Welcome back…Blaine Wynk returned to the mound for an inning on Tuesday, assuring that he’s healthy and eager to contribute. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
They took a deep breath, played for fun, got a couple of significant pieces back…the Buckeyes rolled over non-con Miami in a prep for Iowa this weekend on the road.
Columbus, OH – It was a welcome respite. Baseball for fun. Lots of offense. An absence of pressure.
And a welcome back to a couple of significant pieces missing for the past month.
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The Buckeyes exorcised a few weekend demons Tuesday with a 14-run, 10-hit, 14-7 rout of non-conference Miami in what amounted to be a mental reset for the Iowa Hawkeyes this weekend.
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Junior righthander Blaine Wynk made his first appearance since his February 14 opening day start against Arizona State. Sidelined since then with shoulder stiffness, he pitched the top of the first, gave up a run on 3 hits, and struck out two of the three outs he recorded, throwing just over twenty pitches.
“It felt good to be out there,” he said quietly. “I’m 100% now and anxious to contribute. It was hard to sit on the side and watch the last four weeks. The change wasn’t working for me tonight against the lefthand hitters, that’s what they hit, and I’ve got to get that straightened out.”
Ask when he expected to pitch next….
“Saturday, in relief, possibly,” he added. “Then hopefully the following weekend I’ll be ready to start.”
The most exciting play in baseball…Trey Lipsey’s inside-the-park home run in the fourth staked the Buckeyes to a 9-2 advantage.
The Buckeyes certainly gave him a welcoming salvo, scoring 7 run in the bottom of the first inning off starter Hayden Cuthbertson. The Buckeyes strung together four hits to complement Cuthbertson’s wildness, the most welcome being the return of first baseman Ryan Miller, who ripped a two run single, his first contribution since the Arizona State weekend,
Freshman Gavin Kuzniewski came out for a scoreless second, third, and fourth, and was the beneficiary of single runs in the second and the fourth to open up a 9-1 advantage. Of note…the run in the fourth came off the bat of rightfielder Trey Lipsey, an inside-the-park home run on a line drive that ricocheted off the wall in right center field while Lipsey sprinted around the bases and dove head-first across home plate.
“I saw it hit off the wall and I hit the gas,” Lipsey smiled after the game. “Then I saw Haire wave me on [when I got to third] and I just put my head down and ran.”
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No one really remembers when the last inside-the-park job happened, because they’re pretty rare, and it’s the most exciting offensive play in baseball…especially when it’s Lipsey, because when he hit that extra gear between second and third his feet barely touched the ground.
From that point it became a bullpen game for both teams as Miami scored a pair in the top of the fifth off Drew Hill.
Freshman Gavin Kuzniewski pitched three scoreless to gain his third win of the season.
The Buckeyes answered with three in the bottom of the fifth to stretch their lead to 12-3.
They added two more in the bottom of the sixth to push the lead to 14-3 and set up a possible run-rule outcome in the top of the seventh.
That wasn’t to be as OSU reliever Drew Erdmann walked the leadoff man, then served up a two-run home run to Miami’s Dom Krupinski, thereby wiping out the 10-run margin…14-5.
Douglas Bauer replaced Erdmann for a scoreless eighth, then gave up a two-run homer in the top of the ninth to conclude the scoring at 14-7.
Ohio State won it with 14 runs, 11 hits, and committed 1 error.
Miami lost it with 7 run on 10 hits, and had 1 error.
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Freshman Gavin Kuzniewski was credit with the winning, improving his record for the season to 3-1.
And notable…five different Buckeyes finished the game with multi-hit performances. Trey Lipsey, Tyler Pettorini, Matt Graveline, Ryan Miller, and Reggie Bussey all had 2-hit games…a combined 10 for 19!
Wynk, Lipsey, and Reggie Bussey all talked about the need to play freely and without pressure, and Tuesday was the perfect reset before traveling to Iowa City on Thursday.
“I think the weekend didn’t go our way,” Bussey said. “And that happens. We got beat twice and we beat ourselves the second game of that double-header. But I just think that coming out tonight, representing the Bucks and playing with confidence will help with the confidence. When we have that we can compete with anyone and we want to be good going into Iowa this weekend.”
He had a good night at the plate, as did several Buckeyes en route to their 14 runs and 10 hits. Bussey finished going 2 for 3, with 6 RBIs, and hit the first home run of his collegiate career, a two-run shot to left in the fifth inning.
“We’ve been working on getting my hips in rhythm, I got in rhythm on that pitch and it just went out,” he said with a broad smile. Bussey’s night pushed his average to .291, hitting from the nine hole.
Justin Haire enjoyed the win for the fact of the win, because, “Any time you can get a win you want that,” he said.
Reggie Bussey had a good night…a pair of hits, 6 RBIs, and his first collegiate home run (above) in the fifth inning.
“But any time you get the chance to put on the uniform it’s important,” he added. “That’s what we try to impress on these guys. It doesn’t matter who we play, Indiana, Iowa, or Miami of Ohio. None of it matters because if we play like we’re capable of playing we’re going to have a chance to win. And if we don’t play like we’re capable of playing the worst team in America can beat us…because that would make us the worst team in America.”
And he smiled, too, at the mention of having two of his big pieces, Blaine Wynk and Ryan Miller, back healthy and in position to contribute.
“Just getting all of our guys back,” he affirmed. “It was great to get Ryan Butler last weekend and he gave us a good start. And getting Blaine and Ryan Miller back is important because Ryan was standing in on the pitching machine, even with his hand in a cast, to make sure his timing, vision and live at bats stayed on point so he could shorten the curve of being ready when he was good to come back. So to see him go out and get a couple of knocks tonight was awesome.
“I say it again, when we’re at full strength we’ve got a chance to have some nice pieces and those two guys – all of our guys – coming back from injury and illness are important for our team.”
And the bullpen…for its struggles the head ball coach was quick to point out another consistent performance Tuesday by freshman Gavin Kuzniewski, and his three scoreless innings of 2-hit relief.
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“He’s been really fun, because he had an up-and-down fall. But he’s a super competitor and it feels like every time out he’s gotten a little bit better. He’s added a little slider and the fastball continues to tick up. He bounces back quick and recovers better, and he’s just a guy who’s continuing to step forward in those opportunities. And the more he steps forward like that the more opportunities he’s going to get…like all of our guys.”
The win improves the record, marginally, to 6-12, and Iowa has proven to be vulnerable in their three weeks of non-conference play…so anything’ possible. The Hawkeyes are 11-8, overall, and 4-2 in conference after taking 2 of 3 last weekend from Michigan State.
But none of that matters if you’re accustomed now to the doctrine of Justin Haire. If they’re playing their best they’ve got a chance to win. And if they don’t, well, that’s another matter.
But the message is clear following last weekend’s disappointing experience in Bloomington.
“We’ve got something to prove,” said Reggie Bussey Tuesday. And from his smile, and the feeling from playing Tuesday, indeed, as they’re capable of playing….
He meant every word of it.
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