May 8, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Georgia Tech took a 1-0 lead to the bottom of the sixth and rallied in the ninth, but Ohio State hung on to knock off the Yellow Jackets, 3-2, Wednesday night and earn a split in the two-game midweek series at Bill Davis Stadium in Columbus.
Tech (30-19) was limited to two runs on seven hits and couldn’t capitalize on a very good start by sophomore Josh Heddinger, who allowed just a run on two hits in his six innings of work. The Buckeyes improved to 33-15 with their 10th victory in the last 12 games.
Sam Dove and Zane Evans each had two hits for the Jackets and Evans extended his hitting streak to 11 games.
Dove’s two-out infield single kept the ninth inning alive and an errant throw from the second baseman moved him to second on the play. A.J. Murray singled Dove home in next at-bat off OSU closer Trace Dempsey. Murray swiped second to reach scoring position, but Dempsey picked up his 16th save this season with a strikeout to end it.
Ryan Riga gave the Buckeyes seven innings of five-hit ball with one walk and five strikeouts to earn the victory (2-0). Ryan Cyprett’s game-tying RBI triple in the sixth inning was the only run allowed by Heddinger, and the Buckeyes went to work in the seventh off Tech’s bullpen.
A walk to Jacob Bosiokovic, a one-out single by Mike Carroll and a grounder to second moved the pair into scoring position for Tim Wetzel, whose two-run bloop single to right gave the Buckeyes a 3-1 lead and put reliever Alex Cruz on the hook for the loss (2-2).
Heddinger picked up the no-decision after a season-high six strong innings on the mound. A 6-4-3 double play erased Joe Ciamacco’s lead-off single in the first inning, and Heddinger retired 14 of the next 15 batters, including nine consecutive, before Brad Hallberg’s one-out walk in the sixth. Hallberg eventually scored the tying run on Cyprett’s RBI triple.
Tech drew first blood in the third, starting the rally with a lead-off double to the left-field gap by Mott Hyde – his team-leading 14th two-bagger this season. Thomas Smith’s bunt single put runners at the corners and Kyle Wren’s RBI fielder’s choice made it 1-0. Riga dodged further trouble that inning, and would retire 10 of the next 12 to keep the Jackets at bay.
Tech lost for just the fourth time this season (20-4) when scoring first.
The Yellow Jackets return to action this weekend at Russ Chandler Stadium with a three-game series versus ACC-leading North Carolina. All three games of the series will air on ESPN3.
