Michigan State University
Ohio
Michigan State Baseball Falls At Ohio, 9-5
3/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
March 17, 2006
ATHENS, Ohio - Michigan State (4-7) baseball fell to Ohio (4-5), 9-5, Friday afternoon in Athens, Ohio. In what was the Spartans' first game of the season in the north, Ohio out-hit State, 15-6. The 15 hits surrendered were the second-most allowed by MSU this year.
With back-to-back three-run innings in the second and third, Ohio jumped out to an early 6-0 lead. Consecutives singles by Jon Vondrell, Jared Willis and Jason Selhorst put the Bobcats up by one run and a two-run double by Matt Stiffler made it 3-0 after two innings. A three-run home run by Vondrell in the third made for a 6-0 game.
Sputtering the first three innings, as Ohio's Derek Witt retired the first 10 MSU batters, E.J. Daws finally gave State its first base runner in the fourth as he was hit by a pitch. Ryan Basham later reached with a base hit through the right side and with the offensive wheels in motion, Kyle Day put the Spartans on the board with an RBI single. A batter later, Adam Tripp cut the deficit to 6-4 with a three-run homer to center field.
Although its offense was coming alive, the Michigan State defense still had no answer for Ohio's bats as the Bobcats added two runs in the bottom of the fourth and tacked on one more run in the fifth inning to build a 9-4 lead.
Pinch hitter Tony Clausen helped the Green and White get a run back in the seventh inning, recording his first hit of the year to score Oliver Wolcott, but it was too little too late as Ohio closed out the final two innings without allowing a Spartan hit.
Witt (2-2) earned the win for the Bobcats, allowing four runs on four hits while striking out eight in 6.1 innings pitched. John Dwan (0-2) took the loss for MSU, giving up six earned runs on nine hits in 3.0 innings. At the plate, Day went 2-for-4 for the Spartans, while Hayden Johnston hit 3-for-4 for Ohio.
Michigan State and Ohio will square off again Saturday, with a doubleheader beginning at 1 p.m. The two teams play the final game of the four-game series on Sunday, also beginning at 1 p.m.
