we scored some runs like we’re supposed to against pitching that’s not real good, and it’ll be interesting to see what they have tomorrow.”
First things first…Colin Purcell gave the Buckeyes a solid start to gain the win…and save the bullpen.
It didn’t take them long…Henry Kaczmar cranking a one-out home run in the first against Northwestern starter Kyle Potthoff, the first of six Wildcat pitchers, and the most beleaguered. Tyler Pettorini followed with a double, Mitchell Okuley singled, Joseph Mershon singled, and first baseman Ryan Miller emptied the bases with a double to plate four runs for the Buckeyes before Potthoff had worked up a sweat.
Purcell made short work of Northwestern hitters through the first four innings…and the Buckeyes came right back in the bottom of the second to score three more on a single by Josh Stevenson, a hit batsman, and a three run bomb from freshman outfielder, celebrating his birthday, Isaac (Ike) Cadena…7-0, OSU.
Why not put it away, eh? They added one more in the third on Ryan Miller’s fourth home run of the season.
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And then…they tacked on three more in the bottom of the fourth on a pair of walks and an absolute bomb by Miller, again…his fifth home run of the season.
“It was good to have them [home runs] today,” said the Dublin Jerome product. “It’s always good to contribute to any win, but especially now when the games mean so much and you have a chance to keep on playing. So it’s fun to contribute.”
He had a big day…on his birthday leftfielder Ike Cadena hit a first inning home run and made this sliding catch in the sixth inning.
Trailing 11-0 after four, Northwestern finally nicked Purcell for three runs in the fifth on a hit batsman, a single, and a wind-aided three-run home by Vince Bianchina…11-3, Buckeyes.
NU scored again in the sixth, when Purcell was clearly running on fumes…on a home run by Owen McElfatrick and doubles by doubles by Bennett Markinson and Jackson Freeman. But the Buckeyes’ righthander made it through six innings on five runs and five hits, having thrown 90 pitches.
OSU countered three of those runs in their half of the sixth on singles by Pettorini and Matt Graveline, a walk to Ryan Miller, and a groundout RBI to up the score to 14-5.
Freshman Zach Brown would relieve Purcell in the 7th, contribute a pair of scoreless innings and two strikeouts, and another freshman, Jake Michalak pitched the ninth, giving up a meaningless run to close the win at 14-6.
Ohio State (26-22, 10-10 in Big Ten) won it with 14 runs on 13 hits and have one error. Purcell got the win, his third against four losses.
Northwestern labored again (15-32, 2-18 in Big Ten) with 6 runs on 6 hits and had two errors.
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Once again Ohio State’s depth paid off through contributions by Ryan Miller and Ike Cadena, who celebrated his 19th birthday with a home run and a sparkling sliding catch in the outfield in the sixth inning.
“It was an alright birthday,” Cadena smiled. “But it’s fun to win when there’s pressure with the games, every game matters, and not that it wouldn’t matter…but when you’re in the race it just feels more special. So tomorrow if we can come out and get a win, and we win next weekend we’re in this thing. And who knows, once you’re in it anything can happen.”
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And that picture got brighter on Saturday, as 7th place Michigan State lost on the road to Minnesota, 21-3. Maryland, who’s on a bye week, played out of conference against Boston College. So technically, Saturday’s win edged the Buckeyes past Maryland and into eighth place, a half game better than the Terps.
Bill Mosiello plays the game by feel sometimes, and admitted Saturday that the addition of Cadena and Ryan Miller to the lineup was a gamble that paid off.
Kaboom…Ryan Miller blasts his second of the game – his fifth home run of the season – in the Buckeyes 14-6 Saturday win.
“We’ve always known that Ryan Miller was capable of days like today, going back to fall practice when he was our best hitter, ” said Mosiello. “But he got off to such a bad start at the beginning of the year that we had to get him out of there. Hunter Rosson had that amazing streak two weeks ago before he cooled off. But I believed in Miller, that he could do this, and we got him right back in there. And we’ve been making some lucky calls, getting Cadena in the lineup last Sunday, and boom, he had some big hits and played well. So we’ve got some hot hands going with guys that we couldn’t have done last year. Our depth is just that much better.”
Unfortunately, a series win is not enough at this stage. They’ve got to keep winning in Sunday’s finale – and senior day – and hope for another outburst by Minnesota in their finale with Michigan State.
Freshman Gavin DeVooght goes to the mound to deliver that win with a rested bullpen and a lineup fighting at the bat racks. It’ll be warm and windy, and it’s always more fun when the games matter this much – when you’re playing to get to keep playing, as Ike Cadena says.
And for his sake…many happy returns of the day – this day, and for about a week, starting Sunday.
Faces in the crowd…hall of fame coach (College of Wooster) Tim Pettorini enjoyed the 2 for 5 day by his grandson, Tyler Pettorini.