Box Score | Bo Durkac Postgame | Photo Gallery
PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – The Illinois State baseball team pushed across a tie-breaking run in the top of the ninth and held off Ohio State in the bottom half of the inning to secure a 5-4 win Saturday afternoon at North Charlotte Regional Park, as part of the Snowbird Classic.
The Redbirds went into the top of the ninth tied at 4-4. With Ryan Hutchinson on third base and two outs, Daniel Dwyer hit a hard grounder to Ohio State second baseman Nick Sergakis, who misplayed the ball, allowing Hutchinson to score the go-ahead run. In the bottom half, Jack Landwehr worked out of a jam with runners at first and second and two outs when he fielded a comebacker and tossed it to first base for the final out.
"Today our infield defense was air-tight and theirs wasn't, and that was the difference in the game," Illinois State head coach Bo Durkac said. "It was an ugly win, but a win is a win, and after a tough day (Friday), it was a good one for us today."
Illinois State (3-6) jumped on Ohio State (6-3-1) in the first inning with two runs. Dwyer led off the inning with a single and Joe Kelch was hit by a pitch. Jared Hendren laid down a successful sacrifice bunt to move both runners into scoring position. Owen Miller grounded out to short to plate Dwyer, and Kelch later scored on a passed ball to make it a 2-0 lead.
The Redbirds added another run in the second with back-to-back doubles to lead off the inning from Brian Rodemoyer and Hutchinson. The Buckeyes answered with a run off of ISU starter Steve Heilenbach in the bottom of the second.
Ohio State's Jalen Washington singled in another run in the bottom of the third to make the score 3-2 in Illinois State's favor. In the fifth, Washington struck again, this time with an RBI double, to tie the game at 3-3.
Hutchinson reached base on a Sergakis' error to lead off the seventh inning. Hutchinson advanced to third on a Nick Zouras single. Later, Dwyer brought Hutchinson in to score with a ground ball to the second baseman, giving Illinois State a 4-3 lead. Ohio State tied the game for the second time in the bottom of the frame with a leadoff home run from Troy Montgomery.
The game remained tied until the ninth. Rodemoyer singled to start the inning for the Redbirds. Hutchinson reached first on a fielder's choice. Sean Beesley worked a free pass to put runners at first and second with one out. Zouras flied out to right and Hutchinson tagged up and took third on the play. Sergakis then misplayed a ground ball hit off Dwyer's bat, allowing Hutchinson to score the game-winning run.
In the bottom of the ninth, Landwehr walked the leadoff hitter, Daulton Mosbarger. Landwehr got Ronnie Dawson to fly out to center field and induced a ground out to short against the next batter; Mosbarger reached second on the play. Landwehr intentionally walked Washington, who was 4-for-4 with two RBIs at that point, to put runners at first and second. With the tying run at second, Landwehr fielded a ground ball to the right off the mound and made two steps toward first base before flipping the ball to Rodemoyer for the final out.
Heilenbach received a no-decision after going 4.2 innings, while giving up three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and three walks. Jake Sale saw four batters out of the bullpen and retired all four, striking out two. Landwehr (1-1) worked 2.2 innings out of the bullpen; he walked four but didn't allow a run on his way to his first win of the season. Ohio State's Ryan Feltner took the loss, after allowing up two unearned runs over 2.2 innings pitched.
Hutchinson and Rodemoyer both had a pair of hits. Hutchinson went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, a double and an RBI. Rodemoyer was 2-for-4 with a run scored and a double.
The Redbirds are back in action Sunday when they face Northwestern. First pitch is set for 11 p.m. CT.
GoRedbirds.com: Your online source for Illinois State Athletics tickets, Weisbecker Scholarship Fund gifts, multimedia, Redbird merchandise, photos and more.Â
