COLUMBUS, Ohio — Back-and-forth scores came early, but it was the Nittany Lions who roared to four unanswered runs late to pull away and avoid the sweep at Bill Davis Stadium Sunday afternoon.
Ohio State (15-13) lost a 10-6 ballgame Sunday to Penn State (9-18) after sophomore Justin Williams broke a 6-all tie with a two-run double in the top of the seventh inning.
Penn State got five innings from junior right-hander Kyle Virbitsky before turning the ball over to fellow junior righty Mason Mellott. Mellott threw four innings of two-hit, shutout ball while striking out five to earn the win.
“Sweeps aren’t easy to get, but we had opportunities today to do so, so disappointed in not getting today’s game,” head coach Greg Beals said. “When you’re looking at the weekend as a whole, we were pretty solid. But we had opportunities today. That’s the frustrating part.”
Junior right-handed pitcher Jack Neely made his eighth start of the season and struck out five of the first six hitters he faced, capping his first two frames by striking out the side in the second inning.
Neely ran into trouble in the third inning, allowing three runs on as many hits, including a 2-run home run by freshman left fielder Tayven Kelley. The Buckeyes held a 5-3 lead when Beals went to the bullpen in the fifth inning, and the game knotted once more at six as the Buckeyes used the long ball to score their six runs.
Redshirt-senior catcher Brent Todys went 3-5 with a solo home run to lead Ohio State's offense, which collected eight hits despite striking out 13 times against the Penn State pitching staff.
SATURDAY'S RECAP: Seth Lonsway, Ohio State shut out Penn State 7-0 Saturday
The first Nittany Lion hit led off the top of the third, an inning in which they would see three runners cross home plate. Senior second baseman Gavin Homer doubled to left field, scoring junior right fielder Curtis Robison from second base. One batter later, Kelley sent his first home run of the season the other way over the wall in right field.
Virbitsky kept the Buckeyes at bay through the first three innings after striking out the side himself in the bottom of the first. Come the fourth inning, freshman center fielder Kade Kern laced a one-out single, then redshirt-senior first baseman Connor Pohl crushed his eighth home run of the season to tie the game at three.
Ohio State didn’t stop there. Todys followed the big fly with a single, and senior second baseman Colton Bauer worked the count full before drawing a walk.
Then, sophomore left fielder Nate Karaffa blasted his second-career home run into the trees in left field, giving the Buckeyes a 5-3 lead. Karaffa finished 2-4 with those three RBIs.
"Nate’s a very talented player, a highly-touted recruit," Beals said. "He brings foot speed, he’s got some power, he’s a dynamic athlete. We thought Nate’s had a good couple weeks of training, and I was glad to see him take advantage of some opportunities this weekend."
FRIDAY'S RECAP: Ohio State snaps losing skid, scores in six-straight, beats Penn State 11-6
Todys threw out Robison in the top of the fifth, but Neely worked himself into trouble by allowing a single and hit batsman. Beals emerged from the dugout and signaled for redshirt-senior right-hander Joe Gahm, who forced a flyout two pitches later to escape the jam.
The Buckeyes threatened as Kern walked, stole second and reached third on a passed ball in the fifth, but the tying run came an inning later.
Todys belted his second home run of the season to right field to put the game at 6-all, and the longball chased Virbitsky in favor of Mellott, who recorded all three outs via strikes.
FEATURE: Working behind scenes, walk-off latest in Zach Dezenzo’s chase to be great
Freshman left-hander Isaiah Coupet got the call from the bullpen to begin the seventh inning after striking out five in the final two innings last weekend at Maryland. An E5 and bloop single put runners on the corners, and Beals signaled for junior right-hander Bayden Root to come on.
Root quickly pitched ahead in the count 0-2 to Williams, but the right-handed bat shot the third pitch the other way, scoring both runs to give the Nittany Lions an 8-6 lead.
Penn State added two more runs of insurance in the top of the ninth thanks to two hard-hit baseballs that shot down the right-field line, and the pair of runs came via single off the bat of freshman center fielder Johnny Piacentino.
Since Todys' solo shot, the Buckeyes had three baserunners reach in the remaining four trips to the plate. Penn State scored eight of its runs with two outs versus Ohio State's three, and went 8-for-17 in two-out situations compared to the Buckeyes' 2-for-11.
"We had a vision to go into this weekend and win the series, if not sweep," Todys said. "We felt that this was a team that we should’ve taken care of business with, and we did just that. Today just didn’t go our way, and that happens. It’s a part of the game. But we’re happy with the results this weekend, won the series."
Ohio State will continue its six-game homestand Friday when it begins a three-game series with the Purdue Boilermakers.
