Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
Ohio State
Baseball Falls Short To Ohio State, 8-1
5/7/2008 12:00:00 AM | Baseball
May 7, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Marshall University's Ben Jurevicius collected his second triple of the year but five doubles and two home runs paced Ohio State to an 8-1 victory over the Thundering Herd in Wednesday evening's non-conference baseball game at Bill Davis Stadium.
With the loss, Marshall falls to 24-25-1 overall, while Ohio State improves to 25-21 on the year.
Following Ohio State's at-bat in the bottom of the fifth inning, the game was called due to inclement weather in the area.
Buckeyes' starter Andrew Armstrong (4-3) earned the win, while Herd starter Ian Kadish (1-2) suffered the loss in the rain-shortened contest.
Ohio State got things going in the second inning when Ryan Dew led off the inning with a double to right center field. Following a 22 minute rain delay, Brian DeLucia doubled him in with a rip to left field. DeLucia came full circle on a single up the middle by Dan Burkhart, who then advanced to third on a double by Tyler Engle to give the Buckeyes two on in scoring position with one out. A two-run single by Tony Kennedy plated the third and fourth runs of the inning. A pair of fly outs ended the frame but Ohio State took a 4-0 lead in the contest.
Marshall made some noise of its own in the top of the third when Jurevicius laced a one-out triple off the wall in right center field. A sacrifice fly to deep center field by Adam Yeager sent Jurevicius trotting home with the Herd's first run of the game.
The Buckeyes had a chance to get a rally going in the bottom of the third frame but a pair of brilliant defensive plays by Josh Valle and Jurevicius helped retire Ohio State in order.
Herd reliever Andrew Hancock replaced Kadish in the fourth. Kadish allowed four runs on six hits. Wednesday marked the 66th appearance for Hancock, who currently holds the third spot on Marshall's career-appearance list.
Ohio State pushed across its fifth run of the game in the bottom of the fourth when DeLucia knocked his second double of the game down the right field line. He came around on the second double of the game by Engle. A two-out infield throwing error placed runners on the corners but Tommy Johnson was able to fire a bullet to second to catch Engle trying to steal and halt the Buckeye threat.
Buckeyes' reliever Alex Wimmers entered in favor of Armstrong in the fifth. Armstrong scattered three hits and allowed just one run in four innings of work.
Ohio State's Justin Miller placed the first pitch of the bottom of the fifth stanza over the left field fence to give the Buckeyes a 6-1 advantage. Herd southpaw Ryan Kiel replaced Hancock with one-out in the inning. Following a walk to pinch-hitter Chris Macke, Cory Rupert then lifted his first home run of the year just over the fence in right field to give the Buckeyes an 8-1 lead.
Marshall returns to action Friday, May 9 for the first game of a non-conference series with Delaware State. Game time is slated for 3:00 p.m. at the Kennedy Center on Route 2 in Huntington, W.Va.
