Hammered…Matt Graveline levels on this three-run homer in the sixth, his 10th home run and 50th RBI of the season. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
On a cold windy day in Evanston, the Buckeyes’ bats got hot, they made some plays, and got just enough pitching to break the ugly mood of losing.
Evanston, IL – Good on Mason Eckelman…Ryan Miller…Maddix Simpson…and Matt Graveline.
All of them clubbed home runs in Saturday’s 11-6 win over Northwestern to help the Buckeyes break a five-game losing streak…and whiskey, tango, foxtrot…win their first conference road game of the year.
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Publisher Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and the Buckeyes for Press Pros Magazine.
And they finally did it on the 10th of May with a 25 mile-per-hour wind blowing off Lake Michigan, so cold the temperature barely peeked over 50.
Bright and sunny, it was fool’s gold, someone joking that spring is so cold in Evanston that the girls wear Carhartt bikinis on spring break…the insulated kind.
Wins have come hard for the Buckeyes this spring, so hard, in fact that Saturday’s 12th of the year guaranteed that they would not tie the modern mark for fewest in a season. That distinction still belongs to the 1972 team that went 11-25, and 3 and 9 in the Big Ten. With a big sigh of relief, this year’s Bucks are now 12-34, overall, and 4-22 in the league.
“It was obviously good to break the losing streak and get our first road win,” said Matt Graveline, without cracking a smile, to give you an idea about the competitive character, even when you’re 12-34.
“Now we’ve just got to go out tomorrow and do it again. Go 1-0, like Coach tells us. It’s a different day, different pitchers, and you have to compete.”
Enough pitching…Junior Douglas Bauer picked up starter Gavin Kuzniewski with 2.2 innings of 2-run baseball.
“It’s just been one of those years,” said Justin Haire, finally managing a smile after two months of conference disfunction.
“I’m just thankful that it’s better late than never, and that our guys responded today. The whole team contributed to this one…dugout was into to it, pitchers gave us all they had, and the offense was able to score. Believe it, it was a good one to get.”
And offense from the start…Trey Lipsey singled and Graveline walked in the top of the first, and one hitter later DH Mason Eckelman crushed a three-run homer to right of Northwestern’s Christian Forniss, his fifth of the year, and the Buckeyes were suddenly fighting at the bat rack. Proof? First baseman Ryan Miller followed Eckelman’s dinger with a solo shot of his own, a line drive to right that Wildcat right fielder Jackson Freeman didn’t bother to turn on, or even watch.
Northwestern did answer in the bottom of the first, capitalizing on a leadoff walk from Buckeye starter Gavin Kuzniewski. A following two-base hit by Owen McElfatrick drove that walk home but Kuzniewski recovered to get out of the inning without further damage.
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Ohio State added a run in the second with a double from Lipsey and an RBI single by Graveline…5-1, Buckeyes.
But this was not a vintage day for Kuzniewski, who hit the leadoff batter in the bottom of the third, walked the next hitter, then back-to-back hits and a sacrifice fly ball closed the score to 5-4.
Freshman Maddix Simpson punctuated a good day at the plate by turning a pair of double plays.
It would remain so until the top of the sixth inning, and the impact of freshman infielder Maddix Simpson. The pride of Fort Myers, Florida led off the inning with a towering drive to dead center that Northwestern’s Jack Lausch climbed the wall for…but the ball was just out of his reach for a leadoff homer, Simpson’s second of the season.
It set off another feeding frenzy at the bat rack, producing back-to-back singles by Nick Giamarusti and Will Carpenter…and two outs later Graveline hammered the hardest hit ball of the day, into the teeth of that wind, and over the wall in left center for his 10th of the year, and his 48th, 49th, and 50th RBIs for the year…9-4, Buckeyes.
It gave a margin of separation for reliever Douglas Bauer, who had come in for Kuznieski with one out in the fifth. And in the top of the seven OSU added to their margin with Simpson and Giamarusti drawing leadoff walks, then scoring on a double to left by third baseman Will Carpenter…11-4, Ohio State.
Quick start at the plate…DH Mason Eckelman powered this three-run homer in the top of the first, his fifth of the season.
Bauer, who has pitched with more consistency in the second half of the year, pitched well enough again, giving up a pair of runs in the seventh on a pair of walks, a hit batsman, and a an RBI single by Northwestern’s Jake Hand.
But his 2.2 innings got the Buckeyes to the eighth inning and the ball into the hands of lefthander Hunter Shaw. Shaw was nigh on to perfect for the final six outs, allowing a hit and striking out one…two of the final three outs taking Buckeye outfielders to the wall to catch fly balls hit into the teeth of that wind.
But the Buckeyes held for another street-fight win, their twelfth, and some welcome redemption for Friday night’s ugly loss at Wrigley Field.
They won it with 11 runs on 13 hits and had 2 errors.
Northwestern needs wins to gain that final tournament bid, but lost with 6 runs on just 6 hits, and likewise, finished with a pair of errors.
It was a game like so many of the others…glimpses of the skill innate with this roster, some big hits and big plays. Big days for the afore-mentioned Mason Eckelman, Maddix Simpson, Ryan Miller and Matt Graveline.
Northwestern center fielder Jack Lausch watches Maddix Simpson’s home run disappear over the walk in the sixth inning.
And yet, still the question of consistency. And to Graveline’s point, can they come back tomorrow and do it again?
“The consistency piece is huge,” added Haire, happy for his players, frankly. It’s been a long road, and one not expected.
“We’ve got guys with ability, and it’s fun for those guys to come out and put together a really good day. They had a great crowd at Northwestern today, the sun was shining, and it shined on the Buckeyes. We’re thankful for that.”
Consistency? It’s easy to forget that Gavin Kuzniewski is still a freshman, despite his five previous starts. Saturday was not his best day, but he gave them enough to get halfway through. For the day, he walked four and hit a batter. Two of them scored.
“Yeah, it was a battle win today,” Haire added. “After last night I was just honest with them. We’re not very good right now, we’re not in a good spot, and we’ve got six more shots to go out there and try to change some things and take advantage of the opportunity. Don’t take anything lightly.
Ryan Miller gets the Haire hand after hitting his eighth homer in the first inning.
“Go out and have some fun. Do the best you can. Gavin wasn’t super sharp today, but a third of the time you’re not going to be sharp on the mound. He showed some guts today.”
They can still play spoiler tomorrow, or at least put the pressure on Northwestern, who needs every win they can manage if they want to get that #12 seed. Shoe on the other foot, for a change.
But this day…even one day, and a cold one, at that…belonged to Eckelman, Graveline, Simpson, Miller, and the Buckeyes.
On a final note, they say the Carhartts go on sale in Evanston…July 4th!
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