Joe Mershon’s solo homer in the second inning touched off a 15-run, 15-hit Buckeye psunami over Nebraska on opening day of the Big Ten Tournament. (Press Pros Photos by Julie Wright)
The surprise of the tournament on opening day wasn’t the weather after all, but Ohio State scoring 15 runs on 15 hits to crush #2 seed Nebraska, 15-2.
Omaha, NE – As it turns out, motivation comes in all kinds of different forms. Constant tornado activity has had the Omaha area on edge for the past two days, and Omaha itself has had 5 inches of rain in the last twenty four hours.
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But Tuesday night the #2 seed Nebraska Hornhuskers (34-20) were blown away by a different tornadic source when the Ohio State Buckeyes (29-24) shocked the local faithful, and tournament followers in general, with 15 runs, 15 hits, and a brilliant starting performance by lefthander Landon Beidelschies, pummeling favored Nebraska, 15-2. – run-ruling the ‘Huskers in seven innings.
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Beidelschies turned in his best outing in two years as a Buckeyes, no-hitting Nebraska into the fourth, and closed his evening after five innings and 75 pitches, allowing just two hits while striking out eight.
“We played our best game of the year, so I’m excited about that,” said coach Bill Mosiello. “The game always starts on the mound. Beidelschies did a heckuva’ job and right from the first inning he really set the tone.”
He had help in setting it, too. Ohio State scored first in the top of the second inning off Nebraska lefthander Jackson Brockett when second baseman Joe Mershon poled a solo homer, Mitch Okuley followed with a single, and Josh Stevenson drove him in with an RBI double…2-0, Buckeyes.
And while Beidelschies was mowing down Husker hitters like so much summer wheat, OSU added a run in the third when Trey Lipsey singled, Matt Graveline doubled, and Tyler Pettorini drove in Lipsey with a following single…3-0, OSU.
Pouring it on…the rail birds in the Buckeyes dugout get vocal during the 8-run fourth.
Brockett was done for Nebraska by the time the Buckeyes came to the plate in the fourth, and the Husker faithful already getting restless. Theirs is a good baseball team, and probably headed to the NCAA tournament, regardless of the Big Ten tournament outcome. And they hadn’t seen anything, yet!
Ohio State scored eight runs on seven hits in the fourth. Against reliever Caleb Clark…Hunter Rosson singled, Stevenson walked, Nick Giamarusti tripled, Lipsey singled again, Kaczmar doubled, Graveline walked, Mershon doubled, Okuley doubled and Rosson singled…in that order. By the time the dust settled the Buckeyes led 10-0, and the ‘Go Big Red’ chants had become few and far between…11-0, OSU.
One of the disgruntled pointed to the sky over Charles Schwab Stadium.
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“There’s the problem,” he yelled, pointing to a newly full moon, and a bad moon rising, as it turned out.
But for a moment they did get excited in the bottom of the fourth when catcher Josh Caron tomahawked a fastball into the right field bleachers for a home run….11-1.
Joseph Mershon is greeted by Mitchell Okuley as he steps on home plate following his second inning homer.
Then Ohio State came right back to score four more in the top of the fifth when Nebraska relievers (now on #s three and four) walked four and Lipsey got his third single in as many innings…15-1, OSU.
It was done. Game over, as the fourth and fifth pitchers out of the Nebraska bullpen came in to mop up…and Beidelschies came out after 75 pitches. Chase Herrell replaced him to pitch the sixth, giving up a run on hit, while walking one, hitting one, and striking out two.
Zach Brown pitched a scoreless seventh, striking out two, including the final out with the run rule in play as the game ended after seven, 15-2.
Ohio State won it with 15 runs on 15 hits, and had no errors.
Nebraska moved to Tuesday’s elimination game with Purdue (losers to Indiana, 8-6) with 2 runs on 4 hits and had no errors.
Beidelschies got his most satisfying win as a collegian to improve his record to 6-7.
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“To be honest, I’d never felt nerves before like I did tonight,” said the Buckeyes’ lefthander. ” So I just tried to get control of my breathing and my body. And honestly, warming up I was not how I wanted to be, so I just focused on locking things in once I got out on the mound. I got out there for the first time and the mound looked like it was 90 feet from home plate. But I was able to settle in pretty well.”
Landon Beidelschies gave up 1 run on 2 hits through five to earn his sixth win of the season.
He had faced Nebraska earlier, losing to them in April, in Lincoln.
“They’re a good lineup, they’re a very competitive group, and it’s important to command the fastball. I just wanted to make quality pitches. That was the goal. Make quality pitches – better pitches than the last time.”
“He’s tough,” said Nebraska coach Will Bolt. “One of the toughest pitchers in our league. We knew that this was going to be a tough game, maybe 3-2, or 5-3.
“But credit Ohio State. They came out swinging the bats. And good things happen when you swing the bats. They had some extra base hits, they had some hits that just fell [in] down the line. But they had the bats moving right and when you do that some of those balls off the end of the bat tend to land in fair territory.”
The Buckeyes win shook up the brackets, dropping Nebraska into the unenviable position of being in an elimination game on Wednesday with Purdue, who lost earlier to Indiana…a reality that no one expected at day’s beginning.
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And it gives Ohio State a day off, and an extra day’s rest for the pitching staff, which will be all hands on deck between now and the end of the tournament.
“We have our game two starter in mind,” said Mosiello, choosing to not show his cards. “We’ve planned this out, but I’m not giving that information away until I see who they’re going to pitch.”
Everybody was running…Trey Lipsey in the 8-run fourth…….
They, being Indiana, who the Buckeyes will play on Thursday at 2 pm.
And between now and then Wednesday promises to be a cracker…with #1 seed Illinois playing Penn State, #4 Michigan playing #5 Iowa, and Nebraska meeting Purdue in the day’s finale.
Game Notes…..
Here’s the breakdown of the Buckeyes’ 15 runs o 15 hits on Tuesday.
Trey Lipsey was 3 for 5, and scored 2 runs.
Henry Kaczmar was 2 for 4 and scored twice.
Matt Graveline was 1 for 3 and scored three times.
Tyler Pettorini was 1 for 5, but drove in three runs.
Joseph Mershon was 2 for 4, scored twice and drove in 4.
Mitch Okuley was 2 for 4, scored twice and drove in 2.
Hunter Rosson was 2 for 4, scored 1 and drove in 2.
Josh Stevenson had a double in three at bats, driving in a run.
Nick Giamarusti was 1 for 2, scored twice, and drove in 2.
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