2019 B1G Title Season Ends In Nashville Regional for Buckeyes

From an Ohio State release.

BASE: 2019 Title Season Ends at Nashville Regional

Ohio State concludes 2019 season with 36-27 record

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Ohio State baseball team fell, 10-5, against Indiana State in an elimination game at the Nashville Regional of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. The two teams combined for 29 hits in the postseason game. The Buckeyes conclude the 2019 season with a 36-27 overall record.

QUOTE FROM COACH

“I don’t want to talk about today’s game, my comments will be relative to this group of guys and what they became this year,” head coach Greg Beals said. “Just really proud of how we responded when our backs were against the wall. That character and brotherhood was revealed these last few weeks. We are obviously disappointed with the result of today’s game and that hurts because we have a vision of taking the next step. We are in the national tournament in three out of the last four years. The next step is to get in to a super for a three-game series to see who goes to Omaha. We didn’t get that but there is so much to be proud of this season.”

AT THE DISH

Junior Conner Pohl went 3-for-5 with a homer and two RBI. Sophomore Dillon Dingler was 3-for-5 with two runs scored and two doubles and senior Brady Cherry was 3-for-5 with a run scored and RBI. Pohl hit .462 (6-for-13) with three runs scored, double, two homer and three RBI in the Nashville Regional. Cherry batted .429 (6-for-14) with a homer and three RBI.

HOT START FOR THE SYCAMORES

Indiana State had its first six hitters reach base in the top of the first and jumped out to a 2-0 lead vs. OSU left-handed starting pitcher Griffan Smith. Singles by Jarrod Watkins and Roby Enriquez made it 2-0. Brady Cherry fielded a single in left and sent a laser into Dillon Dingler who easily applied the tag to record the first out. It was a big momentum swing in the inning as Smith then sent down two hitters on strikeouts to leave the bases loaded and limit the damage.

BUCKS ANSWER QUICKLY

It didn’t take long for the boys to rebound. Ohio State scored three times in the bottom of the first against right-handed starting pitcher Tyler Whitbread. With two outs on the board, the Buckeye bats strung three hits together to take a 3-2 lead. Dingler started it with a two-out, stand-up double. Cherry ripped a RBI single to left for the first run. Pohl then launched a 1-1 pitch over the wall in right for a two-run homer to give the Scarlet and Gray a 3-2 lead.

TEAMS EXCHANGE RUNS

The two-out lightning continued in the third on off the bat of Zach Dezenzo for a RBI single. The Sycamores answered in the fourth with one run on a solo homer by Joe Boyle to put their deficit to one run, 4-3. Ohio State had a chance to extend the lead in the fifth after a lead-off double by Dingler, but the Buckeye catcher was picked off second base to record the first out of the inning. The next two at-bats were singles, however, Whitbread retired two straight hitters to hang a zero on the board.

SYCAMORES GRAB THE LEAD

Indiana State struck with four runs on four hits to regain the lead in the top of the sixth as five straight Sycamore hitters reached safely. Indiana State scored another run in the seventh. Canzone ended the inning with a double play when he sent a cannon into the plate to Dingler who got the tag down on the shoulder of Indiana State’s Boyle.

BUCKEYES KEPT BATTLING

Ohio State continued to battle at the dish and score one run on three hits in the bottom of the seventh to make it an 8-5 game. Brent Todys knocked a RBI single to score Cherry.

ON THE MOUND

After allowing two runs in the top, Smith sent down eight straight hitters. However, the OSU lefty ran into trouble in the sixth. The Sycamores scored four runs off four hits to end Smith’s day on the mound. He gave up seven runs on 10 hits with one walk and seven strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work. Right-handed reliever TJ Brock retired the final two outs of the top of the sixth. He gave up one run on one hit with one walk in one inning of relief. Right-handed reliever Thomas Waning tossed a scoreless inning of relief on two hits. Left-handed reliever Mitch Milheim worked 0.2 innings and gave up one run on two hits with one walk. Joe Gahm allowed no runs with one strikeout in the eighth.

GAME NOTES

· Ohio State finished the year with 36 wins. It’s tied for the second-most wins in the Greg Beals’ era.

· Ohio State is 44-45 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.

· Today’s Attendance: 3,289

· With a single in the fourth, Dominic Canzone extended his program-recorded reached base streak to 59 games.

· Canzone had 88 hits in 2019, which ranks fifth in OSU single-season history. His 67 runs scored ranks tied for sixth in the OSU record book.

· Other reached base streaks extended: Dezenzo (10), Pohl (3) and Winand (3).

· Hit streaks extended: Canzone (6), Pohl (3) and Winand (3).

· Pohl has homered twice in the regional tournament.

· Dingler tied his career-high with two doubles.

· Multi-hit games: Cherry (24), Pohl (16), Dingler (12) and Winand (9).

· Multi-RBI games: Pohl (11).

RANDOM NOTES FROM AROUND THE BALLPARK

· The BP playlist at Hawkins Field is really, really good. After all, this is the Music City. DJ Derrick was next to the OSU radio booth creating a masterpiece. The Mona Lisa of music. He was absolutely slaying the tracks. So electric, the OSU SID had to go take a lap around the stadium. He could mix any type of music together. He somehow mixed “It’s Goin’ Down” by Yung Joc into “The Fireman” by George Strait. Explain that to me. Flawless transition. The spinning wizard at Hawkins Field. Follow him on twitter: @djderrick1

· Cookies in the press box! Peanut butter. M&M. Chocolate chip. Cookies made so good, you thought your momma made them. Delicious pre-game treats. Elite treats.

· Kyle Hankins, AKA Krazy Kyle, is the organist at the Nashville Regional. He’s super talented. A Nashville legend. You tell him a song to play, he will know how to play it. Kyle is the organist for the Nashville Predators. It’s pretty remarkable when he hits the keys and play any song in a matter of seconds off the top of his head. The sounds of the game at Hawkins Field: 10/10.

· A championship season for the boys. A Big Ten tournament title. A regional in three of the last four years. Thank you fans for the love and support. See you in 2020.

[Header photo courtesy OhioStateBuckeyes.com.]

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