Sophomore Landon Beidelschies was brilliant in the win over Arizona State – 7 innings, 1 run, three hits, and 7 strikeouts. (Press Pros File Photos)
Sophomore Landon Beidelschies gave them the start that they needed on the mound, and Lipsey, Kaczmar, and Stevenson all hit their first homers of the season to power Ohio State over the Sun Devils in the series opener in Tempe.
Tempe, AZ – It’s too early in the season to have a bucket list, but nonetheless Ohio State coach Bill Mosiello checked a few boxes Thursday night as the Buckeyes (3-2) delivered their most complete win in five games with an 11-4 win over the Arizona State Sun Devils (3-2).
Box number one…sophomore reliever turned starter Landon Beidelschies was outstanding in his second start of the season, allowing just a first inning run while scattering 3 hits over seven innings, striking out 7 without walking anyone in his most dominating appearance as Buckeye.
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“Beidelschies is what he is,” said Mosiello minutes after the conclusion of the game. “He improved over his start last week, it’s exciting for him, and it’s exciting for the club.”
That’s being modest. Against a batting order hitting a collective .368 entering the game, ‘Cheese’ literally throttled the top five hitters in the lineup, sitting at 93 to 95 mph throughout, and topping at 97 mph on the scoreboard radar. His only extra base hit allowed was a third inning triple by third baseman Kevin Karstetter, and he averaged just 13 pitches per inning. The key factor, again…great stuff and an absence of walks.
Trailing 1-0 after four innings, the Buckeyes opened the fifth with a double by Mitchell Okuley, a two out triple by designated hitter Nick Giamarusti, and Trey Lipsey followed with a laser home run to right field, his first, to wipe out the deficit and stake Beidelschies to his first lead of the season.
They added in the seventh when centerfielder Josh Stevenson clubbed his first home run of the season to center field. Lipsey was hit by a pitch, and Henry Kaczmar shot one out of the park to the opposite field for his first of the year to increase the lead to 6-1.
Mitchell Okuley came alive at the plate with three hits and a pair of RBIs.
Impressively, they came right back to add two more in the eighth on a two-out single by Okuley, the second of his three hits of the night, a walk to Hunter Rosson, and Stevenson struck again with a two-run double to extend the lead to 8-1. Could it be this easy?
No. Beidelschies was through for the evening, and Logan Jones came on to pitch the eighth and fell victim to a two-run home run by ASU’s Ryan Campos to cut the Buckeye lead to 8-4.
But the Bucks immediately got those runs back in the top of the ninth with a Lipsey double, a pair of walks, a hit batsman, and Okuley RBI single and a two-run double by Stevenson, his second hit and third RBI of the night, to push the lead back to 11-4.
It’s early in the year, but a good time to look for good omens. Reliever Tim Baird delivered one in the top of the ninth.
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Having battled arm miseries for two years, Baird is finally healthy, gaining confidence, and showed some of his old dominance in the ninth, striking out the first two ASU hitters before retiring the game’s final out on a ground ball to third base.
Final line: Ohio State won it with 11 runs on 11 hits and committed one error. Arizona State lost it with 4 runs on just 5 hits and played error-free. Beidelschies collected the win to even his season record to 1-1.
Centerfielder Josh Stevenson had a homer, a double, and three RBIs in the win over ASU.
Box number two…the Buckeyes saw three vital parts of the batting order break out Thursday with a two-hit performance by Trey Lipsey (home run), a two-hit night by Josh Stevenson (home run), and a three-hit encore by Mitchell Okuley. Imperative that they deliver offensively during these first 16 non-conference games, all three had struggled through the first four games.
Box number three…the bottom of the order – Okuley, Stevenson and Giamarusti – collected six of the Buckeyes total of 11 hits for the game.
“Obviously we had some big at bats,” added Mosiello. “Stevenson came up huge for us, Lipsey had two great at bats, and Okuley had a big offensive game.”
And, it was a confidence builder – a quality start from Beidelschies, a potent showing from the offense, and a complete competitive effort on the road against one of the hottest hitting teams in the country at present.
“Confidence is only as good as tomorrow’s start (Colin Purcell),” said Mosiello. “We still have our work cut out for us because this is a good ballclub. But we showed a lot of character tonight, and I’m going to sleep better for it.”
Colin Purcell, who beat Brigham Young on Saturday, will aim for his second win in Friday’s 8:30 PM game (ET), and try to build on his five-inning, five-hit performance in which he struck out four without walking a batter.
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