Devon Torrence #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes intercepts a pass in the third quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium on November 13, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. Torrence returned the interception 34-yards for a touchdown in the Buckeyes' 38-14 win over the Nittany Lions.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As [...]]]> Associated Press

Devon Torrence #1 of the Ohio State Buckeyes intercepts a pass in the third quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium on November 13, 2010 in Columbus, Ohio. Torrence returned the interception 34-yards for a touchdown in the Buckeyes' 38-14 win over the Nittany Lions.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As the Ohio State Buckeyes left the field trailing 14-3 at halftime on Saturday, their fans really let them hear it.

By the end of the game, those boos had turned to cheers.

Devon Torrence tipped and snagged an interception and returned it 34 yards for the go-ahead touchdown, and the Buckeyes (No. 9 BCS, No. 8 AP) ran off the final 35 points for a 38-14 win.

“We know how much our fans are obsessed with Ohio State football,” said wide receiver Dane Sanzenbacher, who caught a ricochet off a defender for a quirky 58-yard score in the 21-0 fourth quarter. “Booing us? I probably would have booed us.”

Travis Howard added another interception and brought it back 30 yards for a TD, also in the fourth.

“Obviously, I didn’t pay attention to it,” defensive end Cameron Heyward said of the boos. “It’s going to happen. But we had to respond in the second half.”

They certainly did. The two defensive scores gave Ohio State six interception returns for touchdowns in the last seven meetings with Penn State (6-4, 3-3 Big Ten).

The victory sent the Buckeyes (9-1, 5-1) into a critical showdown at Iowa next week tied for first place in the conference with Michigan State and Wisconsin.

Instead of win No. 401 for Nittany Lions coach Joe Paterno, the second-half scores tagged him with his 133rd loss.

“There were a lot of things involved,” he said of his team’s second-half collapse. “I didn’t think they [the Buckeyes] did much different in the second half.”

The comeback from an 11-point deficit was the biggest in coach Jim Tressel’s 10 years in Columbus.

“They played their fannies off in the second half,” Tressel said of his Buckeyes. “I’m awfully proud of them.”

The game swung on one play.

With a 14-10 lead on second-and-9 at the Nittany Lions 37 midway through the third quarter, Penn State quarterback Matt McGloin fired a pass into the left flat meant for Michael Zordich. Torrence, a former outfielder in the Houston Astros system, had slipped off coverage of another receiver, sliding inside and streaking in front of Zordich.

“I saw it and jumped it,” Torrence said. “I had to tip it to myself.”

He flicked the ball up in the air once, juggled it off his shoulder and then finally collected it, racing for the touchdown and a 17-14 lead.

“He kind of baited me,” McGloin said. “At first he was rolling with Derek [Moye] and he came off. He just made a nice play.”

Ohio State then forced a punt and on second-and-23 from his own 42, Buckeyes quarterback Terrelle Pryor lobbed an arching pass down the middle of the field for DeVier Posey, with D’Anton Lynn and Drew Astorino pounding him as the ball arrived. But the ball squirted directly to Sanzenbacher trailing the play.

Lynn stood, hands on his hips, stunned as the Buckeyes celebrated in the end zone.

Howard then stepped in front of McGloin’s pass to end any drama.

Pryor, who was 8 of 13 for 139 yards with one interception and two scores, also hit Jake Stoneburner with a late TD pass.

The Buckeyes, down 14-3, were pinned deep in their own territory in the third quarter. But they covered 96 yards — actually 98 because they had a false start penalty before they ran a play. For the most part, they stayed on the ground, with Boom Herron, who had a career-best 190 yards on 21 carries, going the final 5 yards through a gaping hole for a TD.

Then came the interception that flipped the game.

Tressel improved to 27-4 in November games as Ohio State’s head coach — and 3-4 in the week after a bye.

The Nittany Lions, angry that they were listed as 2 1/2-touchdown underdogs, appeared to be the team that was rested and focused early.

McGloin, who finished 15 of 30 for 159 yards with the two interceptions, hit Justin Brown on a 23-yard score and Moye on a 6-yarder. They were the first touchdown passes Penn State had thrown in Ohio Stadium since joining the Big Ten in 1993, and gave the Lions the most points they’ve scored there in that span.

Torrence’s return helped the Buckeyes forget about the ugly first half and the torrent of boos.

“The halftime locker room was not a fun place,” Tressel said. “But it was not a place that looked like there was any quit in anybody.”

Follow us on Twitter: CSN_Cincy

Bauer and Thomas Each Bat in Two Runs in 6-4 win over UMass

CAMDEN, N.J. – Win and advance is the name of the game as the second-seeded Xavier baseball team defeated third-ranked Rhode Island, 4-2, Thursday evening at Campbell’s Field in the Musketeers’ first game of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship. With [...]]]> Courtesy: goxavier.com

Bauer and Thomas Each Bat in Two Runs in 6-4 win over UMass

CAMDEN, N.J. – Win and advance is the name of the game as the second-seeded Xavier baseball team defeated third-ranked Rhode Island, 4-2, Thursday evening at Campbell’s Field in the Musketeers’ first game of the 2010 Atlantic 10 Championship. With the win, XU will play Saint Louis at 1:30 p.m. on Friday.

Freshman Patrick Paligraf was 2-for-4 with two runs scored versus Rhode Island

With the win, the Musketeers extend their current winning streak to nine games, tying the school record for most wins in a row.

The Musketeers were led by senior Zac Richard who went 3-for-4 with two doubles and a single while three others tallied two hits on the day as XU outhit URI, 12-5.

Xavier (26-30) got the scoring going in the third after back-to-back singles and a ground out put runners at second and third. Senior Drew Schmidt used a base hit to get both runners home, collecting two RBI, and giving XU the 2-0 lead.

Rhode Island (30-25) got on the board the very next inning after two costly XU throwing errors combined with a couple of stolen bases got Oliver Palmer home. The Rams cut into the Musketeer lead, 2-1.

With runners on the corners and two outs in the bottom of the fifth, junior Ben Thomas’ RBI single plated freshman Patrick Paligraf to set the score at 3-1 in favor of the Musketeers. Thomas is a prolific two-out hitter and that RBI was his 25th two-out RBI of the year.

The Rams got a run back in the sixth after loading up the bases. URI’s Evan Laude hit into a fielder’s choice allowing Zoey Angulo to come home. The Musketeers were able to get out of the inning with no more damage as Schmidt caught a lineout to end the inning with XU ahead, 3-2.

With pinch runner sophomore Dan Rinck on second, junior Ryan Bellamy’s base hit up the middle brought him home in the bottom of the eighth for an insurance run. Heading into the final inning, the Musketeers were holding the two-run lead, 4-2, which proved to be the final margin.

Junior Tommy Shirley (4-3) earned the win on the mound for the Musketeers after throwing seven and a third innings. He gave up two runs, neither of which were earned, and scattered five hits while striking out eight. Freshman Alex Vice tossed the final two-thirds of the right and freshman Seth Willoughby recorded his team-best seventh save of the season as he closed out the contest for XU.

Ken Graveline (6-3) was charged with the loss for the Rams. He put in 6.2 innings of work, giving up three earned runs on 10 hits.

Rhode Island was led by Palmer who was 2-for-4 with a run scored. He was the only Ram to tally more than one hit.

Xavier and Saint Louis will square off in the first game of the day tomorrow with first pitch set for 1:30 p.m. No. 5 Saint Louis defeated top-seeded Charlotte, 3-2, in the first game on Thursday.

Box Score

Follow us on Twitter: CSN_Cincy

Riddell's two-run, eighth inning double gives UC 3-1 win in series finale.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team had its season come to a close Thursday morning falling by a score of 13-4 to the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in the first of four games at Bright House Field in [...]]]> Courtesy: gobearcats.com

Riddell's two-run, eighth inning double gives UC 3-1 win in series finale.

CLEARWATER, Fla. – The University of Cincinnati baseball team had its season come to a close Thursday morning falling by a score of 13-4 to the University of Pittsburgh Panthers in the first of four games at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.

UC Bearcats Braden Kline hits first career homer in loss

Before UC took its first hacks of the game, Pitt jumped out to an early 3-0 lead behind singles from BIG EAST Player of the Year Joe Leonard and Kevan Smith, and a double from David Chester.

Following Pittsburgh’s three-run outburst in the first inning, the Bearcats were retired in order in their first at-bat and the Panthers used a Cincinnati error coupled with three doubles and a triple to put a four-spot on the board in the second inning, quickly taking a commanding 7-0 lead through an inning and a half.

UC got one run back in the second inning on a sophomore Braden Kline solo home run to left field, the first home run of his career, and proceeded to hold the Panthers to a 1-2-3 top of the third as sophomore Sam Slavik threw just five pitches to retire the side.

The Bearcats looked to be slowly gaining momentum when senior Kevin Johnson drilled a fastball over the fence in right field for a lead-off solo home run in the third inning to make the score 7-2, but later in the frame UC stranded two runners on base which would be the story of the day.

Both teams scored a run in the fifth inning to keep the Pittsburgh advantage at five runs, 8-3, but in the fifth, sixth, and seventh innings combined, UC stranded seven runners on base and Pitt capitalized on UC’s wasted opportunities by turning four hits into three runs in the seventh inning to widen its lead to 11-3.

After the Panthers expanded their lead to 12-3 in the top of the eighth inning, the Bearcats plated their final run in the bottom of the eighth inning when senior Beach Brooks hit a solo home run in the bullpen beyond the left field fence in his final at-bat in a Cincinnati uniform.

Pittsburgh tacked on one last run in the ninth and proceeded to retire UC in order to defeat the Bearcats, 13-4.

Six of Cincinnati’s seven seniors donned the Red and Black uniform for the final time and seniors Jamel Scott, Jimmy Jacquot, Johnson, and Brooks each collected hits in their final game with Johnson and Brooks both going deep. Scott and Jacquot each recorded a pair of singles.

On the mound, seniors Andrew Burkett and Tyler Smith pitched the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, to close out their careers. Burkett finished the 2010 campaign with 14 saves, which is a UC single-season record. The Bearcats other senior, Brian Garman, pitched 3.0 innings in Wednesday’s loss to No. 19 UConn.

With a 1-for-5 performance at the plate against Pittsburgh, junior Justin Riddell finished the campaign with a .313 average, leading the Bearcats in that category.

Cincinnati’s record evened out at 29-29 on the season with the loss, while Pittsburgh improved to 38-17 and advances to play the loser of the Pittsburgh/Rutgers match-up on Friday, May 28, at 4 p.m.

Box Score

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Bob Todd picked up his 900th win at Ohio State as the Buckeyes topped Iowa, 11-6, Sunday afternoon in Iowa City.

Bob Todd Wins No. 900 at Ohio State

With the win, Ohio State moves to 27-21 on the season, 10-11 in the Big Ten while Iowa drops to 23-26, [...]]]> Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Bob Todd picked up his 900th win at Ohio State as the Buckeyes topped Iowa, 11-6, Sunday afternoon in Iowa City.

Bob Todd Wins No. 900 at Ohio State

With the win, Ohio State moves to 27-21 on the season, 10-11 in the Big Ten while Iowa drops to 23-26, also 10-11 in the Big Ten.

Jared Strayer picked up his second win of the week in relief for the Buckeyes, tossing four innings, giving up five hits and just one earned run. Ryan Dew finished 2-for-5 with four runs batted in and two runs scored and Cory Rupert went 3-for-4 with a run batted in.

Like the first two games of the series, Zach Hurley led off the first inning with a single. After a fly out by Cory Kovanda, Dan Burkhart walked and Michael Stephens singled to right to load the bases. Dew then took Phil Schreiber offering deep to right for a grand slam to give the Buckeyes a 4-0 lead. It was Dew’s sixth home run of the season and third in the last five games. Brad Hallberg followed Dew with a walk and Rupert singled through the right side on a perfectly executed hit and run to move Hallberg over to third. Brian DeLucia then pushed the Buckeye lead to 5-0 on an RBI fielder’s choice to shortstop as Hallberg crossed home plate.

After recording the first two outs of the first inning, Ohio State starter Brett McKinney loaded the bases on a pair of singles and a walk but the freshman right-hander was able to get out of the jam as Mike Corbeil flew out to center to end the threat.

Iowa was able to get one back in the second as Trevor Willis came around to score on a single by Kurt Lee after tripling to lead off the inning.

The Hawkeyes scored two more in the bottom of the fourth when Tyson Blaser led off the inning with a double and Willis followed with his second triple of the game, this time down the right field line. Willis was then driven in on a sacrifice fly to center by Kurtis Muller to cut the Buckeye lead to 5-3 after four.

The Buckeyes answered right back with two of their own in the top of the fifth. Stephens led off the inning with his team-leading ninth home run of the season, a bomb to left center that not only cleared the scoreboard but cleared the street between Duane Banks Field and Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the home of the Iowa basketball and wrestling teams. Dew followed with a single to center to knock Schreiber out of the game. Hallberg then welcomed Iowa reliever Zach Kenyon with a single to right and Rupert then singled to drive in Dew to make it a 7-3 Buckeye lead.

After Rupert popped out to lead off the seventh, DeLucia and Tyler Engle each singled, Hurley walked to load the bases and Kovanda walked as DeLucia scored. Burkhart then singled through the left side to drive in a pair. Kovanda then scored on an error by Lee on a ground ball by Stephens as Ohio State extended the lead to 11-3.

Iowa tacked on one more run on three hits in the eighth and two more in the ninth but it proved to be too little, too late as Ohio State came away with the win.

The Buckeyes return home to Bill Davis Stadium Tuesday to take on Pittsburgh on Columbus City Schools Day at 12:05 p.m.

Follow us on Twitter: CSN_Cincy

Bauer and Thomas Each Bat in Two Runs in 6-4 win over UMass

CINCINNATI – With three runs in the seventh inning, Xavier baseball overcame visiting Massachusetts, 6-4, Sunday afternoon at Hayden Field to take the series sweep and move closer to its fourth consecutive appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship. Four senior [...]]]> Courtesy: goxavier.com

Bauer and Thomas Each Bat in Two Runs in 6-4 win over UMass

CINCINNATI – With three runs in the seventh inning, Xavier baseball overcame visiting Massachusetts, 6-4, Sunday afternoon at Hayden Field to take the series sweep and move closer to its fourth consecutive appearance in the Atlantic 10 Championship. Four senior team members were recognized prior to the start of the game, their last home contest as a Musketeer.

XU improved to 22-30 on the season and 15-9 in league play while UM slips to 17-26 overall and 11-13 in conference action. With four total hits on the day, only four Musketeers recorded hits in the win.

Junior Phil Bauer's two-run shot in the seventh proved to be the game winner

Senior Zac Richard did double duty, hitting in the sixth slot as the designated hitter and also tossing 2.2 innings of middle relief to collect his third pitching win of the season.

Heading into the seventh inning, the Minutemen were clinging to a 4-3 lead. Junior John McCambridge doubled in redshirt sophomore Matt Kleifges and got to third with a ground out by senior Drew Schmidt. Junior Phil Bauer’s lone hit of the day was the difference maker as he sent the first pitch he faced over the fence for a two-run go-ahead homer. XU finished the inning ahead, 6-4, which proved to be the final margin.

Richard (3-0) got the win for XU after throwing 2.2 scoreless innings giving up only one hit and striking out three. Freshman Seth Willoughby closed out the game for the Musketeers, collecting his fourth saves of the season. Start sophomore Josh Deeg threw six innings for XU, scattering seven hits and striking out five.

Massachusetts’ Bryan Leigh tossed the entire game for the Minutemen to take the loss, moving him to 5-5 on the year. He scattered four hits and struck out four.

UM was led by Eric Fredette and Tom Conley with two hits apiece.

The Musketeers will play a single midweek game at Ohio University on Tuesday. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.

Box Score

Follow us on Twitter: CSN_Cincy

Riddell's two-run, eighth inning double gives UC 3-1 win in series finale.

CINCINNATI – For the second time in as many weeks, freshman Andrew Strenge earned the start in a crucial Sunday game against a ranked opponent, and the Yardley, Pa., native went 8.0 innings, surrendered eight hits, one unearned run, and struck [...]]]> Courtesy: gobearcats.com

Riddell's two-run, eighth inning double gives UC 3-1 win in series finale.

CINCINNATI – For the second time in as many weeks, freshman Andrew Strenge earned the start in a crucial Sunday game against a ranked opponent, and the Yardley, Pa., native went 8.0 innings, surrendered eight hits, one unearned run, and struck out a career-high nine batters to lead the University of Cincinnati baseball team to a 3-1 win over No. 22 Pittsburgh Sunday afternoon at Marge Schott Stadium.

Freshman Andrew Strenge earned the start in a crucial Sunday game against a ranked opponent

Strenge held the Panthers, who entered the week ranked third nationally in runs per game, to one run, their lowest scoring output since losing to Rutgers, 6-1, on April 2.

The freshman was relieved in the ninth inning by senior Andrew Burkett, who struck out two and forced a pop out to pick up his single-season school-record breaking 13th save of the season. Burkett broke Shannon Morgan’s single-season saves record of 12 saves set during the 1995 campaign.

Strenge kept the Panthers off balance and did not allow a runner past second base until the sixth inning when Pittsburgh’s John Schultz reached third base with two outs. During the next at-bat, a UC error allowed Schultz to cross home plate putting PITT on top, 1-0.

The Bearcats got that run back in their half of the sixth inning when senior Jimmy Jacquot belted a two-out, solo home run over the wall in left field, his team-leading 12th round-tripper of the season, knotting the score at one.

Pittsburgh tried to put the pressure on Strenge with a lead-off single in the seventh, but Strenge retired the next three batters in the seventh and set down the side in order in the eighth, giving his teammates a chance to take a lead in the bottom half of the eighth.

UC looked to be headed to the ninth inning tied at one after its first two batters in the eighth inning were retired, but an infield single by sophomore T.J. Jones followed by a four-pitch walk to Jacquot put runners on first and second base with two outs. On a two-balls, two-strike pitch, junior Justin Riddell cleared the bases with a double off the wall in center field giving Cincinnati its first lead of the three-game series at 3-1.

In the ninth, Burkett quickly retired the first two batters, before a single up the middle by Travis Whitmore brought the tying run to the plate in Cory Brownsten. Brownsten worked a full-count on Burkett, but Burkett struck Brownsten out swinging to preserve the two-run win and pick up his school-record 13th save.

The save not only cemented Burkett as Cincinnati’s single-season saves leader, but moved him into sole possession of third place on UC’s all-time saves list with 14 career saves.

Seven players recorded hits for the Bearcats and the heart of the order in Jacquot and Riddell combined to drive in all three runs.

Strenge picked up his team-leading sixth win of the season and has now picked up wins over No. 20 Connecticut and No. 22 Pittsburgh in his last two starts. During that stretch, he has pitched 17.0 innings, struck out 15 without relinquishing a walk, and given up three unearned runs.

The win improved Cincinnati’s record to 3-5 against Top 25 teams this season, while upping its overall record to 26-27 and its conference record to 10-14. Pittsburgh dropped to 36-14 overall and 17-6 in league play.

The Bearcats have three days off before welcoming Georgetown University to Marge Schott Stadium for their final BIG EAST Conference series of the 2010 season. The Bearcats enter the final weekend tied for seventh in the league standings with Notre Dame. The top eight teams advance to the BIG EAST Conference Baseball Tournament May 26-30 at Bright House Networks Field in Clearwater, Fla. The series between the Hoyas and the Bearcats begins on Thursday, May 20, at 6:30 p.m.

Box Score

UC Bearcats Win over Xavier 8-5

CINCINNATI – A six-run third inning by No. 22 Pittsburgh gave the PITT an early seven-run lead and behind starter Corey Baker, the nationally-ranked Panthers went on to defeat the University of Cincinnati baseball team 12-2 in the opener of the three-game BIG EAST Conference series between [...]]]> Courtesy: gobearcats.com

UC Bearcats Win over Xavier 8-5

CINCINNATI – A six-run third inning by No. 22 Pittsburgh gave the PITT an early seven-run lead and behind starter Corey Baker, the nationally-ranked Panthers went on to defeat the University of Cincinnati baseball team 12-2 in the opener of the three-game BIG EAST Conference series between the two teams Friday evening at Marge Schott Stadium.

UC Baseball Jamel Scott

The win gave the Panthers a 6-5 edge in the all-time series against the Bearcats and upped their record to 35-13 overall and 16-5 in league play. Cincinnati fell to 25-26 overall and 9-13 in conference action.

UC trailed from the get-go as a lead-off single followed by a double to left-center field quickly put the Panthers in front, 1-0, in the first inning.

UC failed to put a run on the board in its half of the first or the second inning and when Pittsburgh came to bat in the third inning, the first eight batters reached base by a walk, single, or UC error and six of those eight batters scored to widen the Panthers lead to 7-0 through two and half innings.

The Bearcats chipped away at the seven-run deficit in its half of the third inning starting with a lead-off single to right-center field by sophomore Kiley Jones. After Jones moved to second base on a single-through the left-side by senior Jamel Scott, sophomore Chris Peters moved Scott to second base and plated Jones with a single of his own, cutting the deficit to 7-1. Scott moved ninety-feet closer to home on a wild pitch and proceeded to score on a sacrifice fly to the warning track in right field by sophomore T.J. Jones, bringing UC within five runs, 7-2.

Three Pittsburgh runs in the fifth inning followed by two more Panthers runs in the sixth opened up a double-digit lead, 12-2, giving PITT its largest lead of the day.

Sophomore Cory Hough came out of the bullpen and yielded just one hit and struck out five in three innings of relief for Cincinnati, but Pittsburgh’s Baker set down 11 Bearcats batters in a row to end the game, registering his second complete game of the season and closing out the 12-2 victory.

The Panthers and Bearcats resume their three-game BIG EAST Conference series on Saturday, May 15, at 4 p.m. Saturday is UC’s Ring of Red Game as Cincinnati faculty/staff pay just $1 for tickets and all fans are encouraged to wear Red.

Box Score

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State bounced back from a four-run deficit to gain a much-needed, 8-4, win over Illinois in the third game of the series at Bill Davis Stadium. With the win, the Buckeyes move to .500 in the Big Ten Conference with a 9-9 record. That mark is good for fourth- [...]]]> Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State bounced back from a four-run deficit to gain a much-needed, 8-4, win over Illinois in the third game of the series at Bill Davis Stadium. With the win, the Buckeyes move to .500 in the Big Ten Conference with a 9-9 record. That mark is good for fourth- or fifth-place in the Big Ten depending on the outcome of the Minnesota/Michigan game. Overall, the Buckeyes move to 25-19 while putting to rest a season-long five-game losing streak.

Ryan Dew had a huge day Sunday with a home run, double and a career-high five RBI

Illinois wins the three-game series, 2-1, but drops to 8-10 with the Sunday loss and to 23-22 overall.

Senior Ryan Dew led a 15-hit attack for the Buckeyes with a home run, double and two singles plus he had a career-best five RBI. Dew’s Worthington Kilbourne High School teammate, senior Cory Kovanda, had four hits and two runs scored while Zach Hurley and Michael Stephens had two hits apiece. Hurley also scored two runs.

Illinois, as it has done in all three games this series, scored first, picking up a run in the first inning off a couple of singles with a stolen base in between. The Illini increased the lead to 4-0 with a three-run second inning off Buckeye starter Brett McKinney. Josh Parr’s second triple of the series was the big hit, driving in two runs.

Dew opened the Buckeye half of the second inning with a home run, his fourth home run this season to make the score 4-1.

Two fine defensive plays kept the Illini scoreless in the third. Brad Hallberg made a fine stab of a sharply hit ball at third with runners on second and third. He got the Ilini runner heading toward home in a rundown and he was eventually tagged out. Hurley then made a diving catch of Willie Argo’s line drive to left to get the Buckeyes out of the inning.

Pumped by those web gems, Ohio State got itself back in the game with a five-hit, four-run third inning.  Hurley led off the third with a hard hit single to left and Kovanda reached on a bunt single to chase Illini starter Matt Milroy.

Dan Burkhart greeted reliever Lee Zerussen, who lasted just one inning as the Friday starter for Illinois, with an RBI single with Kovanda taking third. Stephens then singled Kovanda home to make the score 4-3. Dew added two more RBI to his line score with a double to right, giving the Buckeyes their first lead in the series since the third inning of Game 1, 5-4.

Ohio State increased its lead to 7-4 with two more runs in the fourth. Dew’s two-out single scored Hurley and Kovanda, who had walked and singled, respectively.

While the Buckeyes were making their comeback at the plate, Theron Minium was keeping the Illini from scoring in 3.0 innings of two-hit, effective relief. He picked up the win to improve to 3-2 on the season.

Senior Eric Best pitched the final three innings to pick up his third save of the year. He gave up just two hits and one walk while striking out four.

Ohio State concludes its season-long six-game homestand Wednesday at 6:35 p.m. against Ball State.

Follow us on Twitter: CSN_Cincy

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State and Louisville resumed their non-conference series for a third consecutive year on an incredibly lovely, buck-a-burger Tuesday night at Bill Stadium. Louisville, ranked as high as seventh nationally (Rivals.com), scored four runs in the second inning and got a solid start out of red-shirt freshman Justin Amlung to [...]]]> Courtesy: OhioStateBuckeyes.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio State and Louisville resumed their non-conference series for a third consecutive year on an incredibly lovely, buck-a-burger Tuesday night at Bill Stadium. Louisville, ranked as high as seventh nationally (Rivals.com), scored four runs in the second inning and got a solid start out of red-shirt freshman Justin Amlung to down the Buckeyes, 6-0, before a season’s-best crowd of 2,033 fans.

Brian DeLucia finished 1-for-3 with a single and a walk

The win was Louisville’s fourth over Ohio State in the last three years. It improved the Cardinals record to 37-7 this year and it also improved its record to 19-2 against the Big Ten under fourth-year coach Dan McDonnell. Ohio State falls to 24-16 with the loss.

After a scoreless first inning – the Buckeyes had two runners on with one out in their half but hit into an inning-ending double play – Louisville scored four runs in the second off three hits and one Buckeye error.

Amlung settled down after that first inning to retire 10 consecutive Buckeyes, a feat that was nearly matched by Ohio State starter Dean Wolosiansky. He had three perfect innings outside of the rough second, which included two unearned runs out of the four. Wolosiansky pitched 4.0 innings on the night and allowed two earned runs, three hits, one walk and four strikeouts. He retired the last eight batters he faced and had his record drop to 3-6.

Two more Louisville runs in the fifth – sparked by three hits to open the inning including back-to-back doubles by Adam Duval and Andrew Clark – increased the lead to 6-0.

Ohio State threatened in its half of the fifth as a Ryan Dew double, Brian DeLucia single and a passed ball put runners on second and third with one out. But Amlung stabbed a Matt Streng liner and threw to second for the double play and the inning was over. ( Full Story )

Follow us on Twitter: CSN_Cincy

CINCINNATI – In the opener of a home-and-home mid-week series between Wright State University and the University and Cincinnati baseball team, Wright State scored five runs in the final two innings to secure a 9-3 win over Cincinnati Tuesday evening at Marge Schott Stadium. The loss snapped UC’s four-game winning streak and dropped [...]]]> Courtesy: gobearcats.com

CINCINNATI – In the opener of a home-and-home mid-week series between Wright State University and the University and Cincinnati baseball team, Wright State scored five runs in the final two innings to secure a 9-3 win over Cincinnati Tuesday evening at Marge Schott Stadium. The loss snapped UC’s four-game winning streak and dropped the Bearcats to 23-21 overall, while the Raiders improved to 24-17.

Junior Justin Riddell

Cincinnati, who scored two runs in the ninth inning to defeat the Raiders, 6-5, in the first meeting between the schools this season on April 13, fell behind early as the Raiders scored three runs in the first two innings, two of which coming in the second inning on a two-run homer by Gerald Ogrinc, to jump out to a 3-0 lead.

With Wright State starter Cody Kopilchack struggling to find the strike zone early in the second inning, junior Justin Riddell got the Bearcats on the board when he deposited a three balls, one strike pitch over the fence in left-center field, cutting the UC deficit to 3-1. The home run was Riddell’s second of the season.

After the Raiders manufactured a run in the fifth to re-establish a three-run lead, 4-1, a brief two-out surge in the bottom of the fifth helped the Bearcats claw back within one run, 4-3. With two outs, junior Chris Peters drew a five-pitch walk and then scored on a line-drive home run off the bat of sophomore T.J. Jones, his fourth round-tripper of the season. ( Full Story )

Follow us on Twitter: CSN_Cincy